Z4 tyre thoughts required.

UK forum for general and technical discussion about the Z4 roadster and Z4 Coupe
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Canman
Joined: Tue 21 Jul, 2009 15:34
Posts: 1199

  Z3 roadster 1.9
Location: Rotherham

Z4 tyre thoughts required.

Post by Canman »

Hi ,

as a few of you will know i have got a Z4 now , the main reason for buying it was to fullfill dreams and do a europe road trip in it in May. well all plans are almost complete for the trip and now my attention turns to the Zed.

It has bridgestone run flats all round with about 4mm tread .
As the road trip will be around 3000 miles i think new tyres are in order.
now do i stop with the run flats at around £800 - 900 fitted or go for Falkens at about £500 fitted and carry some tyre weld and compressor.
some price difference !

i dont find the runflats to harsh so no problem there , but like the idea of keeping the zed original.
Would changing to Falkens de-value the zed? i know if trading it in yes, but for private sale ?
Also is the improved handling i have read about with falkens on the 4 really that much better, pretty good now.
i have falkens on my Z3 and think they are brill.
Any thoughts or advice appreciated.
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TitanTim
Joined: Mon 23 Jun, 2008 18:56
Posts: 5488

  Z3 roadster 1.9i
Location: Stafford

Re: Z4 tyre thoughts required.

Post by TitanTim »

Canman wrote:Hi ,

as a few of you will know i have got a Z4 now , the main reason for buying it was to fullfill dreams and do a europe road trip in it in May. well all plans are almost complete for the trip and now my attention turns to the Zed.

It has bridgestone run flats all round with about 4mm tread .
As the road trip will be around 3000 miles i think new tyres are in order.
now do i stop with the run flats at around £800 - 900 fitted or go for Falkens at about £500 fitted and carry some tyre weld and compressor.
some price difference !

i dont find the runflats to harsh so no problem there , but like the idea of keeping the zed original.
Would changing to Falkens de-value the zed? i know if trading it in yes, but for private sale ?
Also is the improved handling i have read about with falkens on the 4 really that much better, pretty good now.
i have falkens on my Z3 and think they are brill.
Any thoughts or advice appreciated.
Hi Kevan,

Hope you're doing OK.

In answer to your question its a real conundrum, I dont think fitting runflats will specifically devalue the Zed, if selling privately I don't think it would bother the buyer that much and would probably think non runflats would be better anyways. If selling back to a BMW dealer they will more than likely knock off the cost of replacing all the tyres for runflats as they wouldn't be allowed to sell under the BMW approved used car scheme.

Like you I don't dislike runflats, they have advantages but also disadvantages, I like the fact if you got a smallish puncture then at least you can carry on within reason, especially if on the motorway as wouldn't like to mess around on the hard shoulder. Disadvantages are if you had a large puncture you would be stuffed anyways and how easily would it be to source a replacement runflat on the continent? you might have to wait days for a local fitter to source a tyre unless you could find a BMW dealer, whereas with normal tyres your ods are improved.

If only doing local mileages/driving I would stick with runflats, but going on a extended continental drive I would fit non runflats and take plenty of tyre foam/compressor etc and a tyre plug kit. You can always go back to run flats in the future :lol:

I was thinking of puncturesafe which would be even better but I'm sure it won't work on large low profile tyres i.e. 18s

As for handling, I know the Brdgestone runflats are pretty good with good turn in but are know to be harsh, ride wise the Dunlops are much better which is what I have on the 1er but I think they will never be quite as good as non runflat tyres. I know on the Z4 forums many have swapped to 452s with no real problems and improved ride comfort and decent handling.

Tim.
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2001 Z3 1.9 Roadster Sport - 2012 Z4 sDrive 2.0 M Sport
gookah
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Joined: Thu 07 Aug, 2008 09:51
Posts: 2737

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Post by gookah »

I had Runflats on my 2.5, and bought a wheel/tyre package specifying 452's. I went from 18s RFT to 19 non-RFT and the comfort was much improved even with the lower profile. The roadholding was also improved.

I bought with wheels as well so I could just use these in summer and keep the old wheels for winter use and sale purposes, that way they didnt get much mileage.
I had to replace two RFTs on the winter wheels but got some 6mm part worn off eBay where everyone who changes them seems to sell them on at bargain prices.

I had the tyre weld and compressor in the boot just in case.
The M is non runflats as standard, which must tell you something...
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maxman
Joined: Sat 09 Dec, 2006 20:55
Posts: 301

  Z3 roadster 2.0
Location: wrexham

Post by maxman »

I have changed from r/f to Goodyear F1 non run flats,the Z4 is a 100% improved in ride comfort.A new 17in space saver from BMW Sopers Lincoln is £93 deliverd.They have been making over £130 on ebay with a 6 year old
tyre at the very least.
I cant get my head around the fact that people pay £8K plus for a Z4 then buy a budget tyres just to save maybe £200 ,this statement will nodoubt cause a bit of a stir.
I had Falkens on my other car a Mazda 6 ,while they gripped ok ,they only lasted about 12k miles
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Edzed
Joined: Tue 26 Oct, 2004 15:40
Posts: 26

  Z4 roadster 2.2i
Location: Camberley
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Post by Edzed »

I have to agree Maxman. I had r/f on my 2.2 from new. Yes the wear rate was brilliant - 45,000 miles before I had to change them, but when I did I too got Goodyear F1's. They are absolutely brilliant and have transformed the car. Why buy cheapies?
E85 2.2i Z4 Roadster
Maldives Blue, Beige Oregon Leather, MIJ Exhaust, BBS Star Spoke Alloys
E63 645i Coupe
Stratos Silver, Beige Oregon Leather, Ellipsoid Alloys
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Finisterre
Joined: Mon 17 Jan, 2011 08:24
Posts: 7

  Z4 M roadster
Location: Buxton

Post by Finisterre »

I am another happy Eagle F1 shod Z4 owner.

What particularly attracted was the low noise levels, I found a comparison table that rated them as 6db less than EU maximum allowable. Most tyres were in the 1-4 range.

Tyre reviews also list them as being not much worse in the wet, consistency is more important to me than ultimate performance so that clinched it.
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