sportflyer10

I am considering changing over to non run flat tires. Since I own the car I don't need to keep the run flats . Any idea how much I could get for trade in since there is less than 100 miles on tires. Besides Michelin , any other brands for all season tires ? Tks

Mikey53

I'm loving the Continental ExtremeContact™ DWS06 that I had the dealer swap for the runflats it had on the showroom floor.

Mr. J

I really like the Michelin Pilot AS3+. The Conti Extreme Contacts that Mikey53 mentioned are also highly rated for high performance all seasons. In fact, the owner of the tire shop that installed my Michelins runs those Contis on his S4.

It's really a toss up as to which is the better tire. If I were you, I would shop for both and purchase based upon price and availability.

sportflyer10

Do I really need Z (W, Y) rated tires ? The Run Flats I have on now are only H rated. Any recommendations for H or V rated tires. Leaning towards low tire noise than sportiness.

Greg52

Would like to know anyone in Australia doing this, My C250 came standard with 19 " Contintal run flats that ride worse than a billicart. I can't believe that I didn't notice this during my test drive or even that MB would release a car with such a poor ride

kleinebin

Yes. I had 3 blowouts in the first few months of ownership. I found this forum and the many posts on how terrible the Contis are. When you spent $90k+ with all the options except Airmatic you don't expect to see your car towed. Worse is when it happens on a Sunday when all the tyre shops are closed. No one stocks run flats either so it's around 48 hours if you're lucky to get your car back on the road.

On others' advice I got the Michelen Pilot Super Sport and the difference is MASSIVE. Every loud thump you experienced on a speed hump or pothole is gone. The fear of a blowout on a rough road is gone. The ride is quieter and smoother. But it'll cost you around $1600.

The tyre shop that looks after my dealer says he sees around 10 run flat blow outs a week and the Contis are the worst tyres on the market.

I also bought a spare AMG wheel for around $900 and threw one of the spare run flats on it which now acts as a spare in the boot.

Mike5215

One of the highest rated all season tires for the C on TireRack is the BF Goodrich Comp TA 2. They're inexpensive, and have a long tread life. I had a set on my C for a couple of weeks and they ride great and were quiet. Only issue was they're sort of ugly and chunky looking. I replaced them with Michelin Pilot Supersports and honestly the Michelins don't ride that much better than the BFG's. They do look a lot better though. I believe the BFG have a Z speed rating as well.

NYbenzzz

i just had 1 flat tire on the 678 in ny on my way to JFK.

i was so glad i had runflats, as i drove the car all the way to a tire shop. It sucked that no tire shop around had any of the OEM contis runflats.

so instead i drove all the way to the nearest dealership, which was about 7 miles of inner city NY full of pothole streets.

if i had regular tires with no spare in the trunk, i'd have to call a tow truck.

larrypmyers

The reason I'm a fan of run flats.

Mike5215

A Seal and Fill kit fixes punctures and refills the tire, although you do have to get out of the car and hook it up, and wait for the little compressor to fill the tire back up. It takes about 15 minutes start to finish.

It won't help with a tire that gets a structural failure, like a sidewall rupture, but unlike run flats, conventional tires aren't prone to sidewall ruptures, and no tire can be safely driven on with a shredded sidewall including run flats.

jumpman726

Not necessarily. If you had non-runflats you might not have gotten the flat tire in the first place. The stiffer sidewalls on runflats make them more prone to flats. Hence, all of the previous complaints.

But yes, obviously, if you got a flat on a non-runflat and you don't have a spare you would have to wait around for a tow truck to help you.

Mike5215

A buddy of mine runs a busy tire shop in town. I had the C in because after MB mounted up my new wheels I had a vibration in the rear. MB of course blamed the aftermarket wheels but it turned out they forgot to balance a wheel. 1.5 oz later it was good.

