Have a 2003 with the original Eagle F1 tires. The car only has about 2000 miles or so on it so the tires look like new. I plan to take it for a spin in a few weeks and think it might be a good idea to put on a new set anyway. Looking around it seems this size is not very common. I cannot seem to come up with a summer run flat. The only run flat that looks viable is a Michelin all weather that have a loot of complaints about noise. Is there a better alternative run flat that I am just not seeing or am I OOL.

 

First...Get rid of the current tires NOW!! Those tires are 20 years old. It doesn't matter what milage they have, or how much tread is left, they are NOT SAFE! Tires should be replaced every 6 years(Per tire rack and other sources). Some people might tell you 10 years. Either way, you are way past that. The rubber compound in the tire changes over time. The tires you have will be hard and slick as hell.
Second...You should very seriously consider changing to a non-runflat tire. There are MANY threads on the forum about this. GM put runflats on the base model car, but the Z06 had non-runflats and came with a tire repair kit. Run flat tech has improved over the years. Even so, non-runflats are less expensive, have better traction, are lighter, and quieter than run-flats. They can also potentially be repaired when damaged, whereas runflats usually can't be fixed. Just get a small air compressor, and a patch kit. That along with AAA will take care of any issues that you may have.
Third... If you get non-runflats, there are plenty of options available. Check out tire rack. I personally would recommend the Continental ExtemeContact 2 tires.
Good luck!

 

MWWarlord summed everything up. I’ll just say any tire is good for driving only 2000 miles in 20 years. Try something even cheaper, generals, Bridgestone, BFgoodrich, etc…

 

A lot of misinformation about run-flats will be offered on this forum. The Michelin run- flat is a very good tire to replace those very old tires on your car. I for one would not take my car on the highway or any road with non run- flats. Do your own research and decide what is best for you.

 

Dump those runcraps now !!

 

Which is why you've never tried it for yourself, and experienced the difference firsthand. I'm not saying that the current Michelin run-flats are bad tires. They're not. As I said in my first post, run flat tech has come a long way since the C5 first came out. However, if you ever tried for yourself, you would also see that quality non run flats are actually better.

 

If your looking strictly for run flats I'd stick with the Michelin's. Ran my 98 with 2 sets of the all weather Michelin's without any problem, only got loud when the tread wore down.

I recently switched over to non run flat's, installed Goodyear Exhilarate's, they come in stock C5 sizes, readily available, quiet and run smooth, and competitively priced. Below is some info from Tire rack on pricing.

Good luck with your choice.

https://www.goodyearautoservice.com/...gle-exhilarate

 

The Beast has summed up your enquiry with a solution to that inquiry that is spot on. Just don't drive TOO much!

 

Thanks for all the advice. I will look at the options. Probably bite the bullet and go with the run flats. The F1s also did not get a lot of love, I liked them, well for 2000 miles anyway.

 

The Michelin is much more advanced than the GY. If the F1 is the same that came on the C5. It is light years behind the Michelin

 

I can remember the old Goodyear runflats that came on my C5s. Not the best by any stretch of the imagination. I have Michelin runflats on my C7 and the tires are so much more advanced than the Goodyears. Nothing at all wrong with going with the Michelins, or if you prefer a non-runflat tire.

 

Dump the run flats period. Buy a small compressor and get a decent set of tires.

Generals, the new Goodyear or even the Nittos are better options.

The cold hard reality is you will never have a tire com completely apart or totally flat. The car will warn you and you can inflate the tire with the compressor and get to a place of repair.

Superflow HV40 is a good unit that fit in the small storage and I would recommend the rubber hose option.

Generallybtoday if you get a flat that is catastrophic you have more going on. I just recently had a Michelin losing air. Piece of metal in it and in the middle of Amish country. I pumped it up and went back to find a place for repair. All my vehicles have pumps. I no longer fix tires on the road.

In the C5 it opens the door to much better and lighter tires.

 

Dump the runflats.....dump the runflats..................

