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Run flat tires


Maxman

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Anyone have a car with these? Strangest thing ever. I got a flat last night, I didn't know I didn't even have a spare. You just keep driving. Computer tells you that you have a flat. but hey keep driving. So damn weird.

I am taking it tomorrow to see if they can fix the flat. Hope I don't need a whole new tire.

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There is a 0 pressure mileage limit not 100% sure but I think its after 50 miles that mfrs state the tire is not safe to fix and I think Firestone / Bridgestone run flats are not repairable no matter what mileage has been put on while driving with 0 pressure.

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55 minutes ago, Maxman said:

Anyone have a car with these? Strangest thing ever. I got a flat last night, I didn't know I didn't even have a spare. You just keep driving. Computer tells you that you have a flat. but hey keep driving. So damn weird.

I am taking it tomorrow to see if they can fix the flat. Hope I don't need a whole new tire.

You most likely will need to replace the tire.  Run flats are good as long as they're paired with an accurate Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)...otherwise you may never really know you've punctured a tire.  Run flats are usually good for something like 100-150 miles but you shouldn't go faster than about 50 mph when "flat."

 

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34 minutes ago, #27TheDominator said:

Could be worse.  My Dad's car has no spare and no run flats.  Car has the battery in the spare tire well with a pump and a can of fix-a-flat.  Bright side is the fronts are cheaper than southpark's, but it is staggered and the rears are like $320.

That's the way most of the car mfg. are going. Less weight than the "donut" (cheaper too) so the MPG is improved. The bitch is if you slice a sidewall. You're SOL. Need to get it towed. I've used that once in my wife's leased Malibu a few year back. Worked well. Got it pumped up got it to the shop, had a plug put in it and all was well. Just needed to replace the fix a flat before we turned in the lease.

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54 minutes ago, southparkcpa said:

Chances are you will....    seems these new tires aren’t like when we were kids.  New tires on my BMW are like 300 each. Friggin ridiculous. 

Thanks.  A bit unrelated but we are taking the RV to Disney in April to see my daughter who is down there for the semester. The tires on the RV only have like 5 or 6 thousand miles on them. But they were installed 7 years ago so I called to replace them. Everyone says dry rot kills RV tires from sitting. Most years we only drive it a few thousand miles but I don't want to mess around so I called to replace them.

Found the receipt from the old owner. Goodyear tires, $545 each, 6 tires total. Ouch.

The tire shop here actually recommended a Cooper tire that is $290 each, installed. That is a lot more reasonable. I didn't feel like dropping $3600 on new RV tires.

I will call Firestone tomorrow and see if they will look at the tire on my car. Otherwise I will bring it to the dealer. Fun stuff.

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11 minutes ago, Thai Jet said:

That's the way most of the car mfg. are going. Less weight than the "donut" (cheaper too) so the MPG is improved. The bitch is if you slice a sidewall. You're SOL. Need to get it towed. I've used that once in my wife's leased Malibu a few year back. Worked well. Got it pumped up got it to the shop, had a plug put in it and all was well. Just needed to replace the fix a flat before we turned in the lease.

I don't think this is the sidewall, I hit a pothole after the snow the roads are a mess. I guess I will find out tomorrow.  :)

Hopefully fix a flat works for me as well, I am going to be trying it hopefully drive the car to the dealer or Firestone.

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23 minutes ago, jetstream23 said:

You most likely will need to replace the tire.  Run flats are good as long as they're paired with an accurate Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)...otherwise you may never really know you've punctured a tire.  Run flats are usually good for something like 100-150 miles but you shouldn't go faster than about 50 mph when "flat."

 

The TPMS read pretty accurate. It just dropped fast pressure wise. Which makes me think it isn't repairable because it lost air in a hurry. The onboard computer was flashing FLAT Tire bring to dealer. It happened around 12:30 am though lol.

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47 minutes ago, Maxman said:

The TPMS read pretty accurate. It just dropped fast pressure wise. Which makes me think it isn't repairable because it lost air in a hurry. The onboard computer was flashing FLAT Tire bring to dealer. It happened around 12:30 am though lol.

Well, at least you weren't driving around with Sheldon Richardson!

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1 hour ago, Maxman said:

I don't think this is the sidewall, I hit a pothole after the snow the roads are a mess. I guess I will find out tomorrow.  :)

Hopefully fix a flat works for me as well, I am going to be trying it hopefully drive the car to the dealer or Firestone.

Most pothole hits cause what is known as a bead leak. The hole hit forces the tire away from the rim where it seals and it never properly reseals. They remove the tire, clean up the rim, remount the tire and you're on your way. Hopefully that's it. That being said some of these new tire sizes like 22" , 24" have such little rubber thickness that they actually are destroyed in a pot hole hit.

