I finally decided to take the plunge and switch to Run Flats on my TSX Wagon. The lack of a spare tire bugged me, and so after reading that the Bridgestone Driveguard feels and responds like a non-RFT, I got a set from Tire Rack. So far, so good. The ride is far better than I imagined. I was expecting a harsh ride and feeling every bump in the road, but has not been the case so far.

 

Good for you - but - any flat that a bottle of slime and the inflator won't fix will also disable a runflat tire.

 

most people do the opposite of you, lvhoke...

they switch from runflats to regular tires.

 

I agree, Run Flats used to be terrible and have a bad reputation. I had a set on a previous BMW 3 series and they were awful. Very harsh ride, but after reading that Bridgestone had spent a lot of time engineering the Driveguard so that it offered a comfortable ride, and reading positive reviews from people who bought them, I decided to give them a try. I'm sure they won't appeal to the performance tire crowd, but as a touring tire, I'm satisfied.

 

The Driveguard is fine 3 season grand touring tire. The downsides are that they don't do very well in snow. Bridgestone has, however turned the tire into a tire that doesn't ride like a run flat or has abysmal tire wear.

 

Yes, I read that the snow traction could be better on the Driveguard, but then again, if it snows we also have a 4 wheel drive vehicle in the family. As far as tire wear, they do have a 60,000 mile treadwear warranty so hopefully they'll be alright.

 

The reviews on Discount Tire are generally positive, but they also come from folks who are replacing oem run flats and those are generally not well liked.

 

This feels like bizzaro-world!

Replacing real tires with run-flats?

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Playing devil's advocate: what is the weight tradeoff of 4 run-flats vs. one spare tire/jack kit in the trunk?

I have no experience with run-flats but I'd assume they're a bit heftier than a regular tire to accommodate running with no pressure. But to what expense?

Any insight?

 

Haha, I know I'm going against the grain by switching to RFTs, but that was the whole point when Bridgestone created the Driveguard. The idea was to make a wide variety of sizes and market it to owners of cars that came from the factory with standard, non-run flat tires. Supposedly, they'll even replace the tire completely if you get an unrepairable flat in the first year or 12K miles.

 

Hmm, not seeing anything on the Bridgestone site supporting the claim from this Car and Driver blog post about replacing the tire if unrepairable during the first year/12K miles.

Bridgestone Launching DriveGuard Run-Flat Replacement Tires ? Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog

Perhaps that is not accurate.

 

Congrats on keeping an open mind. It's obvious that many don't yet know that runflat technology has improved considerably over the years. I've been pleasantly surprised at how much better the tires are that came on my new BMW compared to what I remember of the ones on the Z4 I had 10 years ago. I still not a huge fan, but I no longer feel the automatic urge to replace them.