[dadu]

Originally Posted by androdev

What I meant is if you repair a tubeless tire puncture by inserting that plug and if the plug comes off suddenly while on the move (it happened to me once), the tire will be flat in an instant and you could lose control. If the same thing happens on an RFT, the stiff side wall will prevent you from losing control.

Use mushroom puncture as compared to the plug one, its more reliable and won't come off like you mentioned.

[Bluebeem]

I too had a puncture on my F30 at about 2000 odd kms. It was in the middle of the night so i couldn't really contact the dealer. I went to a tire shop and got the tire puncture fixed from the inside. i.e removed the tire completely. I have driven at high speeds post that, The car's been fine post that.

I contacted the BMW dealer the next day and they said i should send the car in for an inspection anyway. Upon inspection they said the tire looked fine. They said they did not recommend a puncture, and in case one has been forced to put a puncture from outside as in my case, one must click pictures of the puncture so that it's easier to justify the replacement of the tire with the back end. Otherwise getting the tire replaced would be a difficult thing.

As far as your concern with the huge cost of replacement is concerned, I doubt, the dealer will be able to replace your tire for free. As i understood from the dealer, BMW has provided slabs for the tread wear vis-a-vis cost of replacement. If the tread wear is anywhere between 1 & 7mm the cost of replacement is 25%. At 2000 km My wear was about 1mm (i assume yours will be similar) So the dealer suggested i keep using the car with the punctured tire as at this rate it would take at least another 10,000 -12000 km before i crossed the 7mm mark and as a result cross the 25% cost of replacement. At this rate, my cost of replacement remains same even at the end of the year.

He suggested i come in at the end of the year (when the tire warranty is about to expire) and get all 4 tires replaced at 25% of the cost as many owners seem to be doing that. Don't know if there's a catch here.

The Labour cost of 2500 is too much ! I assume this is because they'll have to the do the wheel balancing again in which case it seems justified. My wheel balancing cost me 3000 including weights.

[BeamerBoy]

Guys, it was a lazy weekend. Could not manage to do anything but compile a list of part IDs providing a list of space saver wheels per model.

I hope you find it useful.

[humyum]

Originally Posted by Bluebeem

The Labour cost of 2500 is too much ! I assume this is because they'll have to the do the wheel balancing again in which case it seems justified. My wheel balancing cost me 3000 including weights.

I don't know if you are talking about wheel balancing one wheel or 4 wheels, but 3000 for wheel balancing with weights in either cases is DAY LIGHT Robbery.

[gagsbmw]

Moderator note: Please use Search before opening a new thread. Thanks.

Need help on a good place to get my bmw runflat tire punture fixed in gurgaon..south delhi is also ok..

[gagsbmw]

iam haviong same issue..one tire is loosing air pressure gradually..any recommendations of the best place to get the RFT puncture fixed in gurgaon?

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by gagsbmw

iam haviong same issue..one tire is loosing air pressure gradually..any recommendations of the best place to get the RFT puncture fixed in gurgaon?

Any puncture shop, it can be fixed like a normal tubeless puncture.

[stanjohn123]

So I finally got stranded in the middle of nowhere with my BMW when my RFT got punctured after landing in a deep pothole (proof yet again that these tires are not for our country BMW !)

Anyways the car was towed to my service center in Coimbatore which is 650 Km's away from my house in Kanyakumari and I had to come back by Taxi from Kodaikanal. Now after inspection the service advisor mails me with an estimation of 3,21,000 Rs for a host of replacements (obviously many of which don't need to be done) including an alloy and 4 Tires due to cracks .

So I've decided to change the cracked alloy and all 4 tires to normal Radial Tubeless tires. Will BMW change my tires to anything other than RFT's on my request ?

If they don't change can someone please advise me on some good tire dealers in Coimbatore where I can change them to tubeless radial tires.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

So I finally got stranded in the middle of nowhere with my BMW when my RFT got punctured after landing in a deep pothole (proof yet again that these tires are not for our country BMW !)

Anyways the car was towed to my service center in Coimbatore which is 650 Km's away from my house in Kanyakumari and I had to come back by Taxi from Kodaikanal. Now after inspection the service advisor mails me with an estimation of 3,21,000 Rs for a host of replacements (obviously many of which don't need to be done) including an alloy and 4 Tires due to cracks .

So I've decided to change the cracked alloy and all 4 tires to normal Radial Tubeless tires. Will BMW change my tires to anything other than RFT's on my request ?

If they don't change can someone please advise me on some good tire dealers in Coimbatore where I can change them to tubeless radial tires.

