360Rocket

Ive read numerous stories on this site about vette owners getting out of thier run flat tires and I can appreciate the reasons why but I gotta say that after a real life experience this week I gotta say that I am a true believer in them.

I took a trip across the state this week and at one point encountered a nail, bolt, who knows but it was big whatever it was and the next thing I know I get a low tire pressure alert. I pull up the tire readings on the DIC and watch as I lose 3 psi per mile until I hit 11 psi and at that point hear a bang in the rear fender liner and the the next stated that I had a rear flat tire. I also notice that I am doing 60 MPH and I feel no change in the performance of the car at all. WOW impressive! I then limp the next 10 miles at 60 in the slow lane to the next truck stop and proceed to buy a plug kit and plug the hole in the rear tire that looks big enough to slide my pinky finger through. patched up and ready to fly again I wondered if the slight performance gain in swapping out the run flats would have been worth my wife and I being stuck on the side of the road? Tire slime would not have resolved this scenario.

All in all I am glad that I had these run flats and will continue to run them. I put another 300 worry free miles with no issue on the way back.

R&L's C6

I guess it all depends on ones own comfort level. I'm with you and like the security of the run flats. I dont want to wait for hours alongside the road for help without a spare.

360Rocket

Preparation in life is the key, I am even a AAA Gold member but then again you could be waiting on the side of a highway for an hour or so waiting on them to arrive.

I got lucky that whatever caused the hole came out so that I would be able to plug the tire. So I will now keep a pair of wire cutters in the car to remove objects in the tire in the future and to cut off the excess plug material.

A plug kit is staying in the car from now on.

R&L's C6

It's not only the wait along the roadside. It's the flat bedding it somewhere, the tire repair (if possible) Most places will not have these size tires in stock and then you would have to wait until they can find a tire.

Freak3150

I'm with you on that. I once picked up a railroad spike. Put a hole in the tire easily the size of a dime.

Because of that I really don't like the idea of running non runflats with no spare. I had a GT500 which had regular tires and came with sealant and I hated it. Went and got a rim/tire as a spare, but there was a space for a spare and jack in that car.

catnaround

picked up this little item a few weeks ago,had to drive 15 miles home and 11 miles back to the tire store to have a new set of michielins zps installed, very glad i had run flats

M Kurz

My AAA rept. told me that they will change a flat tire but will not REPAIR one !

K7MXE

A simple repair kit from Amazon costs 8.43 and I scored a free air compressor from a friend who had 3 of them. I picked the one that fit in the jockey box in the trunk. That's cheap insurance whether you have run flat or not.

SCcues

I'll gamble a little now and then, but after a large screw in one tire and a nail in another I'm sticking with run-flat tires. I also carry a plug kit, a compressor, and some pliers in case I get another puncture that I can patch myself. I'd love the cheaper price and better ride of non run-flats, but after what I've already been through I'm going to stick with run-flat tires on my GS.

Scuba Ghost

I like the peace of mind that comes with run flats. When the OEM Goodyears burn out I will replace them with Michelin run flats.

j_digi454

SmileyOr

Thanks for sharing. I'm still debating on RF vs non-RF. I've never had Run Flats before on any cars. But I've had full or mini spares that could be used to get me up and running again. The time it takes to find and repair a flat (if it can be repaired) may be the same as changing the tire.

So it may just become a matter of convenience. RF allow you to drive to a repair facility vs making the repairs yourself.

HOXXOH

On the other side of that coin is the problem of not only finding replacement tires, but finding a place with the equipment to remove them even if they're repairable.

I suppose if you only travel within major population areas, that problem doesn't exist. But, if you find yourself with a non-repairable rear tire on your GS near Glasgow, MT on Saturday afternoon, don't plan on going anywhere before Tuesday.

Wildmanht

Wow!. What exactly is that thing stuck in your tire?

JAsVette

Nice story! I think the very fact that the Vette carries no spare tire makes it a no brainer to have run flats. I think the Vette owners who are looking for better performance from their tires are not the typical owners who drive their car as a daily driver or take long trips. I have Firestone Firehawks run flats and find the performance good enough for my daily and occasional enthusiastic driving. Performance tires aren't going to help you much at 2:00 on the morning in the middle of a highway or down some lonely country road.

Yz Kid

My oem tires are just about worn out, what's the best runflat that does not sacrifice much performance?

Joni Lynn

From what most have said. probably a Michelin.

4thC4at60

I once changed a flat on a Corvette in 17 degree weather. I really enjoyed that.... looking forward to doing it again in about the year 3,828....

I've been running RF tires on Corvettes since 1994 - almost 300,000 miles. Since I drive so much, often in remote places, RFs, for me, are the _only_ way to go.

GW360

As a motorcyclist who commutes 70 mi. daily and frequently goes on multi-state runs with only a tire plug kit and a CO2 inflator to depend on, I'm pretty comfortable with non-runflats.

But as a veteran of roadside tire repairs, if you are going to go that route with your vette, I recommend you invest in a professional-grade tire plug kit, not the $4 cheapies hanging on a peg by the checkout stand at the auto parts store. Look for kit with oversized, metal T-handle reamer and plug tools, like the ones in Safety Seal and ARB kits.

needdlex

When I bought my car, I thought that run flats were absolutely a waste of money.

I went about my Saturday and about 10 miles from home, the tpms started showing that I had a low tire. I pulled over and did a visual check and sure enough, I had a total of 8 wood screws in three of my tires.

I got home and found out that I picked up the screws literally at the end of my driveway and was able to drive 190 miles before the tpms showed low air.

The scary part is I was driving from a remote location to an even more remote location about 100 miles away with only one small town between the two, and no service stations or tire shops.