There's NO FREAKING WAY, that if I unfortunately incurred a punctured tire, I'd try to fix it while sitting on the side of the road, with all the inattentive drivers whizzing by!!! Maybe, just maybe, the Michelin RFs give up a little bit in overall performance, but realistically speaking, how many of you are trying to drive at 10/10ths, on a public road??

I will agree, however, that it's a shame that Michelin discontinued the Pilot Sport, summer tread, RFs, and replaced them with an "all season" tread pattern.....

 

Not all flats are created equal!! To say anyone will never have a total flat is plain wrong. I ran over a 3/8" bolt, which poked a good 1/4" hole in the tread. No small compressor is going to fill a flat tire like I had. I dont have runflats, and I don't want them. But that's one situation that it would have been nice to have them. As I said, even with that situation, I just called the wrecker, and a half hour later I was at Belle Tire, getting a new tire mounted. Discount Tire Online is also a good source...

 

Grinder lets put this into real world context.

There was a time you could see multiple flats with tires. The old cars with Duel side mounts were not just for styling. Old bias and tube tires regularly went flat.

Today with most radial tires they have diminished tires going totally flat to a very rare happening. Yes it still on a rare occasion can happen but most people can on one hand count the number of total flats they have had and not even use a thumb or pinky finger.

Today it is common to get something in a tire and just have a slow leak. Generally it can be driven home or to a shop for repair. Once an item gets into the tread it is not always easy to have it just come out of the claws of the steel belts.

The case with the bolt you had was a rare case and that will never be totally eliminated but in this day of cell phones a flat bed can be used to remove the car if that rare happening occurs.

Runflat tires are a compromise even if they are not all equal. They are heavier and more expensive so there is only a small market for them. This is why you see little movement in this segment. Most people play the odds and if they lose they just call a flat bed at worse.

In 40 plus years of driving I have had several punctures only one that could not be driven home.

I also for a number of years when I was in School and Collage worked at a shop repairing tires. Most were still on the car not in the trunk.

The greatest issue today is that if you do have a major failure it may take a day to get a tire you need. So many sizes and types of tires today leave most shops unable to stock everything.

But the reality of today is a total flat tire is not a common thing and most of us can get to where we need to be with a pump and get the tire repaired.

Even today if there is a spare there is only one. Why because it is rare to get a flat and even more rare to get two.

Another reality is many spares are flat any ways. I have found helping people with flats most have a spare but no air in it. Why because a flat tire is rare and not even on their minds anymore.

 

I've had several punctures. That even includes one with a large bolt. However, I left the bolt in place, and the tire did not catastrophically deflate. I was able to get the car back home, and was even able to refill the tire the next day to get it to a nearby shop.

 

I still have the original F1's on the car. They seemed fine when new and actually seem fine even 20 years old. If the newer Michelin all seasons ZP are better than the F1's, which I was pretty happy with so far, they will be good enough for me for another 10 years. I plan to dig the car out of the back of the garage within couple of months, swap out the fuel and take it to the tire store. I will probably change the fluids while I have it out. Then I guess its back into hibernation.

 

Cool.... Tires are a subject Every one is an expert dealing with...
You know best. 🙄

 

I've been a licensed driver since 1968, and in that time, I've had 3 flat tires. The first one was purposely caused by some "a-hole" who let the air out of one of my tires, while I was in the theater, while on a date. That was in 1971, and fortunately, I had a spare tire, although it was a PITA changing the tire while wearing fairly decent clothes. The other two flats I had, happened when I ran over unavoidable road debris that was kicked up and into my path, by the car in front of me.

Those two later incidents resulted in severe cuts in the tire, and no amount of super glue, duct tape, fix-a-flat, or plugs, combined with a portable compressor, could repair those tires. Again, I was fortunate to have a spare tire in those two cars. And one of those flats happened while on the way to work, so I didn't have 2 hours to wait for a tow truck.

Just something to think of.......

 

The phrase real world was actually used. Just in the last couple years I have seen real world flats. Complete total lose of air. And the real world reason for not liking RFs are always in the word expensive. I was told I didn’t have experience with non RFs and it is true. But I don’t come on and tell people not to use them. The people that tell everyone how terrible RFs are. How much experience if any do they have with the newest RF technology. I wonder.