I admire BMWs and always have for their immense innovation and willingness to push the boundaries of design and technology.
I even went against all the backlash that the company faced and has faced since 2004 when they began fitting their vehicles with Run-Flat tyres.
Essentially, Run-Flats are fitted with far thicker sidewalls than conventional tyres. This allows – by BMWs claims – a car with a flat tyre to be driven up to 80km/h and for a distance of 150km while the driver remains in complete control.
The advantages are clear; no need to stop on the N2 at 3am in the morning and climb beneath your car in an ungainly fashion to locate the spare. Safety is a major concern for many and Run-Flats, in principle, eliminate this worry.
I would be willing to drive a car with a slightly harsher ride quality (due to the stiffer rubber) and to pay more for repairs to enjoy the luxury and sheer convenience of this technology.
However, the owner of a BMW X5 recently wrote into CAR magazine. He was on the long road, got a flat tyre and, unfortunately, ran into disaster.
The tyre deteriorated until it no longer existed. The desperate owner still pushed on to reach some help, but was eventually left stranded 150km away from anything with an immobile vehicle and a ruined alloy wheel (which will probably end up costing close to 10k, if not more, to replace).
So, in conclusion, and I absolutely loathe to admit this, but BMW has gotten ahead of itself here. Perhaps Run-Flats will work in other parts of the world where shorter distances are covered. In South Africa, however, BMW (or any other manufacturer) simply doesn’t have the coverage or infrastructure to send a 24 hour emergency support team out everytime someone gets stuck in the Karoo after having passed their 150km limit.
I even went against all the backlash that the company faced and has faced since 2004 when they began fitting their vehicles with Run-Flat tyres.
Essentially, Run-Flats are fitted with far thicker sidewalls than conventional tyres. This allows – by BMWs claims – a car with a flat tyre to be driven up to 80km/h and for a distance of 150km while the driver remains in complete control.
The advantages are clear; no need to stop on the N2 at 3am in the morning and climb beneath your car in an ungainly fashion to locate the spare. Safety is a major concern for many and Run-Flats, in principle, eliminate this worry.
I would be willing to drive a car with a slightly harsher ride quality (due to the stiffer rubber) and to pay more for repairs to enjoy the luxury and sheer convenience of this technology.
However, the owner of a BMW X5 recently wrote into CAR magazine. He was on the long road, got a flat tyre and, unfortunately, ran into disaster.
The tyre deteriorated until it no longer existed. The desperate owner still pushed on to reach some help, but was eventually left stranded 150km away from anything with an immobile vehicle and a ruined alloy wheel (which will probably end up costing close to 10k, if not more, to replace).
So, in conclusion, and I absolutely loathe to admit this, but BMW has gotten ahead of itself here. Perhaps Run-Flats will work in other parts of the world where shorter distances are covered. In South Africa, however, BMW (or any other manufacturer) simply doesn’t have the coverage or infrastructure to send a 24 hour emergency support team out everytime someone gets stuck in the Karoo after having passed their 150km limit.
thank you for wasting our time...
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