Runflats Question
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
Runflats Question
I just found out my tires were out of alignment, causing the inside of both front tires to wear down. I planned on replacing all 4 wheels, tires, and getting my calipers done next summer, so I was thinking about just buying some cheap front tires to get me through the rest of the summer (I'm in Chicagoland, so I only have about 2 months of driving left before I put it away). I hear the runflats are a pain to take off and I really don't want to try to take them off next summer (If I bought 4 new F1's now) to put on new wheels. My question is; has anyone replaced their tires without runflats, is there a noticeable difference, and would there be a problem with runflats on the back and regular tires on the front? If anyone has tried this, some cheap suggestions for tires would be appreciated, because I don't know squat about tires other that I always by the same replacements? Thanks!
Team Owner
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 82,175
Likes: 1,319
From: McKinney TX
St. Jude Donor '21-'22-'23-'24
All I know to tell you is that, based on answers to this question in the past, DO NOT mix runflats & non-runflats.
Others here will probably chime in and tell you why not.
Others here will probably chime in and tell you why not.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
From what I've read here on the forum, getting the runflats off the wheel can cause damage to the wheel? I've seen many pictures posted of scratched wheels for sale and the reasoning behind it is that getting the runflats off requires a lot of work. I just called a "chain" tire store and only cetain locations have that ability to deal with runflats. I'm assuming specific equipment is needed?
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 46,295
Likes: 2,596
From: Northern, VA
St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
Here's some interesting reading for you.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...run-flats.html
Re taking off or putting on runflats, it requires good equipment, not necessarily the absolute best and newest. The operator and his knowledge and ability is/are key. If he's on some sort of production schedule or deadline, your wheels will suffer. Really.
My installer who took off my runflats at 4K miles, put them on other wheels, and just replaced in July my rear two tires said this: as the tires age, get hot thru heat cycles, lose tread, and get harder it is more difficult to remove a runflat compared to putting on a new runflat. He further said if you look at wheels most of any little nicks or damage is done taking off old tires (which my 4K mile tires were not considered to be by him), not putting on new tires. Those are quotes from him and he's been doing it a long time.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...run-flats.html
Re taking off or putting on runflats, it requires good equipment, not necessarily the absolute best and newest. The operator and his knowledge and ability is/are key. If he's on some sort of production schedule or deadline, your wheels will suffer. Really.
My installer who took off my runflats at 4K miles, put them on other wheels, and just replaced in July my rear two tires said this: as the tires age, get hot thru heat cycles, lose tread, and get harder it is more difficult to remove a runflat compared to putting on a new runflat. He further said if you look at wheels most of any little nicks or damage is done taking off old tires (which my 4K mile tires were not considered to be by him), not putting on new tires. Those are quotes from him and he's been doing it a long time.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,684
Likes: 107
From: Opelika Alabama
I don't know where you guys read ANY of that BS, RF's mount and dismount like any other tire! as long as you keep them in front or rear pairs it is just fine running them with reg tire's. changed my fronts long before the rears, and in answer to the OP, your tire wear on the inside of the tire is caused by the WIDTH not the alinment, ALL cars with front tire's this wide will wear the inside's first
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 5,515
Likes: 646
From: Silicon Valley and Yosemite, CA
I don't know where you guys read ANY of that BS, RF's mount and dismount like any other tire! as long as you keep them in front or rear pairs it is just fine running them with reg tire's. changed my fronts long before the rears, and in answer to the OP, your tire wear on the inside of the tire is caused by the WIDTH not the alinment, ALL cars with front tire's this wide will wear the inside's first
Both Vettes, have had RF's and custom wheels and have never been scratched. In fact I just got new Pilot Sports put on today and the wheels are still perfect.
I am not sure I agree 100% with the alignment versus width comment, My C5 had wider tires on the front than the C6 and they are wearing perfectly even, with the alignment within spec.
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Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,642
Likes: 9
From: Dalllas/Ft Worth Area TX
Corvette from Assembly Plant has "Agressive" alignment.
