Well, after 26000 miles of usage, my Bridgestone Potenza RE050A RFT (rear right side) finally got lodged by a big bolt. I was driving around 55 mph.......10 mins from my condo, then suddenly a warning on my gauge showed up......and I saw that my RR tire has only 21 psi. Tire pressure was going down every minute....until I reached the nearest gas station.......only 13psi during that time before I was able to put more air.
Long story short this old tire can't be repaired anymore....
This tire will cost me around $380 each of the rear (DTD price), and probably a little cheaper for my front.
but a set of non-RFT bridgestone potenza will be $100 cheaper per tire.....$400 savings for the set.
It's my first time to use run flats (always used non-rfts)............and really can't justify that extra $400 if I'll buy a new set. Any other RFT advantages besides being able to drive that extra 100 miles during loss of air pressure?
I wouldn't. Im pretty sure they are alot heavier than non run-flats
I agree. As weight conscience as you have been with your car Antonio I think you will find that there is a weight difference of 4-7 lbs. of unsprung weight!! Here is an article on the pros and cons of run flats:
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My only concern is me and wifey drive 5 hours going from RI to PA almost every month..........and that extra 100 miles of the run-flats will help when get punctured. Having no spare will be a pain....
I guess.....I'll try non-flats.....and just see what happens.....
call AAA if I get a flat........and stuck on the highway.....lol
My only concern is me and wifey drive 5 hours going from RI to PA almost every month..........and that extra 100 miles of the run-flats will help when get punctured. Having no spare will be a pain....
I guess.....I'll try non-flats.....and just see what happens.....
call AAA if I get a flat........and stuck on the highway.....lol
if my wife had that kind of regular run on my solstice the car wouldn't be cought in her hands without run flats
sometimes a sacrifice has to be made
now, if it's just once a month you might want to consider renting a car for that trip, it will save miles on the car and might not add up to that big a differance in price over the long run
Worry wart! Your planning for something that hardly happens with modern day tires. Fix a flat bottles or a pair of running shoes and you'll be farther ahead, especially financially.
its not about performance all the time...........I also think about the safety of my wife, that's my number one priority when we are travelling to her parents in PA..........driving for 5 hours at 75mph..........enjoying driving the saturn sky.......if one of the tires blow up........you'll never know what's gonna happen. Even with the tpms.....it will be too late, if the tire blows up.
anywho.......I ended up buying Nitto NT05 tires
245/40/18
and
275/35/18
hopefully they'll last longer compared to the bridgestone potenzas RFT that I was using......
The way I see it, with the TPMS sensors, I would never use the goo/sealers. I don't like run flats because they are heavier, have a harsher ride, and even if you do get a puncture, you have to slow down, and if you drive on it much, the tire will destroy itself.
So I personally like non-run flats, and I just recently went out and got myself a patch kit with the vulcanizing fibre strips. These will patch most holes in the tire that a goo/sealent would, without damaging your TPMS sensors. Cheap and affective too. Many people consider them permanent patches. And even if you don't, it will easily behave as a normal tire would, until you got it to a tire shop to perform an inside-out patch install.
its not about performance all the time...........I also think about the safety of my wife, that's my number one priority when we are travelling to her parents in PA..........driving for 5 hours at 75mph..........enjoying driving the saturn sky.......if one of the tires blow up........you'll never know what's gonna happen. Even with the tpms.....it will be too late, if the tire blows up.
anywho.......I ended up buying Nitto NT05 tires
245/40/18
and
275/35/18
hopefully they'll last longer compared to the bridgestone potenzas RFT that I was using......
Hi Sky888
Im like you in that I want the added safety and convenience of an RFT...Ive been looking at the very tires you are replacing as the replacement tire for my Sol...you said you got 26,000 miles out of the RE050A Pole Position RFT...Thats excellent considering they have a treadwear rating of 220...Im not sure the Nitto's you purchased will last any longer than the Bridgestones, since the Nitto NT05 has a lower treadwear rating of 200...Time will tell of course...I am looking at the latest generation of the RE050A Pole Positions that were released this past march. The weight of the newest Bridgestone RFT is the same as the stock Goodyear GS-D2 that came on my 2008 GXP, (29 lbs/tire) and they have a comparable ride to a non runflat tires as well thanks to the latest in technological advancements for RFT's. I have to ask, was price your biggest issue over buying the RE050A's again?? It seemed so in your original post. Were you aware of the latest changes of the RE050A's, to make them a more user friendly tire??
I wouldn't. Im pretty sure they are alot heavier than non run-flats
"Just in case you didnt know"...My way of Informing my fellow Kappa Owners of the facts about the different tires available for our rides. Ive addressed these same issues in previous threads...and I think you will be surprised at what I found to be the actual numbers. (Copied and Pasted from my last thread)
The issues I speak of are RIDE, WEIGHT, and MONEY. Not trying to step on toes here...just giving you the facts from someone who is a professional and has done this for a living for the past 26 years. (btw, Im an ASE certified Master Tech and work for Bridgestone/Firestone LLC at a fully owned subsidiary called Tires Plus.
Being privy to how the runflat tires were 10-15 yrs ago, (overly heavy due to the materials that were being used in production I.E. ARAMID, KEVLAR, STEEL woven into nylon sidewall plys ) and how they had no give to them with simple demonstrations to possible customers on showroom floors, I can certainly see how the perception would be that of "running bricks on our light weight cars"...but I know for certain that Bridgestone released its now 3rd generation runflat tires back in march of this year, making them more user friendly via the latest technologies in heat reduction and overall tire stability and durability thanks to a better tire sidewall verticle stiffness index comparable to that of a conventional tire (Verticle Stiffness Index of a conventional tire size P245/40R18 93W is 100, 1st generation runflat tires were 120, 2nd generation runflat tires were 115, 3rd generation runflats are 105)...this means in laymans terms that the sidewall actually gives much like a conventional tire, while still being able to maintain overall structural stability, durability, and shape should there be a total loss of air pressure.
