Changing runflats on e46 330 coupe

[b9mgt]

Hi
I just bought my first BMW (A 3 year old 330 coupe CI sport) with run flats as standard.
I can't believe how fidgetty and poor the ride quality is - on B roads the car likes to follow any imperfection or camber.
Has anyone replaced the tyres with non run flats and noticed a positive improvement?
I've been searching this forum and seen lots of similar comments - but no-one with a solution.
Thanks
Mark

[rassi]

Are you sure it has runflats? An E46 would come as standard with non-runflats so if indeed it has runflats the ride qualities would be well and truly ruined!

[Robin Hood]

I've got a new 330i SE with 18" wheels and run flat tyres, the ride over speed humps, pot holes and your average urban roads is appalling, enough to make teeth fall out. It wanders around on anything but a perfectly smooth road surface too.

Dealer (Sytner !) says never heard that complaint before !

What have others fitted as replacements ??

[blackspider]

Sodding runflat complaint again we say!

I have to go out 3 or 4 times a week with customers who complain about the tram lining,wandering,noise,hard drive etc only to tell them this is a feature of runflats.

They are a pain.

[MattOz]

Hi Mark,

An E46 with 18" alloys should not have run flats on. Certainly not from the factory. Standard fit tyres are Bridgestone RE040's or Michelin Pilot Sports IIRC.

There are plenty of people I know of who have ditched run flats on E60's and E87's and find the car to have a completely changed character. The ride on normal tyres is infitessimally better.

Run flats are dire and in the interests of losing the cost of the spare, per car, BMW has dropped a bollock. Interestingly, "M" cars do not have run flats. Is BMW trying to tell us something!

Matt

[toastboy]

b9mgt said:

Hi
I just bought my first BMW (A 3 year old 330 coupe CI sport) with run flats as standard.
I can't believe how fidgetty and poor the ride quality is - on B roads the car likes to follow any imperfection or camber.
Has anyone replaced the tyres with non run flats and noticed a positive improvement?
I've been searching this forum and seen lots of similar comments - but no-one with a solution.
Thanks
Mark

I've got a 330ci sport too and the tramlining is always there. It does get worse when the tyre pressure is a few psi low but on the whole it is pretty bad. I've had the full BMW geometry check done and am on my third set of tyres (Dunlops and Bridgestones) but always the tramlining is there. You get used to it after a while.

HTH

[Andrew D]

Given the ride and handling penalties associated with using runflats, and the additional cost of the tyres themselves, why on earth do BMW use them?

I appreciate that it allows omission of a spare wheel but, as far as I can tell, there are no benefits over tyre sealant foam as used in the M-Mobility kit and provided on Smarts.

[rassi]

Should an E46 have runflats in the first place

[daver]

MattOz said:

The ride on normal tyres is infitessimally better.
Matt

Exclusive! Run-flats turn man's brain to pulp.

'Infinitely' better - an improvement beyond measure.

'Infinitesimal' - a minute, insignificant amount.

'Infitessimally' - a word which only exists in the damaged heads of run-flat drivers.

[Robin Hood]

blackspider said:

Sodding runflat complaint again we say!

I have to go out 3 or 4 times a week with customers who complain about the tram lining,wandering,noise,hard drive etc only to tell them this is a feature of runflats.

They are a pain.

I've more or less decided to swap the "solids" for "conventional" tyres even though it's only done 6k miles. Dealer said if I want to p ex it in the future they won't accept the car with these non-original tyres unless unless I pay for new run-flats to be fitted to return it to BM spec so I'm planning on saving the ones that come off to re-fit when the time comes. There'll no doubt be a ready market for the bouncy ones I'll be left with anyway !