Run Flats

Run flats or self supporting tyres are specially designed tyres that enable you to continue driving when you have a punctured tyre on your vehicle. What are the advantages of Run-flat Tyres?
The driver is warned that they have a puncture via a Tyre Pressure Monitoring device installed on the vehicle. There is no longer the need for you to stop driving straight away and replace the wheel, as you are able to continue driving at a reduced speed on the tyre, even though it may be deflated. Many cars now have different size tyres on the front and rear of a car, and therefore have no spare wheel to prevent you putting an incorrect size
wheel/tyre at the wrong end of the car. Most major manufactures currently produce run flats.

Is a Run Flat Tyre Repair - Safe?

If you buy a brand new BMW or Audi the salesman might have used the Run Flat Tyres (RFT) as a selling point. It has to be said that there are many benefits in running a car on run flat tyres. What they won't tell you is that if you have a small puncture, instead of a £15 or £20 repair bill you could be looking at a bill for £200 to buy a new tyre. The fact is that in the UK at least tyre fitters will not repair a run flat tyre. What makes things worse is if you suffered a puncture with a conventional tyre that could not be repaired the bill could be just half that at £100. So you're paying almost twice as much for the RFT and if you happen to run over the tiniest of nails you'll need to buy a whole new tyre.

Why can't Run Flat Tyres be repaired?

The reason behind this, given by the tyre manufacturers is to do with the thickness of the RFT sidewalls. With a conventional tyre when a technician carries out a puncture repair, one of the first things they will do is to check the tyre for damage, especially damage to the sidewall. This damage is easy to spot as it shows up as creases in the sidewall when the tyre is deflated. With the RFT it is impossible to say for sure if the sidewall has been damaged as the sidewall is so much thicker. Therefore they have no option but to replace the tyre.

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