Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[ybbiz34]

I was driving home last night, everything is going fine, and then all of a sudden DING DING DING the flat tire warning light comes on in red. I didn't see anything in the road, nor did I feel the car run over anything. So I checked the tire pressures today, 3 of them were just a couple pounds low, no big deal, but one had NO reading at all.

This is my first experience with the RFT, and as much as people want to knock them, I am pretty damn impressed by how the tire performed when "flat." In normal driving, I couldn't really notice it.

[sparkyg]

Now you just gotta find a tire, did you get the tire/rim insurance on your car?

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by sparkyg

Now you just gotta find a tire, did you get the tire/rim insurance on your car?

Yep I sure did. Now I'm thankful that I did, considering it is around $215 per tire for those run-flats.

I thought about switching to some all-season Bridgestone Pole Position tires (non-RFT), but Discount Tire quoted me some outrageous number for the deal.

[Haywire]

yeah, they are great when they are flat...problem is, RUN FLATS always seem to be RUNNING FLAT. guess if you have the insurance you dont give a shiat, but youre going to need a few more of those bad boys to break even. and with the RUN FLAT TRACK RECORD, you can almost count on it.

the could also call them BUBBLE FLATS. BFT's, thats pretty much what they seem to do for sooooooooooooooooo many people.

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by Haywire

yeah, they are great when they are flat...problem is, RUN FLATS always seem to be RUNNING FLAT. guess if you have the insurance you dont give a shiat, but youre going to need a few more of those bad boys to break even. and with the RUN FLAT TRACK RECORD, you can almost count on it.

the could also call them BUBBLE FLATS. BFT's, thats pretty much what they seem to do for sooooooooooooooooo many people.

I would like to switch to some non-RFT all-seasons, if I could get a good deal on the tires I want. Especially after looking at the ratings/reviews of the EL42 RFT on tirerack's website. That tire seems to pretty much = FAIL.

[David 12]

Too bad you are not considering dedicated summer tires. I purchased the non runflat Michelin PS2's a few months ago and they are terrific tires.

[StarrDlux]

215 for a 255/35/18 runflat? installed? wow.

the ias safeguard is a no-brainer. there is so much road debris on I75 and nails everywhere else it wont suprise me if i go through a few sets of tires.

good to hear the system works well.

[Kerosene Hat]

You can get road hazard ins on regular tires purchased through tire rack.

I thought the General Exclaim UHPs on my VW GTI were totally sick - super sticky, ridiculously cheap and offered more than acceptable treadwear. $85 a pop (uninstalled) for 205/55 16's and z-rated (IIRC). I lust after the more expensive tires, but became a convert to the General brand and am thinking of replacing the RFTs with Exclaims + tire repair kit.

Only thing I can't get past is the lack of rim protection plans - I will have to check with my local dealer again and rethink the protection plan - almost bent 2 freakin' rims this weekend...gotta love those roads in Atlanta.

[ybbiz34]

Originally Posted by David 12

Too bad you are not considering dedicated summer tires. I purchased the non runflat Michelin PS2's a few months ago and they are terrific tires.

Considering it is a lease, I really don't want to spend the money and deal with the process of swapping tires all the time. Though, I definitely would prefer a dedicated summer performance tire and then a set of dedicated winter tires as well.

Originally Posted by StarrDlux

215 for a 255/35/18 runflat? installed? wow.

good to hear the system works well.

+1 on the system working well. I couldn't honestly tell anything was wrong without the Flat Tire Warning. My tire is a 225/45/17.

I will report back as to what caused the damage as soon as I know.

Originally Posted by Kerosene Hat

You can get road hazard ins on regular tires purchased through tire rack.

I thought the General Exclaim UHPs on my VW GTI were totally sick - super sticky, ridiculously cheap and offered more than acceptable treadwear. $85 a pop (uninstalled) for 205/55 16's and z-rated (IIRC). I lust after the more expensive tires, but became a convert to the General brand and am thinking of replacing the RFTs with Exclaims + tire repair kit.

Only thing I can't get past is the lack of rim protection plans - I will have to check with my local dealer again and rethink the protection plan - almost bent 2 freakin' rims this weekend...gotta love those roads in Atlanta.

The dealer bought tire/rim insurance I have is tied to the car/VIN, so any tire/wheel combination I choose to configure is covered. Which is nice.