On the way to work today... Got a low TP signal this morning on the Left Rear but at the time the tire looked fine and I thought it was just low. I drive from the city to Brooklyn everyday, the streets are some of the most horrible I have ever seen, just absolute sh*t. This patch work BS on pot holes is just not cutting and idiot Bloomberg doesn't seem to understand. Why can't they just close the street overnight and lay CONCRETE, instead of this black top crap?

Anyways, I stopped to fill the tire and noticed a loud hissing. I decided to head back to the dealer where I knew they would have the tire in stock.. I drove about 30 miles total (under the 50 suggested by my Nav) and I hit 50+ mph at one point with NO problems. I stopped to check the tire at some points and it didnt even look flat! It was a relief...

Made it back to the dealer with no problem and noticed some other cars parked with flats... turns out there are 35 cars ahead of mine and I may not see it back till thursday!, and my dealership requires 2-3 week advance notifcation if you want a loaner and they don't give out loaners for "things like this." Stupid... They are charging $315 for the 17" conti RFs plus labor. I have the 5-year tire warranty program, does anyone know how long they take to send the reimbursement check back? Also how much do dealers usually charge for tire rotation?... I am looking to buy a professional jack and some stands to do it myself possibly.

Bottom line, although the ride quality is supposedly horrible on RF's (I don't have anything else to compare them too, this is my first car), I am glad I didn't change my tires like everyone else on here!, at least for now.

 

I don't see any savings there at all, certainly not money wise - certainly not time wise........ And you would still be driving it with a Slime Spair kit.

Test drive a Justa while you are waiting to see the ride quality difference in non-runflats.

 

The run flats are impressive how you can drive on them. I am really unimpressed with the ride, durability and use. Frankly I have never had a tire just leak, these do. I also noticed that if they lose pressure at all (3-4 lbs), they make a terrible rubbing noise.

Back seat is useless, better to buy a donut, and drive real tires. Sorry. not worth $350+ for a stupid run-flat.

 

Yeah I believe you guys are right, the ride quality is probably much better. In the end, I have paid $750 total for the 5 year tire replacement program. So if this happens just once or twice more at $315 a pop, in the next 4 years, It would be worth it I guess... and if more then it would be free tires But who wants a damn flat! I will shed the RF's once the program expires.

 

Just my opinion...but flat is still flat. Homemade flat kit in my car and my AAA membership, I'm golden. For $750, I can practically buy two sets of tires with the right price negotiation that you can ALWAYS do at Discount Tire.

 

I also have the tire and wheel warranty. I was told that since I live so far from the dealer (3 hrs one-way) that I can pay the local tire shop (eg. Discount Tire) and submit the invoice for reimbursement.

 

A full set of V12's is like $330...

 

Like devicemanager said, you don't have to go to the dealer to get warranty work on your tires, just go to a tire store that carries your brand of tires. You'll probably get them for much cheaper than at the dealership.

MCS Fever,
You can't compare the ride of a Justa with it's 15" wheels and an S with 17" wheels, the whole point of the 17" wheels is less sidewall flex, for better cornering. The run flat feature just makes the sidewalls less flexable, even better for handleing

I haven't noticed a rougher ride than any other car with my Continental Run Flats, and the run flat feature is great.

Dave

 

You're making a bold statement in that the extra rigidity of a runflat is doing anything to improve handling.

 

Not at all!
As I said, the main reason for large wheel with short sidewalls, is sidewall rigidity, it keeps the tread flat against the road. With the same width tire, but with taller, less rigid, sidewalls, the outside of the tire will tend to roll under the wheel and the inside of the tire will pick up off the road as the weight of the car pushes to the outside of a corner, this would be in spirited cornering. The result is less traction and require a lower speed to negotiate the turn. A run flat tire has thicker even more rigid sidewalls, they can't help but keep the tread flatter on the road, in hard cornering. The only disadvantage I see is that the extra thickness of the sidewalls is also added weight, but that can be compensated for with lighter wheels.

Dave