I just finished alil research and crunched the numbers for ya. With the latest Technologies available...Id say no it doesnt really add any significant unsprung weight. (Mind you Im covering only the stock size tire of P245/45R18 Runflats first...being Bridgestone and Goodyear. Bridgestones Potenza RE050A Pole Position RFT weighs in at 29 lbs, its ratings are 220 AA/A. Goodyears Eagle F1 Supercar EMT weighs in at 31 lbs, its ratings are 220 AA/A. Thats all I found in runflats.
Now for the non runflat tires...Dunlop Direzza DZ101 weighs in at 27 lbs, ratings are 300 A/A. Goodyears Eagle F1 GS-D3 (this is like our Stock tires that come on the GXP and REDLINE) weighs in at 29 lbs, ratings are 280 AA/A. Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 weighs in at 25 lbs, ratings are 220 AA/A. Michelin Pilot Sport weighs in at 26 lbs, ratings are 220 AA/A. Dunlop SP Sport Max weighs in at 28 lbs, ratings are 240 AA/A. Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport weighs in at 29 lbs, ratings are 340 A/A. Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 weighs in at 28 lbs, ratings are 180 A/A.
The lightest I found were the Michelins at 25 and 26 lbs...take the lightest of those at 25 lbs...compared to the lightest runflat at 29 lbs...you have a difference of 16 lbs of unsprung weight in tires...to me thats a small trade off for not having a spare tire...Id rather have the extra 16 lbs in runflat tires (which happens to be the same weight as the tires our kappa's came with originally, so the car's overall curb weight would be the same as it was when it was new) and not have the added inconvenience of calling AAA or GM Roadside Assistance because I have a flat tire. And for those tires that weighed the same give or take 1 lb as the runflats (like the stock tires on the GXP and REDLINE)...why would you run them to begin with unless money was the deciding factor...wouldnt anyone rather have the security of runflat technology in their tires if the weight and ride are essentially the same??
Hi Sky888
Im like you in that I want the added safety and convenience of an RFT...Ive been looking at the very tires you are replacing as the replacement tire for my Sol...you said you got 26,000 miles out of the RE050A Pole Position RFT...Thats excellent considering they have a treadwear rating of 220...Im not sure the Nitto's you purchased will last any longer than the Bridgestones, since the Nitto NT05 has a lower treadwear rating of 200...Time will tell of course...I am looking at the latest generation of the RE050A Pole Positions that were released this past march. The weight of the newest Bridgestone RFT is the same as the stock Goodyear GS-D2 that came on my 2008 GXP, (29 lbs/tire) and they have a comparable ride to a non runflat tires as well thanks to the latest in technological advancements for RFT's. I have to ask, was price your biggest issue over buying the RE050A's again?? It seemed so in your original post. Were you aware of the latest changes of the RE050A's, to make them a more user friendly tire??
hello, actually my RE050A RFT bridgestone potenzas are only 140 treadwear rating.....that made 26k miles that I wasnt able to do much tire rotation since I have a staggered set-up......
The bridgestone potenza pole position that you're talking about is RE960
so with the new Nittos that I got......they have 200 treadwear rating........im hoping more mileage.....
hello, actually my RE050A RFT bridgestone potenzas are only 140 treadwear rating.....that made 26k miles that I wasnt able to do much tire rotation since I have a staggered set-up......
The bridgestone potenza pole position that you're talking about is RE960
so with the new Nittos that I got......they have 200 treadwear rating........im hoping more mileage.....
I stand corrected...I see you had the RE050A PP RFT with Article # 065153, which is indeed 140 treadwear rating, A traction and A temperature...which is even more remarkable that you attained 26k on them, the staggered tire setup certainly doesnt help for tire wear either...but does wonders as far as how the car handles!!! I was thinking you had the RE050A PP RFT with Article # 067635 which is now a 280 Treadwear rating (used to be 220) and is still AA traction, A temperature.
The RE960 Pole Position A/S (that you mentioned) is actually an All Season Max Performance tire with a 400 Treadwear rating, AA Traction, A temperature....I had a set of RE960's on my last car (Olds Alero), which were great for that car, but alil on the weak side traction wise for what Im looking for with my Sol GXP...I hope you like the Nitto's, and that they perform very well for you...please keep us informed on how they do!!!
I stand corrected...I see you had the RE050A PP RFT with Article # 065153, which is indeed 140 treadwear rating, A traction and A temperature...which is even more remarkable that you attained 26k on them, the staggered tire setup certainly doesnt help for tire wear either...but does wonders as far as how the car handles!!! I was thinking you had the RE050A PP RFT with Article # 067635 which is now a 280 Treadwear rating (used to be 220) and is still AA traction, A temperature.
The RE960 Pole Position A/S (that you mentioned) is actually an All Season Max Performance tire with a 400 Treadwear rating, AA Traction, A temperature....I had a set of RE960's on my last car (Olds Alero), which were great for that car, but alil on the weak side traction wise for what Im looking for with my Sol GXP...I hope you like the Nitto's, and that they perform very well for you...please keep us informed on how they do!!!
actually bro, its already snowing here in RI. I still purchased the Nitto NT05s since they gave me a GREAT price....$550 for the set of tires installed, balanced and mounted (245/40/18 front and 275/35/18 rear). Town fair tire ordered them and will probably arrive this week. Today, I removed my OZ racing wheels and bridgestone tires, and already installed my 17" gray wheel w/ snow tires
car looks good....but I'll miss my black wheels
I cant wait for March! I'll give my feedbacks next year once I install them
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