1960 – Goodyear Double Eagle, contained a built in spare tire, that when the outer tire went flat, caused a thumping sound alerting driver of a bad tire.
In the 70s, injected molded plastic tires were tested.
1978 – Goodyear GS-C SST (Self-Supporting Tire), up to 40 miles at 40 mph.
1980 – Continental tire tried a run-flat design where the rims pointed inwards, to allow the tire to stay on the rim.
1990 – Bridgestone a run-flat for the Porsche 959, later used on Callaway Corvettes as a $5K option.
1994 – EMT’s introduced as an option on C4s.
Craziest idea – 1890, tire contained a small air pump built into the wheel rim, and it worked as a plunger to pump air into the tire if it ran low.:lolg:
There were other tire, within a tire concepts, but too heavy and expensive.
Then there was the foam filled tire, works great a low speed or off road usage.

 

On the subject of non run flats. I have a small nail in my NITTO's that is causing a slight leak. Is it necssary to have the tire removed from the wheel to add a patch along with the plug? Is the plug all that is really needed? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks! :seeya

 

DBRASUE,
A patch applied to the inside of the tire is the best way to go for sure. A plug may hold up perfectly fine, but when dealing with high performance tires on a sports car like the Vette, I recommend you go with the patch every time. :yesnod:

Robert :)

 

ok lets say you lose da run flats, and do not mount the sensors..

WHAT,,,,, does the computer do??

does it go nuts, without the sensors?

if so, how do you stop the warning signals? :(

 

Since the Z06's come with non-funflats, fix-a-flat, etc., do they do without the tire pressure sensors?

 

but,,,, are da puters,,, da same? :confused:

 

Different programs in the same basic computer(s). Not sure, but using a Tech 2 you might be able to turn off the air pressure sensors. Someday, I'll get enoughh time to connect a Tech 2 and check.
However, I will be keeping my air pressure sensors in the non-run flat tires; which is another added safety feature. The sensors do not require run flat tires.

 

WhiteC5, i agree with most of what you say. I thought long and hard about the runflat decision. I have had few flats in the last ten years, but the last one I got was in Nashville at the 50th this summer. I had difficulty in getting it fixed. One Goodyear store near the Hilton, refused to fix it when it was 15 minutes before closing time on Saturday. I begged and even offered to pay an extra $20, but he said it was too close to closing time. If you had asked me that day, I would have said, "NON-runflats forever!!"

Problem is, that my wife drives our C5 a lot and to expect her to get down on all fours (under the right circumstances she doesn't mind) to plug a tire. I also experienced those expansion joints in your state that you mentioned. I was running the original Goodyears when I went to Nashville. It beat me to death.

I have gone over similar pavement out here in West Texas with my new Michelins and they are smooooooooth. I even bought one of the little compact jacks from Germany, and a compact spare from a C4(may require spacer for front). The compact spare almost fits in the middle storage compartment. if GM had made it just a little wider a compact spare would have dropped right in and not consumed the rest of the cargo area. Oh well, I love my new run-flats, but non-rf's would have been cool. That's the price I pay for having a wife who loves Vettes.

 

''I will be keeping my air pressure sensors in the non-run flat tires;''


somebody please, correct me IF,,,, i'm wrong?

but i have been told, dat you will trash the sensor..

if you have a flat, with a regular tire,, and a sensor inside it.. :eek:

 

Thats good enough for me! Better safe than sorry! and Thanks!

:thumbs: Mike

 

To answer a few questions here:

If you don't run the sensors, you'll get a "svc tire mon sys" message everytime you start the car. Just hit the reset button to make it disappear.
You can disable the TPS system with a Tech2, but only on 2001 and newer cars.
Also, Z06's do not come with pressure sensors, but you can install them in Z06 wheels and also acivate the TPS system on a Z with a Tech2...the receiver and display capabilities are already in the car, it just isn't activated.


:cheers:

 

Fix-A-Flat will not work properly with a wheel/tire that has the sensors. It
will render it useless most likely. I replaced my non's with the GS-D3's
and ditched the sensors. The sensor is the valve stem as well.



Fix-A-Flat, AAA, mobile-phone. :cheers:

 

I thought that I heard it was an option, but could not remember.

I stand corrected. :p: I wonder how many C4' peeps went with
those. Most that I see at shows have the spare. :crazy:

 

Not always true, but possible.

Since my sensors are not mounted in the standard fashion, I can just about guarantee they wouldn't get damaged if I got a flat tire.



For 2001 and newer cars, the sensor only costs $46 from a forum vendor. If you trash one in the event of a flat, big deal. It would take a lot of crushed sensors to equal the cost difference of runflat and non-runflat tires.

:cheers:

 

Let me answer dat question.
The chances of actually having a blowout on the road is about the same as winning the lotto. Most flats are caused by picking up a nail, and the sensor will warn me when the pressure drops. I can then immediately pull over to the side of the road. If it happens while the car is parked, I just plug and go.
Fix-a-flat will destroy the diaphragm inside the sensor as well as plug the reference holes, that is why I have a 12-volt air compressor in the car, along with a set of professional plugs. This will keep me going until I get a plug/patch professionally installed. (If the sensor gets trashed, it is only $70.00.)

I have 35 test vehicles that are constantly being driven, they average about 20,000 miles per year each. That is approx. 700,000 miles a year put on these vehicles, and they are running just plain factory installed Firestone tires, guess what, we have had only one flat in the fleet in the past two years. However the tire pressure is checked constantly, so they are never run under-inflated (the biggest cause of blowouts, second is worn tires). So, what are my chances?
As I stated earlier, if I was married, and I allowed my wife to drive my Vette, run flats might be a good insurance policy.
I would love to see some ZO6 owners chime in and tell us about all their blowouts with the Goodyear Supercar tires.

Whatever, it is history now, the GS-D3s are on their way, and the EMTs will be gone on Saturday. Any of you EMT diehards need a couple good front tires cheap, let me know. I'll even through in a decent rear left tire. The rear right is going to an undisclosed location.

 

I am running Nittos on my recently purchased 98 coupe and prefer the ride over the runflats. Question, about your emergency kit (if my cell phone doesn't work) what compressor and plug kit did you buy that fit in the storage area?

I just saw a commercial for a tire repair product called slime. It looked like it would destroy your tire (make it unbalancable after being "slimmed") but it looked thicker than the traditional fix a flat stuff. Anyone have any experience with any of the "insertion" products?

 

Pretty ingenious. :thumbs: Did you cut the valve-stem off the sensor? It looks as if it's just the black plastic of the sensor.

 

I have read the posts on this subject and as recent purchaser of a 01 coupe I have to say the noise (in my car) is most likely these run flat tires. Has anybody had any experience with any of the Dunlops or the Michelin pilot sports? I'm going to most likely change these tires (Good Year run flats) very soon since I would like less noise going down the hwy as well. :steering: :chevy

 

I've heard great things about the Pilot Sports :yesnod:

Can't say anything good or bad about the Dunlops.

:cheers:

 

Someone sent me an instant message in regard to my front tires, I was in the process of answering the message when my Internet Explorer crashed. So, I was not able to answer the IM, and not sure who sent the IM. So, if someone sent me an IM in regard to the front tires, please do so again.