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[yazans]

Hi, The time has finally come to change my stock tires for my 2007 328 coupe with sports package, I have plugged the right rear tire three times and now I have to fill it up with air every 3-4 days (does not sound very safe)
I have no interest in getting bigger tires, just the original stock size.
Front: 225/40R 18 88W RFT
Rear: 255/35R 18 90W RFT
I got 21k miles out of them which is not horrible but not good either.
All I can find on discount tire is the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Run Flat and the Pirelli PZero Run Flat, both very expensive solutions.
One mechanic suggested I just get non RFT, any recommendation?
Do I really need RFTs? Is there a cheaper solution out there where I don’t have to worry about getting a flat tire and get stranded since I don’t have a spare tire?
Once tires are purchased, is there an advantage of having my 4 wheels aligned at a BMW dealer vs somewhere else? Any recommendations?
Thanks a lot
Yazan

[shift330]

I got 19" Nexen N7000 tires for $99 each. The tires on my last set of wheels were 18" Falkens and ran about $180-$200 each. Dont stick with run-flats - they really suck.

[yazans]

Thanks shift330 for your reply,

But what did you do if you got a flat tire? Did you keep a spare?

[mikeokimster]

Here is my plan. I may end up getting a spare.

I am nearing the point in which i need to replace the oem runflats. I have about double the thread life left on the front tires so I will replace the rear ones for now.

Key elements:
1. Price
2. Noise
3. Traction
4. Tread wear (at least 25k miles)
5. Wet traction

Here are the choices I have narrowed down to(ranking determined by factoring in tirerack surveys with my order of key elements):

1. Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position $224 R (ea) + shipping (265x35x18 is closest) [400AA A]*
2. Yokohama Advan S4 $221 R (ea) + shipping [400AA A]*
3. Pirelli Pzero Nero M&S $208 R (ea) + shipping [400AA A]*
4. Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season $188 R (ea) + shipping [420AA A]*
5. Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus $250 R (ea) + shipping [500AA A]* <- No survey info so defaulted last

I am concerned about the Goodyear Eagle F1 allseasons wearing too quickly. Prices are all from Tirerack.com. According to the survey results, the Yokos performed very similar to the Bridgestones Potenza's. Bridgestone's seem to have a slight adantage in tread wear to the yoko's.

*Note: I know the UTQC ratings are manufacturer dependent, leading to possible inconsistencies in tread life.

[shift330]

Originally Posted by yazans

Thanks shift330 for your reply,

But what did you do if you got a flat tire? Did you keep a spare?

No spare. If I get a flat I can just have a tow truck pick it up or go get my truck and load it on a trailer to bring it home.

[SuPaSkillz]

I've never liked sumitomo tires...but they seem to have stepped it up with there newest tire the HTR III...they have recieved very good reviews and seem to be alot better than the runflats we get stuck with on all bmw's (none M) and are pretty cheap compared to others that dont perform as well...check them out at tirerack.com

[nomile]

Originally Posted by yazans

But what did you do if you got a flat tire? Did you keep a spare?

I'm going to switch to go-flats without a spare. I'll probably get a slime-kit (the $30 one - has a compressor and is supposed to be TPMS safe). Furthermore, with my old car I found the following to be true: If you keep your tires maintained (check pressures, swap at 2/32nds, etc) you'll likely only ever have a problem with a nail/screw in the tire. Blowouts are EXTREMELY rare (if tire is maintained). Thus if you have a nail, TPMS will tell you and you can fill the tire (with slow leak) and drive to a tire shop the next day.

My previous car (318ti) had 2 or 3 flats over the course of 12 years, and they always fit this model. Never had to pull the spare.
My $0.02