Good luck Phil.

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1 hour ago, Thai Jet said:

That's the way most of the car mfg. are going. Less weight than the "donut" (cheaper too) so the MPG is improved. The bitch is if you slice a sidewall. You're SOL. Need to get it towed. I've used that once in my wife's leased Malibu a few year back. Worked well. Got it pumped up got it to the shop, had a plug put in it and all was well. Just needed to replace the fix a flat before we turned in the lease.

Replace the fix a flat?  I guess that might be a thing.  If you ask me what my car is, I will respond 1970 440 'cuda.  It sits in the garage unused, but it came with a "spacesaver" spare.  Basically, an uninflated spare tire to save room in the teeny trunk.  My Dad was the original owner and we have most of the stuff we took off (points ignition, original Carter AVS, chrome wheelwell moldings) but we don't have the inflator for the tire anymore.  Year One sells a non-functional reproduction for $199.  Yikes!  

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1 hour ago, Maxman said:

Thanks.  A bit unrelated but we are taking the RV to Disney in April to see my daughter who is down there for the semester. The tires on the RV only have like 5 or 6 thousand miles on them. But they were installed 7 years ago so I called to replace them. Everyone says dry rot kills RV tires from sitting. Most years we only drive it a few thousand miles but I don't want to mess around so I called to replace them.

Found the receipt from the old owner. Goodyear tires, $545 each, 6 tires total. Ouch.

The tire shop here actually recommended a Cooper tire that is $290 each, installed. That is a lot more reasonable. I didn't feel like dropping $3600 on new RV tires.

I will call Firestone tomorrow and see if they will look at the tire on my car. Otherwise I will bring it to the dealer. Fun stuff.

I think the general rule is 6 years.  I have gone well past that, but you *should* be fine for 6 years, though sometimes the tires have some age on them before you get them.  I usually use Tire Rack or Discount Tire depending on who is cheaper delivered.  Then you have to get them mounted and balanced - so you'd have to add around $20 per.

1 hour ago, Maxman said:

I don't think this is the sidewall, I hit a pothole after the snow the roads are a mess. I guess I will find out tomorrow.  :)

Hopefully fix a flat works for me as well, I am going to be trying it hopefully drive the car to the dealer or Firestone.

Actually, I think the potholes usually do the sidewall.  If you are lucky, it just knocked the bead off and you'd be okay, but if that were the case, you'd be able to just inflate it.  Potholes on the SI Expressway were lighting up car after car a few years ago.  It's been very bad lately. Best of luck to you and your wallet.

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1 minute ago, #27TheDominator said:

Replace the fix a flat?  I guess that might be a thing.  If you ask me what my car is, I will respond 1970 440 'cuda.  It sits in the garage unused, but it came with a "spacesaver" spare.  Basically, an uninflated spare tire to save room in the teeny trunk.  My Dad was the original owner and we have most of the stuff we took off (points ignition, original Carter AVS, chrome wheelwell moldings) but we don't have the inflator for the tire anymore.  Year One sells a non-functional reproduction for $199.  Yikes!  

Yup. It's basically a GM can of goo with a tube on it to transfer it to the tire. Came with the car and the air pump. Had to be full when we turned the car in and I had drained it on her flat.

The spacesaver spare is what we call "the donut". Sounds like a total sweet ride. I'm picturing it in Plum Crazy. WhyTF is it unused ?  Cars are made to be driven brother. Drive it, go to some car cruisers and have a blast with it.

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1 hour ago, Maxman said:

Thanks.  A bit unrelated but we are taking the RV to Disney in April to see my daughter who is down there for the semester. The tires on the RV only have like 5 or 6 thousand miles on them. But they were installed 7 years ago so I called to replace them. Everyone says dry rot kills RV tires from sitting. Most years we only drive it a few thousand miles but I don't want to mess around so I called to replace them.

Found the receipt from the old owner. Goodyear tires, $545 each, 6 tires total. Ouch.

The tire shop here actually recommended a Cooper tire that is $290 each, installed. That is a lot more reasonable. I didn't feel like dropping $3600 on new RV tires.

I will call Firestone tomorrow and see if they will look at the tire on my car. Otherwise I will bring it to the dealer. Fun stuff.

Cooper makes a very nice tire . Your tire guy is steering you in the right direction. (No pun intended )

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32 minutes ago, Thai Jet said:

Yup. It's basically a GM can of goo with a tube on it to transfer it to the tire. Came with the car and the air pump. Had to be full when we turned the car in and I had drained it on her flat.

