Being sort of new again to ownership of a corvette, I could not answer a question my wife posed. I have a screw in a rear tire. Going to take it to a tire shop that is on Tire Rack's list of shops to get it repaired, I hope. She asked how far can you drive on run flats if you have an issue. I told her I thought it was about 50 miles. She thinks that is pitiful. We go to Deadwood SD and when you get on I90 there is not a lot out west. So what should my response be to her? It seems the pro/con about run flats is about 50/50 on here.

 

I may be mistaken, but I think the criterion GM gave to Goodyear was for 100 mile at zero pressure operation. That may be why the tires are so lousy. Most are only 50 miles I think, including Bridgestone and Michelin.

 

Run flat or not, Keep a small compressor in your rear compartment. If you have a nail and a slow leak, you can just use the compressor to air it up as often as needed to get you where you want to go. Just don't let the pressure drop too low. Set the DIC so you can see the leaking tire and drive on. As long as you do not have a major blow out, you can drive this way as long as you want to. You can also shoot some tire slime in there and stop the slow leak. Either way, without a blow out you will not be stranded.

 

Once u put the slime in the tire it's done.

Robin

 

 

Not sure what you mean by this, but am working on this theory: The slime will hopefully heal the leak.

If it is a slime with air pressure, it will be enough to inflate your tire as well.

Either way, make sure that stuff is cleaned out of there as soon as you get to a tire facility which can properly plug/patch your tire.

 

The "typical" official word from the tire manufacturers is not to drive over 55 mph for approx 50 miles with no air in the runflat tire.

Having said that, GM tested a vette running at over 100 mph for something like 500 miles, and all 4 tires were flat, and it did not rupture the tires. I posted it out here years ago in a thread.

The key is not to get a runflat tire really hot when it is out of air. You could travel across the country if you went a ways, let it cool down then did it again.

With a regular tire, you have almost certainly ruined your rim if you drive it with no air, and it is very difficult for it to be towed. Sooooo, if you ruin your tire, you are at the mercy of the hauler service, or you leave it on the side of the road, and take the tire and rim to be repaired/replaced.

I drive mine daily, and I currently have non-run flats, but they are noisier and don't handle near as well as the Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position runflats I had on previously, so I'm going back to them whenever these wear out.

I won't take my vette on any trip overnight or over a couple hundred miles, just because I fear of having a flat away from my home area.

With runflats, I didn't bat an eye to go on 1,000 plus mile trips with it.

As with everything, you will get pros and cons both ways, so in the end, it is up to you and your wife to decide what tires are best for you

About the only universal agreement out here on the corvette forum is 99% of the folks do NOT go back with Goodyear tires on their vette.

With runflats, it's usually Bridgestone or Michelins for us wider tire (GS/Z06) cars and many like Firestone and Continentals

For non-runflats, many like Hankook and Nittos, along with the Bridgestones and Michelins.

There are literally thousands of tire threads out here, so happy reading

 

To add to that, I have been told (maybe told wrong though) that you cannot patch runflats. When you get a hole in the tire it must be replaced. Not sure why or what the difference is in the tires other than the sidewalls being stronger.

 

That is wrong, I had a hole in my runflats and they plugged and patched it and I ran another 5000 miles on it.

 

That's pretty much the story. Non-run flats are smoother and quieter but you have no protection that a run-flat provides. It is a roll of the dice based on what is more important to you.

 

I will need to look into that a bit more then. I had 2 shops tell me runflats can't be patched, only replaced. That is the main reason why I was staying away from them. Couldn't see buying a new tire for just a small puncture in a otherwise perfectly good tire.

 

Yea, I've had several runflats patched over the years, and never had an issue, on Goodyear, Michelin and Bridgestone brands. Discount Tire and my Chevy dealer did them. It's a special patch, that looks like a mushroom, it goes inside the tire, and the "stem" protrudes out of the hole. It is trimmed even with the tread, and you are good to go

They cannot patch it if it is in the "side zone" of the tire, but that is also true for non run flats.

 

They can be repaired. I think the more miles you drive flat the less chance it will be repairable. At a reasonable speed and no plan to repair it you could drive a long way. Just check it to see if it is getting hot. A non runflat you can go 0 miles and chance wheel damage just pulling off the road.

 

If your shop tells you that run-flats cannot be repaired (assuming the hole is not within 2" of a sidewall) they are trying to sell you a new tire unnecessarily. All runflat manufacturers warranties allow for repairing their tires so make the shop show you in writing why they will not repair the tire or find a more reputable shop.

 

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True dat, unless damage is in sidewall in which case it's cooked.

Not Bridgestone.
Went to the dealer I'd bought my PPs from, asked they repair a tire.
Nope, told me they'd called Bridgestone & were told 'No'.
Told a repair compromises Z rating leading to potential liability issues.
What they said.
Didn't want unevenly worn rear tires on a Z06, felt between a rock & a hard place so had to buy *2* new rears. Nicked me plenty. Thieves.

You're right, should've let my fingers do the walking & found a shop willing to patch a damned tire.

 

Like others have said a run flat CAN defiantly be repaired with a patch from the inside. Almost all tire companies WILL NOT stand by a high performance that has been repaired. Our tires are rated for 180mph for a sustained amount time. Regular driving won't produce the strain and temps that would render a tire unsafe. That said I wouldn't run a compromised tire in any short of track event, but for the street it will be fine.

 

If you get them through Tire Rack, you get free road hazard warranty, so if they cannot patch it, then you get a new tire.

 

Print this and keep it on your car. From Tire Rack, who sells all of these brands. The run flat repair criteria from each manufacturer for those tire shops who do not know what they are talking about.
Sorry about the wrinkled photo. It was in my rear cubby. You can get a fresh copy at www.tirerack.com

 

This is good to know. Due for a new set this year and was avoiding runflats for that very reason. A local tire shop (that doesn't sell runflats) said they couldn't be patched. They tried selling me some Coopers. I checked with another shop that does sell runflats and they also said they couldn't be patched. They didn't have the size I needed and offered to order a set of Yokahamas. After seeing the post by HBsurfer, maybe they were only familar with that brand since they are not allowed to be repaired per manf. Now i can start researching some new runflat brands.

 

This logic will apply to a non run flats also. Any HP tire would not be speed rated after a repair.