Run Flat Tires - What are the issues/concerns
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,074
Likes: 296
From: San Francisco CA
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,074
Likes: 296
From: San Francisco CA
But those tires are shot
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 6,885
Likes: 2
From: Corpus Christi TX
I really don't think my driving habits are any different with this new car vs my old car. Now, the new car might very well have a vaster tq area of the powerband, but a h/c 3.90 geared ls6 is no slouch. I could easily rotate the tires at will from a roll in 2nd gear (and I did many times 
). my preliminary conclusion is runflats are crap for mileage 
). my preliminary conclusion is runflats are crap for mileage
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 53,535
Likes: 77
From: Arizona
My suspicion is that tire wear and mileage is most dependent on the rubber compound itself where it meets the road surface. Soft and grippy rubber will simply wear out faster. It may well be that the harder sidewalls of RF tires hasten the wear, but the difference in mileage reported between the two GY C6 runflats makes me think that the rubber (and possibly the tread pattern) itself is the main factor.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,837
Likes: 4
It weighs about 5 lb and fits into one of the rear compartments with enough room left for flashlight, pucks, wheel lock tool, etc. It has good instructions right on the unit, should be pretty easy to use even on a dark and stormy night.
Its supposed to fix a hole up to 1/4 inch, and the tire is good for 100 miles at 50 MPH or something like that - its not a permanent repair. The sealant is latex-based, once dried it can be peeled off the tire, wheel and sensor (of course you have to take the tire off to do this).
The sealant is good for about 4 years, then you replace that by getting a refill module - about $25 as I recall. Of course it works as a compressor and tire guage without using the sealant.
As to being worth the risk, well, I figure that there are a number of things that can go wrong, and there's only so much point in carrying backups. After all, we don't carry a spare engine or transmission! Or battery, which might be useful more often on these cars
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 70
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta area GA
I just don't like the OEM EMTs because they always feel so greasy to me. They are not confidence inspiring at all. I think it may be that even though they are supposed to be super soft (as a summer tire/high performance tire usually is) the super stiffness of the sidewalls with the run-flats cancels it out. They grip well, but they don't grib great. Seems like to me anyway. I've only had my car a month or so; but I do Autocross so I do understand feedback to some degree....
Insofar as wear is concerned... It's a high performance summer tire anyway so they are not for wear.
Insofar as wear is concerned... It's a high performance summer tire anyway so they are not for wear.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 448
Likes: 0
From: Dallas, TX
Here's a really, really dumb question: Did the GM engineers design the suspension to work best with stiff side walls as is the case on run-flats? In other words, isn't a stiffer side-wall good for cornering cuz it won't roll in on the rim as much?
Obviously, I don't know shiot about why my C6 handles as well as it does.
Obviously, I don't know shiot about why my C6 handles as well as it does.
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Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,074
Likes: 296
From: San Francisco CA
Here's a really, really dumb question: Did the GM engineers design the suspension to work best with stiff side walls as is the case on run-flats? In other words, isn't a stiffer side-wall good for cornering cuz it won't roll in on the rim as much?
Obviously, I don't know shiot about why my C6 handles as well as it does.
Obviously, I don't know shiot about why my C6 handles as well as it does.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 25,025
Likes: 2,716
From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
Here's a really, really dumb question: Did the GM engineers design the suspension to work best with stiff side walls as is the case on run-flats? In other words, isn't a stiffer side-wall good for cornering cuz it won't roll in on the rim as much?
Obviously, I don't know shiot about why my C6 handles as well as it does.
Obviously, I don't know shiot about why my C6 handles as well as it does.
BTW, the run flat distances at 55 mph for the C5 were:
100 miles without any additional damage to the tires, usually repairable
200 miles if needed, but the tire is usually junk at that point.
I believe the C6 runflats are just half of that- 50 miles/ 100 miles. That's how the got the ride so much better than the C5.
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,074
Likes: 296
From: San Francisco CA
thanks he is quite a handful...aka: The pidler
