Run Flat Tyre Question

[Karma Supra]

A lot of the BMW guys are ditching the runflat tyres and saying the difference in how the car drives is day and night, the cars ride better, handle better (less unsprung weight), and obviously the tyres are cheaper to buy.

Mine just came with a can of tyre gloop from the factory, as M cars are never fitted with run flats for this very reason (And spare wheels are deemed too heavy lol)

Run Flats are horrid things.

[sywy]

I don't know how many here have actually driven on the RFT's after a puncture, but I have. It is literally like driving on a solid ring, and I would consider it dangerous, and would not drive long distances (I think 50 mile max?) on them, esp on the motorway. Not sure if that is the case with stiff wall RFT's. Oh, and my car was off the road for just over 2 days, and I had to take it to the 3rd dealer that I rang, as they were the only ones who had stock. Having said all this, I have to agree with the others here, the T180 is a great car. Buy it and get rid of the RFT's when the time comes.

[Plutus]

Over the past 2 years I've read most of the posts on runflats. (note I do not have a T180)

I draw these conclusions :-

1. if you have a puncture it is likely by driving any distance at all you will damage the support ring.

2. if you don't damage the support ring the dealer will when he removes the tyre.

3. A new tyre + support ring costs about £350

4. Many (yes many) toyota dealers do not stock these tyres - some have never "invested" in the equipment.

5. Usually a delay of 2 - 3 days to fit a new tyre if they have the equipment 'cos they don't stock the tyres.

6. The wheels will take "normal" tyres but a fault code will show in the dash.

These are the facts as I understand them. if they are wrong, I'm more than happy to be corrected.

My opinion, what a rubbish attitude from the world's No. 1 car company.

[wardude]

[well im really ****** as I tht the T180 was great. not going ahead tho for those tyres. My dealer has offered me the following instead

2006 56 RAV XT4 2.2D

Black with Black leather

36000 miles. 1 owner

FSH etc

£14500.

Not sure I like the look of this Rav tho after seeing the T180 with all the gizmos added to it (roof bars, running boards, body kit etc) Dont think Toyota will be getting my money now. :(

[Lordy1]

Having owned my T180 for about 9 months now, I do agree that it is a very good car and best of all the wife loves it.

But would I have bought it knowing what I know now ? Probably not !

Not only have I changed my RF wheels and tyres to something more conventional, I am still really disappointed with my average fuel consumption of 30 mpg. Having tried everything to raise it without sucess and it is not according to Toyota 'my manner of driving'.

If I could turn the clock back 9 months, I would buy an XT 5.

Regards

[well im really ****** as I tht the T180 was great. not going ahead tho for those tyres. My dealer has offered me the following instead

2006 56 RAV XT4 2.2D

Black with Black leather

36000 miles. 1 owner

FSH etc

£14500.

Not sure I like the look of this Rav tho after seeing the T180 with all the gizmos added to it (roof bars, running boards, body kit etc) Dont think Toyota will be getting my money now. :(

[wardude]

Thanks for the input everyone. I looked at the XT5 and it just doesent look as appealing as the T180 I was offered. So, i think its time to look elswhere. thanks for all the help you have given me. After speaking to various tyre places etc None of them can say anything positive about these tyres. National tyres stated online they could supply and fit one for £180. When I rang he was very cagey about even being able to supply one.

Thanks again

Shaun

[wardude]

meant to say Lordy.

How did you get around putting the new wheels and tyres on without getting a warning light coming up on the dash regarding the pressure gaurd thingy??

[wardude]

well I took your advice and I have bought it. Spoke to a local mobile tyre guy and told him about what some folk did with cutting off the rings and he said he could easily do that when the time comes

[duncerduncs]

Congratulations on your new purchase!

Which car did you buy in the end? (I've got slightly confused... )

[wardude]

06 T180. Roof bars, side steps, and those bumper mouldings on the side. Oh, and run flats lol

[sywy]

Nice one!! Congratz.

[stewyinpagham]

Although I moans a lot about my T180. I love it so much that I just bought another 2 years Mr T warranty... I've never owned a car that long.. either its a good-un or I'm getting old.... or waiting for the FT86! Enjoy.

[local hero]

06 T180. Roof bars, side steps, and those bumper mouldings on the side. Oh, and run flats lol

Well done Wardude, go with your heart not your head, NOW HOW ABOUT SOME PHOTEES ENJOY Stew

[wardude]

cheers dudes. the run flats still bother me but the look of it and the drive of it swayed me. I spoke to my local mobile tyre guy and showed him the pics of the inner wheel band being grinded off. he said when it needs tyres he will do that for me and fit normal tyres. Ill let you know how it goes. thanks again to everyones help.

hers a pi. hope it works

http://fullscreen.r66.co.uk/?Theme=RMBToyo...ultImage=gilder

[anchorman]

Now thats what I call a good looking motor!!! Its the very first red T180 I have seen and what a gem.

[Lordy1]

Sorry for a late reply-found no probs with new the wheels putting on the warning light in normal short distance driving. Until I went just over an hour on the motorway the other day, when it started to flash. It stayed on until I left the car for a while then reset itself.

Still in the throws of trying to find a solution with the help of Anchorman.

Will say thought the ride quality is soooo much better on the 17" replacements, haven't had to replace my fillings once yet !

Haven't really noticed any difference in the handling either.

Regards

meant to say Lordy.

How did you get around putting the new wheels and tyres on without getting a warning light coming up on the dash regarding the pressure gaurd thingy??