The spacesaver spare is what we call "the donut". Sounds like a total sweet ride. I'm picturing it in Plum Crazy. WhyTF is it unused ?  Cars are made to be driven brother. Drive it, go to some car cruisers and have a blast with it.

It's not a donut.  A donut is what people call the little skinny ones.  It is a sort of low profile looking tire that is just designed to folded up and sit uninflated in the trunk.  I was just looking for a picture and they are apparently selling for almost a grand.  Yeesh.  It's not FC7 Plum Crazy.  Technically, for Plymouth's they called that In-Violet. Mine is FK5 deep burnt orange metallic.  It sits unused because I haven't had time to do the work.  Wasn't going to take it to Italy, so it hasn't moved since I left.  Now that I have a house with a 2 car garage, I have to drag or drive it down and finish it up.  

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1 hour ago, #27TheDominator said:

Replace the fix a flat?  I guess that might be a thing.  If you ask me what my car is, I will respond 1970 440 'cuda.  It sits in the garage unused, but it came with a "spacesaver" spare.  Basically, an uninflated spare tire to save room in the teeny trunk.  My Dad was the original owner and we have most of the stuff we took off (points ignition, original Carter AVS, chrome wheelwell moldings) but we don't have the inflator for the tire anymore.  Year One sells a non-functional reproduction for $199.  Yikes!  

OT here but, a '70 440 Cuda? (6 pack or 4bbl?) Holy Crap. Damn thing is worth a fortune, at least two Coaches Club PSL's ! At least. 

color me jealous

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Max, Tires have codes that reveal the mfr date. Tell your guy you expect tires made this year or at least very late last year.

For vehicles that sit unused it helps a lot to shield the tires from sunlight. It is damaging to the rubber. There are cheap covers sold for this. It also helps to keep the tire off the pavement using jack stands to prevent flat spots on the tire. Some RVs have hydraulic stands built into them.

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11 hours ago, The Crimson King said:

OT here but, a '70 440 Cuda? (6 pack or 4bbl?) Holy Crap. Damn thing is worth a fortune, at least two Coaches Club PSL's ! At least. 

color me jealous

4 barrel.  Pistol grip and leather with the hockey stick.  It's had Keystone Classics (Klassics?) on it since around 1973.

You're jealous?  He initially ordered a Tor-Red Hemi 4 speed, but they convinced him that he would have trouble dealing with the multiple carbs.  The dealer took him for a ride in his 440 GTX which convinced Dad that was all he needed. FWIW, we probably wouldn't still have it, and it was the only family car for a decade.  Parked on the street in Bensonhurst well into the 1990's.  

Sorry for the hijack, but on topic, @Kleckineau covered some things I meant to for Max.  The age of the tires and flat spotting.  If the car (RV) is going to just sit, leaving all that weight on it in one place will cause flatspotting.  If you aren't going to lift it, at least take it for a short spin.  Anything that sits can have that problem, and as I have stated, I tend to know about letting cars sit!

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2 hours ago, Kleckineau said:

Max, Tires have codes that reveal the mfr date. Tell your guy you expect tires made this year or at least very late last year.

For vehicles that sit unused it helps a lot to shield the tires from sunlight. It is damaging to the rubber. There are cheap covers sold for this. It also helps to keep the tire off the pavement using jack stands to prevent flat spots on the tire. Some RVs have hydraulic stands built into them.

Yeah on the RV tires, I have the exact date. They are basically at the 7 year mark, I am definitely replacing them. Thanks.

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2 minutes ago, Maxman said:

Yeah on the RV tires, I have the exact date. They are basically at the 7 year mark, I am definitely replacing them. Thanks.

Good. What Kleckinau is referring to is that sometimes the new tires that you buy are a few years old by that date.  The 6 year rule of thumb counts whether they are on the vehicle or not, so you want to know the date of manufacture before you buy.  

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Good. What Kleckinau is referring to is that sometimes the new tires that you buy are a few years old by that date.  The 6 year rule of thumb counts whether they are on the vehicle or not, so you want to know the date of manufacture before you buy.  
Yes that's what happened here. the guy I bought the RV from said he bought about the tires in 2013 the receipt says they were actually installed in 2012 and the dot Stamp on the tire is late 2011.

Sent from my XT1650 using JetNation.com mobile app

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DO NOT DO IT!!!!

I had awful experience with run flats.

There are statistics our their that say you're twice as likely to have a sidewall blowout with run flats than regular tires.

One of the main reasons they "run flat" is that the sidewalls are built significantly stiffer then regular tires.  The stiffer sidewall allows the tire to continue to run without damaging the rim when deflated.

