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So I bought new Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 tires two weeks ago. Decided to go with a non run-flat for the cost, handling, ride etc. I'm 55 years old and have had TWO flat tires my entire life, so what are the odds I would get a flat I said to myself. On my way to a Corvette show this morning I get the RR Tire Low message on my DIC. Pull into the show and parked and find a sheet metal screw in the tread. Needless to say, the tire slowly went flat during the show. Glad I had the foresight and the past experiences shared here from other forum members to buy a small compressor and a bottle of Slime. Someone else at the show had a patch kit so I was able to pull the screw out, patch the hole and fill the tire back up to get home. All is well, and now I'll be prepared for it if it ever happens again.
Tires today are very well made and it is rare that you will have a catastrophic blow out. Of course anything is possible. But for most, working Tire pressure sensors and a compressor will get you home, IM 71 years old and in poor health, and I would not worry at all about a slowly leaking tire. IM not talking about jacking the car up removing the tire, and fixing it on the side of the road. I'm talking about getting a low tire pressure warning @ 25 psi, then attaching my compressor without removing the nail or screw, and pumping the tire up to 45 psi, then continuing on my journey home or to a safe haven. If the tire falls below 25 psi again its a simple matter to pump it up again and get another 20 /30 minutes further down the road.
my reasoning is why run tires that ride and handle like crap for the simple chance you might get a flat tire ???? I would gladly drive thousands of miles for the ride I have, verses the chance I have a flat !!!!!!
Try plugging a run flat. My wife's Goodyear run flat took a large screw which I plugged on the road since we were a good distance from home. It is much easier to plug a non EMT tire or a Kumho EMT I can tell you from experience. The OEM GY EMT is a very tough tire to plug and then you still need to have it patched with a special metal reinforced runflat plug. Most other EMT tires are not supposed to be repaired. You are better off with non EMT tires imo. Like E-T stated, todays non runflat tires are very well made.
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Runflats have their benefits, but I've been running non-runflats for close to 13 years on C5s and have not had a flat. Our two DDs have non-runflats and no flats either. Yes, the chance is always there that a puncture can occur, but IMO the probability is very slim. The handling, ride, low noise and cost of non-runflats make them worth it to me.
I have run non- runflat tires for the last 7 years and prefer them. My one incident so far is shown in the picture. Two cans of flat fix got me 1/4 mile, which fortunately was as far as I had to go to get home. This is why I keep a worn front and a worn rear tire in my basement.
I wouldn't even worry about running nonflats without compressors, plug kits, etc... just think of your car like a 4 wheel drive vehicle where the spare is useless anyways
I wouldn't even worry about running nonflats without compressors, plug kits, etc... just think of your car like a 4 wheel drive vehicle where the spare is useless anyways
I have used the spare on my 4 wheel drive vehicle a couple of times. What do you mean?
What do you mean someone at the show had a patch kit and you patched it? Do you mean you put a plug in the hole? To repair it with a patch you must break the bead and get to the inside of the tire, most tire shops take the tire completely off the rim to do this correctly. You should not rely on the plug as a permanent fix, bring it to a tire shop and get it permanently repaired with a proper patch.
As an anecdotal story, I was driving my brother to the local airport in my Saturn Vue when I discovered a near flat from a deck screw that I had run over and had penetrated my tire. Luckily I had all kinds of boat stuff with me in my trunk and I gobbed up the screw with some Boatlife polyurethane caulk and screwed it all the way in and then filled the tire up at a local gas station. I forgot about that for many months and the tire held air just fine, the deck screw wore down flat from riding on the road, and I eventually got it properly repaired with an interior patch. Sometimes it's better to leave the nail or screw in the tire rather than opening the hole by pulling it out, if you have no way to plug the hole.
I'm glad you guys are happy with your none runflats. And when you compare them to Goodyear run flats you are correct. But they are not the only run flat out there. I run the Michelin that are head and shoulders ahead of the others. 18 years with the run flats and I won't leave home without them.
My neighbor called me about 9pm one night couple weeks ago....asked me if I had a tire to fit his car. Seems he was out in his c6 (w/ non run flats)ran over a razor blade or similar...lost a rear tire...
Fortunately, I had recently changed out my c7 rims/wheels, and the old ones were in my garage....they fit.
What do you mean someone at the show had a patch kit and you patched it? Do you mean you put a plug in the hole? To repair it with a patch you must break the bead and get to the inside of the tire, most tire shops take the tire completely off the rim to do this correctly. You should not rely on the plug as a permanent fix, bring it to a tire shop and get it permanently repaired with a proper patch.
As an anecdotal story, I was driving my brother to the local airport in my Saturn Vue when I discovered a near flat from a deck screw that I had run over and had penetrated my tire. Luckily I had all kinds of boat stuff with me in my trunk and I gobbed up the screw with some Boatlife polyurethane caulk and screwed it all the way in and then filled the tire up at a local gas station. I forgot about that for many months and the tire held air just fine, the deck screw wore down flat from riding on the road, and I eventually got it properly repaired with an interior patch. Sometimes it's better to leave the nail or screw in the tire rather than opening the hole by pulling it out, if you have no way to plug the hole.
Yep, meant to say plug kit. Gotta give a shout out to Discount Tire. Took the tire there today and they repaired it at no cost even though I didn't buy the tires there.
my reasoning is why run tires that ride and handle like crap for the simple chance you might get a flat tire ???? I would gladly drive thousands of miles for the ride I have, verses the chance I have a flat !!!!!!
That's the best summary I've ever heard. Carry a plug T and a cig-lighter compressor, and you're golden.
Don't have second thoughts, just a risk you take. How many people out there with cars that didn't have run flats go about their business every day? I ask that because how many of those people either can't change a tire themselves anyway OR, as in my personal case once, would have to perform some kind of surgery on their vehicle simply to remove the spare tire (my wife's 05 pacifica got a flat in our driveway fortunately, because I had to cut the spare tire and mechanism out from under the car due to the release mechanism having rusted to the point of not working).
Point is, just roll with it, and enjoy the smoother, quieter, better ride and performance of a regular non run flat tire.
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Second thoughts on running non-runflat tires