Did the tire get punctured with a nail or something? Or was it damaged like a cut or tear in the sidewall? I am asking this because RFTs are not prone more to punctures than normal tubeless tires. And I can assure you any normal tire would have got damaged as much and more in the same situation.

Only change the cracked alloy, and if you ask the dealer to source normal tubeless tyres, they will charge you a bomb. Source the tyres yourself from outside and get them fitted there. Do note that for removing RFTs from the rim a special type of machine is required which smaller shops may not have and therefore end up scratching the rims.

[stanjohn123]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Did the tire get punctured with a nail or something? Or was it damaged like a cut or tear in the sidewall? I am asking this because RFTs are not prone more to punctures than normal tubeless tires. And I can assure you any normal tire would have got damaged as much and more in the same situation.

Only change the cracked alloy, and if you ask the dealer to source normal tubeless tyres, they will charge you a bomb. Source the tyres yourself from outside and get them fitted there. Do note that for removing RFTs from the rim a special type of machine is required which smaller shops may not have and therefore end up scratching the rims.

The Tire was cut and I guess what you are saying is right about Tubeless too. But the issue for me is not everyone services RFT tires in my area , it's more like a town and I can't take it each time to my service center in Coimbatore to replace an RFT tire.Tubeless is also slightly cheaper and easier to service or replace in my town.

Thanks for letting me know about the machine for removing the RFT tires , wasn't aware of this. BMW charges 5,000 Rs just for changing the Tires , might let them do it if the shops that sell me the tire don't have the machine that you mentioned.

Also do you know if there is any way of adding a 5th spare wheel to my X1 , either on top or under the car ?

[Stiggy]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

So I finally got stranded in the middle of nowhere with my BMW when my RFT got punctured after landing in a deep pothole (proof yet again that these tires are not for our country BMW !)

-Snip-

As far as my understanding goes, RFTs actually have reinforced sidewalls, making them far stronger for enjoying various potholes..

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

The Tire was cut and I guess what you are saying is right about Tubeless too. But the issue for me is not everyone services RFT tires in my area , it's more like a town and I can't take it each time to my service center in Coimbatore to replace an RFT tire.Tubeless is also slightly cheaper and easier to service or replace in my town.

Thanks for letting me know about the machine for removing the RFT tires , wasn't aware of this. BMW charges 5,000 Rs just for changing the Tires , might let them do it if the shops that sell me the tire don't have the machine that you mentioned.

Also do you know if there is any way of adding a 5th spare wheel to my X1 , either on top or under the car ?

There is nothing to service in RFTs. Punctures can be repaired like normal tubeless tyres. In your case there is a cut so whether tubeless or RFT the tyre would have to be replaced.

5k is a bit much to change tyres, negotiate it down.

The only way I'm afraid would be in the boot. And the space saver would make most sense since it would take up the least amount of space.

[stanjohn123]

Originally Posted by akshay1234

There is nothing to service in RFTs. Punctures can be repaired like normal tubeless tyres. In your case there is a cut so whether tubeless or RFT the tyre would have to be replaced.

5k is a bit much to change tyres, negotiate it down.

The only way I'm afraid would be in the boot. And the space saver would make most sense since it would take up the least amount of space.

There aren't any RFT's sold readily in my place too. Tubeless is just much less of a headache really.

Only thing is I need to find a way to add a spare Tyre now. The boot has already very limited space , adding a wheel there is not an option sadly.

Regarding the machine to remove the RFT's , is it the same machine that removes other Tubeless tyres or is this machine totally different from that ?

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

There aren't any RFT's sold readily in my place too. Tubeless is just much less of a headache really.

Only thing is I need to find a way to add a spare Tyre now. The boot has already very limited space , adding a wheel there is not an option sadly.

Regarding the machine to remove the RFT's , is it the same machine that removes other Tubeless tyres or is this machine totally different from that ?

The machine is basically the same, but there are some differences. I remember using my regular tire dealer to change my RFTs in Mumbai and my rims had a thin scratch where they press the tire in with the machine to slide it below the lip of the rim. Not an issue since I got the rims painted soon after, but that was something I didn't know earlier. Its mainly due to the extra stiffness of the sidewalls in RFT. I remember discussing this with Nikhilb somewhere on the forum, let me try and find it.

[Nikhilb2008]

To change RFTs, there are certain special tyre changers that should be used.

However, most BMW dealers in the country use some cheap equipment which are often surpassed by a quality tyre shop in the nearby area.

Also, many times the dealer may have the correct tyre changer but if the technician doesnt know how to use it, then it's useless.