I’ve never hid my contempt for run-flat tires. And for good reason. When testing a BMW 5-Series equipped with the technology, the driving experience was so bad I returned it to the dealer to try a car without the tough-as-nails (and then some), tram-lining donuts. Sure enough, the “normal” tires delivered infinitely superior, brand-faithful ride and handling. I also got caught-up in the Honda Odyssey - Michelin Pax class action debacle; I shelled-out huge money for two sets of tires so stiff they’d make French soufflé makers envious. Autoweek recently reported that run-flats are in retreat, accounting for less then one percent of the U.S. market. That’s one percent too many—and not just because of the expense or compromised driving dynamics. As this email from rspaight indicates:
I bought a 3-series recently, and it was equipped with a set of run-flats and nowhere to put a spare. BMW M cars have conventional tires, no spare, and a can of tire sealant. Same with Porsches. Corvettes? Run-flats. MINIs? Run-flats. As I leafed through the latest Car & Driver, I saw that both the Taurus SHO and new Cadillac SRX said “none” in the space next to “Spare Tire.” It seems that spare tires are becoming increasingly vestigial as car evolution progresses. Is it crazy to think this is over-optimistic? The attached photo shows the mayhem my friend’s Cavalier experienced in an Interstate construction zone a couple of weeks ago. I don’t think either run-flats or a can of sealant would have helped much in this case. My friend spent ten minutes putting on the donut and was safely on his way with his wife and kids. As it should be?
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