[ThreeTwentyEightI]

My Girlfriend's Dad swapped his all seasons out last week.

He had never had the tires unmounted before this and the shop pointed out that they believed the run flat system had been initiated on all 4 tires. He was hoping to reuse or sell these but the shop tried telling us they were unusable. They have about 15,000 on them.

Has anyone dealt with this before?

2014 335i M-Sport 18x8 Square.

Pirelli P7 All Seasons.

[ThreeTwentyEightI]

Bump for help?

[335i_4D]

He drove with the tire flat ?

BTW, the run flat system doesn't "activate" (I love the mechanics who tries and talk about things they don't really understand), it's permanently there.
The run flat technology is reinforcement in the sidewalls of the tires to support the weight of the car in case the tire run flat.

Would need to see this in person, but by the look of it, it seems like the tire was driven for an extended period of time with not enough air in it, thus "eating" the interior of the sidewall.

If it's the case, the mechanic's right by telling you that those tires are unusable.
When the inner sidewall's damaged, the tires can loose air (if it's very bad) or you may see bubble on the exterior of the tire when you install them back and inflate them.
Since the sidewall's very thick, it's virtually not possible to see what kind of damage it took.
That's why some run flat manufacturer won't allow their tires to be repaired in case of a flat, others permit 1 repair.

[xpidex]

He didn't necessarily run with the tires flat but definitely low air pressure for quite some time. I had a nail on the thread once I only was able to find a place to fix it; since there was no damage to the sidewall (basically what you are showing in the pics. they were willing to fix it).

You might say how come the TPMS didn't kick in; but don't forget that if you keep using RFT is a good practice to check the air pressure fairly frequent and remember to re-calibrate the TPMS.

Sorry to hear what happened but seems you have to replace the whole set. I personally hate RFT with passion; the only time I kept one set was the time I got the puncture and not many options for 20' staggered set-up. I keep in my car at all times a mini- air compressor and repair kit in case I get stuck.

[ThreeTwentyEightI]

Originally Posted by 335i_4D

He drove with the tire flat ?

BTW, the run flat system doesn't "activate" (I love the mechanics who tries and talk about things they don't really understand), it's permanently there.
The run flat technology is reinforcement in the sidewalls of the tires to support the weight of the car in case the tire run flat.

Would need to see this in person, but by the look of it, it seems like the tire was driven for an extended period of time with not enough air in it, thus "eating" the interior of the sidewall.

If it's the case, the mechanic's right by telling you that those tires are unusable.
When the inner sidewall's damaged, the tires can loose air (if it's very bad) or you may see bubble on the exterior of the tire when you install them back and inflate them.
Since the sidewall's very thick, it's virtually not possible to see what kind of damage it took.
That's why some run flat manufacturer won't allow their tires to be repaired in case of a flat, others permit 1 repair.

Thanks for the reply!


That's strange. Knowing my GF's Dad he's very particular about his F30 and would check the pressure quite a bit. There wasn't any bubbling on the exterior of the tires either. I know he had one repair done on a single tire but not all 4!

[ThreeTwentyEightI]

Originally Posted by xpidex

He didn't necessarily run with the tires flat but definitely low air pressure for quite some time. I had a nail on the thread once I only was able to find a place to fix it; since there was no damage to the sidewall (basically what you are showing in the pics. they were willing to fix it).

You might say how come the TPMS didn't kick in; but don't forget that if you keep using RFT is a good practice to check the air pressure fairly frequent and remember to re-calibrate the TPMS.

Sorry to hear what happened but seems you have to replace the whole set. I personally hate RFT with passion; the only time I kept one set was the time I got the puncture and not many options for 20' staggered set-up. I keep in my car at all times a mini- air compressor and repair kit in case I get stuck.

Thanks! - They were take offs anyways because he was able to get a full replacement set. I'll try to salvage them to someone who may need one in a pinch on the forums! (Full disclosure of course)