The problem with stiffer sidewalls is that they're prone to blowouts when you hit potholes because there's less give.

I went through 6 tires in a 6 month period last winter....sure....most of the cost was covered under warranty, but having your car in the shop for a new tire 1x a month is extremely annoying. 

On the 6th time, I just went in and told them to replace all four....even though two of them were less than 2 months all.

I haven't had a flat in over a year now.

 

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18 hours ago, Maxman said:

Thanks.  A bit unrelated but we are taking the RV to Disney in April to see my daughter who is down there for the semester. The tires on the RV only have like 5 or 6 thousand miles on them. But they were installed 7 years ago so I called to replace them. Everyone says dry rot kills RV tires from sitting. Most years we only drive it a few thousand miles but I don't want to mess around so I called to replace them.

Found the receipt from the old owner. Goodyear tires, $545 each, 6 tires total. Ouch.

The tire shop here actually recommended a Cooper tire that is $290 each, installed. That is a lot more reasonable. I didn't feel like dropping $3600 on new RV tires.

I will call Firestone tomorrow and see if they will look at the tire on my car. Otherwise I will bring it to the dealer. Fun stuff.

Dude i told you all this when you were considering buying that coach!

if you wanna go cheap buy one spare and the right jack and practice jacking and removing all the tires one afternoon so you’re confident you have the tools and know how. Chances are they will last another 2 or 3 years.

or just spend the $$$$$.....

do you actually see cracking on the sidewalls?

my buddy had a class c ford that needed tires. He rented a ford uhaul twice and swapped the wheels in 2 sessions. 80 bucks for near new tires lol

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7 hours ago, #27TheDominator said:

4 barrel.  Pistol grip and leather with the hockey stick.  It's had Keystone Classics (Klassics?) on it since around 1973.

You're jealous?  He initially ordered a Tor-Red Hemi 4 speed, but they convinced him that he would have trouble dealing with the multiple carbs.  The dealer took him for a ride in his 440 GTX which convinced Dad that was all he needed. FWIW, we probably wouldn't still have it, and it was the only family car for a decade.  Parked on the street in Bensonhurst well into the 1990's.  

Sorry for the hijack, but on topic, @Kleckineau covered some things I meant to for Max.  The age of the tires and flat spotting.  If the car (RV) is going to just sit, leaving all that weight on it in one place will cause flatspotting.  If you aren't going to lift it, at least take it for a short spin.  Anything that sits can have that problem, and as I have stated, I tend to know about letting cars sit!

Nice post a pic. Just yesterday i pulled up to a red light with some old geezer in a 440 6 pack challenger

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Run flats give a harsh ride . No likee. Just got new traditional rubber on my bmw and there is a difference. I also carry a full size spare and hydraulic jack. No way im calling roadside assistance i have been turning wrenches almost 40 years and cant go there

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5 hours ago, IndianaJet said:

DO NOT DO IT!!!!

I had awful experience with run flats.

There are statistics our their that say you're twice as likely to have a sidewall blowout with run flats than regular tires.

One of the main reasons they "run flat" is that the sidewalls are built significantly stiffer then regular tires.  The stiffer sidewall allows the tire to continue to run without damaging the rim when deflated.

The problem with stiffer sidewalls is that they're prone to blowouts when you hit potholes because there's less give.

I went through 6 tires in a 6 month period last winter....sure....most of the cost was covered under warranty, but having your car in the shop for a new tire 1x a month is extremely annoying. 

On the 6th time, I just went in and told them to replace all four....even though two of them were less than 2 months all.

I haven't had a flat in over a year now.

 

Don't do what? I already bought the car and apparently run flats are all they offer. It is a lease actually so it isn't like I am going to replace all the tires, not worth it.

I ended up having to buy a new tire today, $200 to replace the tire that was on there. Expensive for a flat. Hopefully it doesn't happen again.

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1 hour ago, HighPitch said:

Dude i told you all this when you were considering buying that coach!

if you wanna go cheap buy one spare and the right jack and practice jacking and removing all the tires one afternoon so you’re confident you have the tools and know how. Chances are they will last another 2 or 3 years.

or just spend the $$$$$.....

do you actually see cracking on the sidewalls?

my buddy had a class c ford that needed tires. He rented a ford uhaul twice and swapped the wheels in 2 sessions. 80 bucks for near new tires lol

I am going to replace them. If I keep the RV for two more years they will still be new enough to have it be a selling point.  :)  I might as well get some mileage out of the new tires first. I don't see any cracking though.

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They had to order the tire for my car....he charged me $200 and I picked it up today. Found out he charged me the wrong price by accident. Installed the run flat which should have been $250 he said. Must have been my lucky day lol.

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