[AppStoreMoney]

I have an m-sport, and one of my rear tires was ruined by a large nail. The tire can not be fixed.

My BMW dealer recommended that I just replace that one tire, but wouldn't that make my car off balanced? I have 12k miles on the car, and the tire is down to 7/32 thread depth. Will it be noticeable that one rear tire is new, while the other is not? I mean will the car be tilted? Will the handling be thrown off?

[dc503]

At that stage, I was always of the thought that both should be replaced.

[Agamemnon]

If it was my car, I would change both tires. Somewhere along the line, the handling is going to be thrown off.

[AppStoreMoney]

Thanks. That's what I figured. I'll tell them tomorrow to install two new tires.

[Sedan_Clan]

You buy your tires from the dealer? Yikes!

[n55x3]

Who told you the tire could not be fixed? The dealer? I'd say more often than not punctures in the tread area can be easily plugged. Your local tire stores will probably do it for around $20. Maybe that could get you another several thousand miles until you have to replace them all. Sidewall damage is obviously a different story.

My wife's RFT got a nail about 6 months ago and i plugged it in about 10 mins in our garage. Didn't even have to take the tire off the car.

[Dan_335i]

Originally Posted by n55x3

Who told you the tire could not be fixed? The dealer? I'd say more often than not punctures in the tread area can be easily plugged. Your local tire stores will probably do it for around $20. Maybe that could get you another several thousand miles until you have to replace them all. Sidewall damage is obviously a different story.

My wife's RFT got a nail about 6 months ago and i plugged it in about 10 mins in our garage. Didn't even have to take the tire off the car.

The dealers arent allowed to fix RFT

Bring it to local auto shop

[AppStoreMoney]

The nail was near the side wall of the tire, and I drove quite a bit on it. Probably not fixable, but who knows.

I didn't know they're not allowed to fix run flat tires. Next time, I might take it to a tire shop to see if it can be fixed.

[claykin]

7/32 is only half worn (assuming it came with 11/32 from new). The difference between the 7/32" tire and a new one will be 0.125", very little. This is less than the factory allowable tolerance between right/left suspension heights.

IMO, replace only the bad tire unless you have $ burning a hole in your pocket.

Also regarding repairs to RFT's, tire OEM's prefer for tire dealers to not repair RFT. Reason is RFTs are supposedly only good to ride flat for 50 miles or so and they have no way of knowing how long you rode on your deflated tire. So, they err on the side of caution and typically say no. Otherwise repairs to RFTs are the same as a non RFT tire. And it is possible to repair a runflat near sidewall puncture. Good luck finding someone to do it, but its very possible. I've had it done and it lasted for nearly a year before tire was done and needed replacing. RFT sidewalls flex so little the patch can hold if done correctly.

No surprise BMW dealers say no to all runflat repairs.

And also beware about going to your average tire shop. Most do not have a leverless tire mounting machine so expect wheel scratching when they R&R the tire.

[n55x3]

From my experience, typical tire plugs can be done with the tire on the vehicle. No need to remove. You simply use an auger to rough up the hole, insert rubber tire strands found in any tire plug kit and off you go. Obviously you'll need to air up first. They sell the kits at any automotive store or places like walmart.

But as mentioned above the real risk comes when someone drove on said RFT for an extended period of time causing additional damage to the tire.

[KT_F31_EBII]

I had two nail puncture on the rear right 403m 19" tyres Pirelli p zero. Took the car to the nearest tyre shop and was advised not to plugged but replaced. Apparently Pirelli run flat cannot be repaired! Lucky I have bmw tyre insurance and for mine replaced under insurance. No need to replace both rear as i had the puncture only after 1400km 3.5 weeks old car!

[James550i6spd]

I've had maybe 6-7 flat tires on my Beemer and have always just replaced the bad tire. After a while I didn't even stick with the same brand..didn't even notice anything for my daily driving purposes.