Anyway, I asked about run flats. Nightmare from a customer perspective. Especially on the high end BMW and MB with the larger rim diameters and short sidewalls. The sorts of minor impacts that wouldn't affect a conventional tire can rupture the sidewall on a run flat, either producing a bubble (which can be driven on for a bit) or a full blow out that disables the car.

Apples to apples, it seems the RFs cost more, ride harsher and wear out sooner (if they survive long enough to wear out). But they might save you the inconvenience of being stranded on the roadside with a flat.

For me, the statistical likelihood of a flat is remote enough to feel comfortable with the Seal & Fill or roadside assistance as a fail safe.

powerrrrr

I keep hearing about the high failure rate of run flats and I just haven't encountered anything like that on my car or other run flats. I've been running the stock pirelli run flats on my cla250 for 2.5 years, minus the winter where I'm also running pirelli run flat winters on OEM rims, haven't had any failures yet even though I've hit some pretty crazy potholes.

My mother drives a B250 and she's had to replace two of her run flat tires, but both were due to foreign object puncture damage.

larrypmyers

[QUOTE=jumpman726;7026459]Not necessarily. If you had non-runflats you might not have gotten the flat tire in the first place. The stiffer sidewalls on runflats make them more prone to flats. Hence, all of the previous complaints.

There is no data to support this position.

Mike5215

This forum is full of anecdotal evidence of sidewall ruptures, mostly on the 19" wheels. I think the 18" have enough give to be okay. Honesty it's a gamble either way. Just a matter of picking your poison.

Google "run flat sidewall" and you'll get an idea of the scope of the problem.

ManiacGT

ContiSeal seems a good halfway house between the harshness of run flats and the left by the roadside trying to fill a tyre with gunk approach.

larrypmyers

Power, I'm with you. I've been driving on run flats since 1999. During that time have had two punctures both of which I simply continued on to the repair shop and had both tires repaired.

Currently driving a GLC with run flats and am completely satisfied.

NYbenzzz

being in NY, specialy daily driving through NY's ****tiest ghettos = you will get a flat sooner or later.

it happenned to every one of the previous cars i've had. sooner or later, you get a flat or bent rim. cannot avoid it unless you drive in NY state's highways.

but being anywhere in the 5 boroughs of NYC = you will get a flat sooner or later.

this is why i like my runflats.

powerrrrr

I got a C43 coming and I'll probably use run flats on them as well, or at least use up the OEM set first. I like the peace of mind of still being able to move under my own power with a puncture, I do hate the added noise and the harsher ride but I can't justify spending money on another set of tires when the set that came with the car is fine.

I mean knock on wood and all, but I think driving carefully is a big part of preserving your tires, I.e driving slower in an area that has really ****ty roads, that sort of thing.

Mike5215

I hadn't heard of the ContiSeal but it does seem like the best of both worlds. Basically a conventional tire with a lining of gunk that self seals against punctures up to 5mm.

sean1.8t

Run Flats are the worst. I don't see the point, I just see a laundry list of terrible, terrible drawbacks that they bring to the table. I've had 1 tire failure in my 14 years of driving, I'll take my chances with roadside assistance.

The OE RunFlats that came on my brothers GLA45 lasted 8,000 miles. That is ridiculous! And they are 20" tires which are $$$$$$$. I've never had a tire not last me at least 30k.

Mike5215

^Yeah, I've probably put 250,000 miles on Michelin PSS over the past decade on the three S Classes and never had a flat. I'll take my chances as well.

JBMCL

+1, using the OEM RFs and then changing to non-RFs afterwards. Shame to let a perfectly good set of tires go to waste. Although I can see why people that lease would quickly change to Non-RFs since they'll need to repurchase a new set of RFs at the end of the lease.

Greg52

Do any of the people happy with their runflats have 19" rims?

sean1.8t

I think the consensus of this thread is that no one is happy with their RFs.

A couple people deal with all the crap because they like the one [sorta] advantage they give you in not having to wait 30 minutes for a tow truck.