The alignment of the car from the assembly plant is very aggressive and set up for very competitive driving and will wear on the insides of the tires. When I spent three (3) actual days in the plant with two (2) Corvette engineers, they also brought this to my attention. You will be lucky to get 20k miles on the inside whereas the outside has at least 10k miles left on them. What you probably need is a standard "daily driver" alignment for maximum tire wear. Check with your dealer and see what type of alignment they do, agressive, non-agressive, etc. There have been threads on CF giving the different adjustments, use search to find them.
As for different types of tires, you could UNBALANCE THE CAR ON AGGRESSIVE DRIVING. That is why you match the tires. It seems unusual to buy an expensive high performance car and put cheaper non-performance tires on it to unbalance it. You are asking for problems, many people have spun their cars out and wrecked them, some even totaled them with the correct tires.
As for different types of tires, you could UNBALANCE THE CAR ON AGGRESSIVE DRIVING. That is why you match the tires. It seems unusual to buy an expensive high performance car and put cheaper non-performance tires on it to unbalance it. You are asking for problems, many people have spun their cars out and wrecked them, some even totaled them with the correct tires.
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 103
Likes: 0
From: Shelbyville Indiana
From what I've read here on the forum, getting the runflats off the wheel can cause damage to the wheel? I've seen many pictures posted of scratched wheels for sale and the reasoning behind it is that getting the runflats off requires a lot of work. I just called a "chain" tire store and only cetain locations have that ability to deal with runflats. I'm assuming specific equipment is needed?
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 103
Likes: 0
From: Shelbyville Indiana
I don't know where you guys read ANY of that BS, RF's mount and dismount like any other tire! as long as you keep them in front or rear pairs it is just fine running them with reg tire's. changed my fronts long before the rears, and in answer to the OP, your tire wear on the inside of the tire is caused by the WIDTH not the alinment, ALL cars with front tire's this wide will wear the inside's first
Pro
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 704
Likes: 1
From: Lexington KY
I am a big RF hater, so let that be known up front.
I got a screw in one of my front RF tires, and NOBODY would even attempt to patch it except for Goodyear. I go to get the tire patched, and they tell me that my sidewall is damaged, and the RF tire will no longer work if I lose pressure so they want to change it with a new one. They even admitted that it was a defect in the tire, but they still wanted to charge me big bucks! I said screw you guys and luckily found non-RF Goodyear Eagle Supercar F1 tires for the front 2 wheels on clearance at Wal-Mart. I picked them up and now the front tires ride smoother and bite harder in the curves.
So to sum all of that up, yes I do have regular tires on my front wheels and run-flats on my back wheels. The combo works better than 4 run flats did, and I'm sure it will work even better when I get those god awful run flats off of my rear wheels too. Get regular tires, buy a bottle of fix a flat, and never look back!
I got a screw in one of my front RF tires, and NOBODY would even attempt to patch it except for Goodyear. I go to get the tire patched, and they tell me that my sidewall is damaged, and the RF tire will no longer work if I lose pressure so they want to change it with a new one. They even admitted that it was a defect in the tire, but they still wanted to charge me big bucks! I said screw you guys and luckily found non-RF Goodyear Eagle Supercar F1 tires for the front 2 wheels on clearance at Wal-Mart. I picked them up and now the front tires ride smoother and bite harder in the curves.
So to sum all of that up, yes I do have regular tires on my front wheels and run-flats on my back wheels. The combo works better than 4 run flats did, and I'm sure it will work even better when I get those god awful run flats off of my rear wheels too. Get regular tires, buy a bottle of fix a flat, and never look back!
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,642
Likes: 9
From: Dalllas/Ft Worth Area TX
Laughing, HAHAHA
I am a big RF hater, so let that be known up front.
I got a screw in one of my front RF tires, and NOBODY would even attempt to patch it except for Goodyear. I go to get the tire patched, and they tell me that my sidewall is damaged, and the RF tire will no longer work if I lose pressure so they want to change it with a new one. They even admitted that it was a defect in the tire, but they still wanted to charge me big bucks! I said screw you guys and luckily found non-RF Goodyear Eagle Supercar F1 tires for the front 2 wheels on clearance at Wal-Mart. I picked them up and now the front tires ride smoother and bite harder in the curves.
