What do you think? I've heard a lot of pros and cons about run flats.

What do you think about 'em on the GL?

Any experience with a flat tire? How did you handle it? How well did the GL warn you about it?

 

You've heard GOOD things about the run flats? I haven't!

 

madmadGL, both my current vehicles have run flats. Our GL, which we just bought new tires for, and a 2013 BMW 328i, which has Pirelli run flats. Previous to the BMW, my wife had a 2006 MINI Cooper S that also had older generation run flats.

The MINI had run flats on it when she bought it and they were awful. The car crashed over every bump, pothole, et. Part of the problem is that the MINI had a very stiff suspension, and the sidewalls on those older run flats were much harder than the current generation. When they wore out, we replaced the run flats with conventional performance tires, and the ride improved considerably. For piece of mind, I bought an air compressor and a plug kit and put it in the trunk.

The BMW is the new F30 and the ride is fantastic. BMW have done a much better job tuning the suspension to work with the run flats and they feel like conventional tires. I'm pretty certain that this means that they have changed the shock damping and springs to be softer than they previously were, in conjunction with the newer run flats that don't have sidewalls as stiff as the older tires did. About 3 months after we bought the car, she picked up a huge staple (1/4" diameter) in the front right tire, about 6 miles from home. She drove home slowly, with a long line of traffic behind her apparently, and parked the car. I pulled the wheel and brought it to a local tire place who patched the tire after I showed them that the manufacturer allowed patching (not all of them do and state it specifically on the sidewall.) The tire has been on the car now for over a year and half with no issues but it was repaired properly (i.e. patched internally and plugged which they may refer to as a 'mushroom' patch.)

I don't know when the stock Goodyears on my GL350 were designed, but they feel to me more like the tires that were on the MINI than the ones that are on the BMW. I did recently put a new set on the GL, but only before I realized that there is now another option showing on Tirerack.com that must be new, and it MUCH cheaper than the Goodyears. There were a few reviews and they seemed to be pretty positive. My GL crashes over bumps similar to how the MINI did, but the air suspension does a better job and it's acceptable. I would have put conventional tires on it, but since we now have two small children and there's no way my 105 lb wife could change a tire on the GL (I don't know what they weigh, but they're approaching 100 lb each), I just decided to leave it well alone.

The key to run flats is to not drive them too far for too long when you have a flat. You should only drive at slow speeds until you can get the vehicle to a safe place and then get roadside assistance to help. I still carry the patch kit in mine, and if we get a flat while I'm in the car it will be no problem to plug it and get back on our way. But if it's my wife, it will require assistance. She won't ever take the car on a long trip without me, so that shouldn't be a problem.

 

I went with the 275/55R20 non-run flats. It costs 1/3 and I bought a full-size spare with the savings. I carry the spare on my Yakima Load Warrior or inside. There's a hitch mounted carrier available too.

http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Carg...rt/c31006.html