[dave.m]

Congrats

That is one very cool looking Rav B) B)

[wardude]

thanks for the replys and thumbs up. Im not normally a fan of red but this one looks ok to me. Maybe its cos it metalic.

Thanks for the info on your new tyres Lordy.

[wardude]

meant to say. it cost me just over 15k. Got good price on my Vectra tho which is why I went for this car. Is that an opk price for this model etc?? March 06, 50k miles. All the extras??

[wardude]

heres a reply I got from the Toyota dealer 40 mins from where I live. its a good start anyway

Thanks for the recent enquiry, with reference to the run flat tyre system it needs to be changed at a Toyota main dealership as it uses a special Bridgestone run flat system, its a combination of a Bridgestone tyre and inner support ring.

We are the only Toyota main dealer within the North East that has the machine able to carry out the task of replacing a run flat tyre.

Complete price of 1 run flat tyre is £215.00 that's the full price, including fitting, labour and VAT

We keep a regular supply of tyres and we only require 1 days notice for booking a waiting appointment, on average it takes 1 hour to replace 2 tyres.. as a Toyota centre I cannot recommend that normal tyres should be fitted, nor' can I advise that aftermarket wheels are put on instead, however as the driver of the vehicle it is entirely up to you what wheel and tyre combination you put not he vehicle.

As you have already suggested, the warning light for 'low tyre pressure' will remain on, we are unable to disable this with our systems as the vehicle is trying to pick up the digital readings from the valves fitted to standard tyres and wheels.

all the best

[Lordy1]

£215 and thats without changing the support ring and I bet they only have at best, a couple of people trained to change the tyre. Just don't get a puncture in the holiday season !

In my area found at least a couple of dealers who had broken RF machines, who had clearly no intention of mending them or replacing them. My local dealer had to send the tyre away-to which I had a 3 day wait.

Regards

quote name='wardude' date='Feb 27 2010, 10:21 AM' post='978134']

heres a reply I got from the Toyota dealer 40 mins from where I live. its a good start anyway

Thanks for the recent enquiry, with reference to the run flat tyre system it needs to be changed at a Toyota main dealership as it uses a special Bridgestone run flat system, its a combination of a Bridgestone tyre and inner support ring.

We are the only Toyota main dealer within the North East that has the machine able to carry out the task of replacing a run flat tyre.

Complete price of 1 run flat tyre is £215.00 that's the full price, including fitting, labour and VAT

We keep a regular supply of tyres and we only require 1 days notice for booking a waiting appointment, on average it takes 1 hour to replace 2 tyres.. as a Toyota centre I cannot recommend that normal tyres should be fitted, nor' can I advise that aftermarket wheels are put on instead, however as the driver of the vehicle it is entirely up to you what wheel and tyre combination you put not he vehicle.

As you have already suggested, the warning light for 'low tyre pressure' will remain on, we are unable to disable this with our systems as the vehicle is trying to pick up the digital readings from the valves fitted to standard tyres and wheels.

all the best

[wardude]

heres a reply I got from the Toyota dealer 40 mins from where I live. its a good start anyway

Thanks for the recent enquiry, with reference to the run flat tyre system it needs to be changed at a Toyota main dealership as it uses a special Bridgestone run flat system, its a combination of a Bridgestone tyre and inner support ring.

We are the only Toyota main dealer within the North East that has the machine able to carry out the task of replacing a run flat tyre.

Complete price of 1 run flat tyre is £215.00 that's the full price, including fitting, labour and VAT

We keep a regular supply of tyres and we only require 1 days notice for booking a waiting appointment, on average it takes 1 hour to replace 2 tyres.. as a Toyota centre I cannot recommend that normal tyres should be fitted, nor' can I advise that aftermarket wheels are put on instead, however as the driver of the vehicle it is entirely up to you what wheel and tyre combination you put not he vehicle.

As you have already suggested, the warning light for 'low tyre pressure' will remain on, we are unable to disable this with our systems as the vehicle is trying to pick up the digital readings from the valves fitted to standard tyres and wheels.

If you drive with a puncture, the inner ring will be damaged, its there to stop the tyre from coming off the rim, best thing I can suggest in that situation is phone for recovery, its what I advise 99.9% of my customers with Rav 4 T180 and SR180 vehicles...

Inner rings are approx 100+vat but obviously no extra labour to fit.

There was wan issue about 3/4 weeks ago where Bridgestone UK had ran out of stock, reason been alot of tyres got damaged over the worse snow period and there was high demand for the tyres, however, Bridgestone and Toyota UK have addressed this issue and put processes in place if this was ever to happen again.

all the best

[wardude]

can one of you guys confirm that the tyre pressure for a run flat is 32psi????? I am reading the door jam note right arnt I??? Also the legal tread depth for this tyre remains at 1.6mm?? Am i paranoid or what lol

[Lordy1]

Yes to both questions, those RFs turned me into a nutter ! The wife argued they just made me worse.

Regards

can one of you guys confirm that the tyre pressure for a run flat is 32psi????? I am reading the door jam note right arnt I??? Also the legal tread depth for this tyre remains at 1.6mm?? Am i paranoid or what lol

[wardude]

Thats exactly what my lass has just said to me. We went shopping in Newcastle yesterday and she said I dident seem to be very "calm" at the wheel. Its those !Removed! tyres mate.

Yes to both questions, those RFs turned me into a nutter ! The wife argued they just made me worse.

Regards

can one of you guys confirm that the tyre pressure for a run flat is 32psi????? I am reading the door jam note right arnt I??? Also the legal tread depth for this tyre remains at 1.6mm?? Am i paranoid or what lol