So to sum all of that up, yes I do have regular tires on my front wheels and run-flats on my back wheels. The combo works better than 4 run flats did, and I'm sure it will work even better when I get those god awful run flats off of my rear wheels too. Get regular tires, buy a bottle of fix a flat, and never look back!
I got a screw in one of my front RF tires, and NOBODY would even attempt to patch it except for Goodyear. I go to get the tire patched, and they tell me that my sidewall is damaged, and the RF tire will no longer work if I lose pressure so they want to change it with a new one. They even admitted that it was a defect in the tire, but they still wanted to charge me big bucks! I said screw you guys and luckily found non-RF Goodyear Eagle Supercar F1 tires for the front 2 wheels on clearance at Wal-Mart. I picked them up and now the front tires ride smoother and bite harder in the curves.
So to sum all of that up, yes I do have regular tires on my front wheels and run-flats on my back wheels. The combo works better than 4 run flats did, and I'm sure it will work even better when I get those god awful run flats off of my rear wheels too. Get regular tires, buy a bottle of fix a flat, and never look back!
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,827
Likes: 5
From: Chino Hills CA
I just found out my tires were out of alignment, causing the inside of both front tires to wear down. I planned on replacing all 4 wheels, tires, and getting my calipers done next summer, so I was thinking about just buying some cheap front tires to get me through the rest of the summer (I'm in Chicagoland, so I only have about 2 months of driving left before I put it away). I hear the runflats are a pain to take off and I really don't want to try to take them off next summer (If I bought 4 new F1's now) to put on new wheels. My question is; has anyone replaced their tires without runflats, is there a noticeable difference, and would there be a problem with runflats on the back and regular tires on the front? If anyone has tried this, some cheap suggestions for tires would be appreciated, because I don't know squat about tires other that I always by the same replacements? Thanks!
Race Director
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 13,298
Likes: 14
From: Somers NY
I have GoodYear RF Supercar tires on the front, and on weekends I go to the Drag Strip and use Mickey Thompson Drag Radials.. (they are NOT Run Flat) I have to drive 100 miles each way to and from the track... & NEVER had any type of handling problem... with RF in the front and regaler tires (Drag Radials) on the rear..
In fact I stopped changing back to the RF on the rear, & leave the DR's on all the time until the racing season is over.
I do NOT drive aggressively on the street, but on the drag strip my car runs right around 115 mph and it handles just fine.. admittedly I'm NOT taking any corners at speed over 25 mph...
On the street with the mixed tires I have seen .87 on my G meter on my Heads Up display.. & the car felt just fine....
In fact I stopped changing back to the RF on the rear, & leave the DR's on all the time until the racing season is over.
I do NOT drive aggressively on the street, but on the drag strip my car runs right around 115 mph and it handles just fine.. admittedly I'm NOT taking any corners at speed over 25 mph...
On the street with the mixed tires I have seen .87 on my G meter on my Heads Up display.. & the car felt just fine....
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4,642
Likes: 9
From: Dalllas/Ft Worth Area TX
Intermediate
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
From: Elizabeth CO
The alignment of the car from the assembly plant is very aggressive and set up for very competitive driving and will wear on the insides of the tires. When I spent three (3) actual days in the plant with two (2) Corvette engineers, they also brought this to my attention. You will be lucky to get 20k miles on the inside whereas the outside has at least 10k miles left on them. What you probably need is a standard "daily driver" alignment for maximum tire wear. Check with your dealer and see what type of alignment they do, agressive, non-agressive, etc. There have been threads on CF giving the different adjustments, use search to find them.
As for different types of tires, you could UNBALANCE THE CAR ON AGGRESSIVE DRIVING. That is why you match the tires. It seems unusual to buy an expensive high performance car and put cheaper non-performance tires on it to unbalance it. You are asking for problems, many people have spun their cars out and wrecked them, some even totaled them with the correct tires.
As for different types of tires, you could UNBALANCE THE CAR ON AGGRESSIVE DRIVING. That is why you match the tires. It seems unusual to buy an expensive high performance car and put cheaper non-performance tires on it to unbalance it. You are asking for problems, many people have spun their cars out and wrecked them, some even totaled them with the correct tires.
Ron
