Not Again!
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 7,382
Likes: 3,501
From: Lake Havasu City Arizona
Not Again!
Why the picture? My wife and I were down in Mexico yesterday for one of our spirited driving adventures. Uh oh! Tire pressure warning. The tire was out of air in about 5 minutes. Sheet metal screw of some sort in the drivers side rear. Drove her back to Lake Havasu Discount Tire store on the A/S 3 plus Michelin ZP tires. 175 mile drive. 55 MPH top speed. Luckily it could be repaired. I got there just before closing at 5PM. They took good care of me and we were back on the road at 5:45 PM. 68,500 miles on the car and my 4th flat. On my 3rd set of tires and first flat on this set. Glad I had the run flats. The temperature was 110 degrees.
Yeah I know. You are supposed to go no more than 50 miles on a aired out run flat, but no harm done. This set is at 6/32 on the rears and 7/32 on the fronts. 28,500 miles on them.
Were going back tomorrow. Gluttons for punishment!
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Glad you made it to the repair shop. I don’t think I have had that many flats in nearly 48 years of driving. 
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 846
Likes: 271
From: Murrells Inlet SC
Glad to hear that it worked out for you. That's a lot of miles on zero pressure, but I don't blame you for not stopping in Mexico to try and have it patched … 
Good to see you're enjoying driving your C7 and not saving it for the next owner.
Good to see you're enjoying driving your C7 and not saving it for the next owner.
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 46,295
Likes: 2,596
From: Northern, VA
St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
That is a lot of miles but glad it was ok. I've read that "Gearhead Jim" did quite a few miles on a RF tire, but possibly not that much. The tires are built well and no doubt a good invention to have for trips.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,583
Likes: 16,941
It just happened to me last week too, a nail in the left front center tread block. Fortunately, mine was a slow leak, and an easy repair. I was in and out of Criswell in 45 minutes, and had a nice chat w/ Mike Furman too.
A few folks here have reported driving a couple of hundred miles at ZP with no problem. Of course, the tire is toast after driving at ZP for so long, but it's phenomenal you can totally avoid getting stranded on the side of the road and get to a place where you're likely to find a replacement.
Michelin says 50 miles, but I'm sure that's to not over-promise. They certainly appear to be capable of a lot more distance.
A few folks here have reported driving a couple of hundred miles at ZP with no problem. Of course, the tire is toast after driving at ZP for so long, but it's phenomenal you can totally avoid getting stranded on the side of the road and get to a place where you're likely to find a replacement.
Michelin says 50 miles, but I'm sure that's to not over-promise. They certainly appear to be capable of a lot more distance.
Last edited by Foosh; Jun 17, 2018 at 09:13 AM.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 24,987
Likes: 2,691
From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
Several years ago in the C6 section I started a thread "How Far on a Flat Runflat?"
(any brand/model).
The winner drove 750 miles on a flat (no fix or new tire quickly available) and stopped only because he got home. I did not find anyone who had a runflat actually come apart because of driving, but some of the people pushed it farther than I would have.
We drove the Tail of the Dragon on a flat (sidewall cut) C6 PS2, 20-30 miles. The outside looked ok but the inside was starting to "crumble". We stopped for about 5 minutes every 20 minutes of driving, to enjoy the scenery and also let the tire cool off. It was definitely warm.
If you have a slower leak and a compressor, you could drive clear across the country and just air up every time it got down to 25 psi.
(any brand/model).
The winner drove 750 miles on a flat (no fix or new tire quickly available) and stopped only because he got home. I did not find anyone who had a runflat actually come apart because of driving, but some of the people pushed it farther than I would have.
We drove the Tail of the Dragon on a flat (sidewall cut) C6 PS2, 20-30 miles. The outside looked ok but the inside was starting to "crumble". We stopped for about 5 minutes every 20 minutes of driving, to enjoy the scenery and also let the tire cool off. It was definitely warm.
If you have a slower leak and a compressor, you could drive clear across the country and just air up every time it got down to 25 psi.
Last edited by Gearhead Jim; Jun 17, 2018 at 07:09 PM.
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Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 3,952
Likes: 1,369
From: Mesa AZ
I have 3k on my car and I too just found a large screw in my left rear tire. Luckily, it was in the middle of the tire. I removed the wheel and dropped it off at my local Discount Tire where they took care of it (w/no wheel damage). 
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 76
Likes: 37
Discount Tire will sell you a road hazard policy on tires, including OEM, even if you don't buy from them. I have their policy on my factory runflats and Bridgestone AS tires. (FYI Discount Tire and America's Tire are the same company).
Racer
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 379
Likes: 85
I did the same thing and sleep better for it every night. The cost is very reasonable!
