Run Flats Ran Flat

[Smittybilt]

Got into my car this afternoon ready for my usual enjoyable drive home. I started the car up and immediately the obd computer told me that I had a right rear flat tire and that I was not to drive more than 55 mph and that the car's handling would be diminished. I didn't believe it so I got out and lo and behold the tire was indeed flat. I've never had run flat tires before so this was a novel experience for me.

I immediately called my usual tire guy and he said that he didn't deal with run flats much less 19inch wheels. He told me to call a Goodyear dealership which I did. The dealer nearest to me was about 25 miles away but said they could fix the tire. (By the way, I called NTB and the guy told me that once these run flats went flat they had to be replaced and couldn't be fixed. I immediately hung up on him).

I could see a 1/4 inch diameter screw protruding from the tire right smack in the middle. I was about to drive the 25 miles to the dealer when it occured to me I could probably put air in the tire at a nearby gas station and drive it with air to Goodyear. That I did. The whole drive to the gas station I kept thinking my tire was going to shred and that the wheels would get destroyed after every bump. Neither happened.

Got to Goodyear and they couldn't find a jack low enough to jack my car up. Finally I told them I would drive the car home, take the tire off the car and bring it to them ( I was beginning to think they've never done this before but the guy assured me that they had). Went home took the tire off and brought it back. The EMT expert did a great job plugging the tire from the inside, rebalancing the tires, and NOT scratching the wheel. So a good end to a potentially bad story.

Remounted the tire and my car told me I had 23 psi in the tire and that it was low. I pumped it up but it kept saying 23. Checked it with a pressure guage and it measured 45psi (holy *#". Brought out the manual and it said the tire guages have to driven to 15mph to register, but they were registering right then. I decided to drive the car, went for a short ride, and eventually all tires read 31 psi (i measured each tire and adjust them to about 30). So I am happy again, everything in my new C6 works but I keep thinking about how brittle those tire pressure sensors looked and what you have to do to replace them if one goes bad. Hope that never happens.

So in the end run flats seem to work, at least as long as you can find someone that can work on them. Smitty

 

[Roadster Guy]

A well told story. Good information to be had. Happy ending. Bravo!

RG

 

[KOPBET]

(By the way, I called NTB and the guy told me that once these run flats went flat they had to be replaced and couldn't be fixed. I immediately hung up on him).

Isn't that what Bridgestone/Firestone required for their EMTs? I knew Goodyears could be repaired as long as the plug was installed from the inside and there was no heat damage to the sidewall. Where does BStone/FStone stand on this today?

 

[C7BOB]

Remounted the tire and my car told me I had 23 psi in the tire and that it was low. I pumped it up but it kept saying 23. Checked it with a pressure guage and it measured 45psi (holy *#". Brought out the manual and it said the tire guages have to driven to 15mph to register, but they were registering right then. I decided to drive the car, went for a short ride, and eventually all tires read 31 psi (i measured each tire and adjust them to about 30). So I am happy again, everything in my new C6 works but I keep thinking about how brittle those tire pressure sensors looked and what you have to do to replace them if one goes bad. Hope that never happens.

I believe you have to drive a certain amount of time (maybe 5-10 minutes), and a certain speed to get an update on the pressure. The previous value is shown until the update.

 

[Remo]

Smitty,

Thanks for the good "run falt" story. Here at the CAC the "run flats" continue to be one of the most popular subjects - both pro and con.

I have 15k miles on my GY-EMT's and I know eventually I will have to replace them so recently I made some local inquiries. What I found most interesting was several tire dealers, including Goodyear, recommended going to my Chevy dealer as they own the specific equipment needed to deal with "run flats" and expensive wheels. I checked with both Chevy dealers in the area and they confirmed that they had to invest in some very expensive equipment some years ago to provide competent service to their customers.

Remo:cool

 

[Smittybilt]

Remo;

I originally thought of going to the dealership where I got my car but unfortunately they are about 50 miles up the road (I just don't trust the dealer close to me because of a previous disappointing service experience).

The dealership I got my car at I would definitely trust. They have 2 master Vette mechanics and also host the area Corvette Club meetings. They also perform covette modifications and will warant them. I would definitely have my tires changed there if I had a choice, and I plan to have them do the replacement once my tires get worn. I saw their EMT tirechange machine and was pretty impressed with it. But in yesterday's situation I was kind of desperate. Thank goodness it turned out to be a good experience. Smitty

 

[Billybeau1]

Good to know - thanks Smitty

 

[iteachflyin]

Run GY OEM EMT's at EXACTLY 30 psi Cold

When I first read your post my eyes tricked me into reading the title as "Run Run Flats Flat". After reading it I know I was incorrect but it leads me to another story. When I purchased my 2000 coupe a two months ago I negotiated for new GY EMT OEM Runflats, against the better judgement of many members of the Corvette forums ... mostly due to what they said was extreme noise from the OEM tires. Well, the first day I ran the car up the NYS Thruway I was ready to concede they were right, in fact the car was so loud I was ready to trade it back! But suddenly high tire pressure warnings came up for all the tires. Once I reduced the tire pressures to the recommended 30 psi using a very good tire guage and now that I keep them their virtually everyday, I don't experience any uncomfortable noise at all from these tires. Don't get me wrong, the car is not as quiet as a Lexus ES330 but it sure isn't noisy. I believe fully that those who are experiencing the harsh tire noise from these GY EMT's are not keeping a good eye on their pressures. And even monitoring them via the tire pressure readings on the DIC may not be enough, as I have heard many complain that their readings are inaccurate .. fortunately my readings have demonstrated themselves to be 'dead' on. Bottom line, don't ditch these tires too fast, just be super critical about the pressures and they'll be fine.

 

[Remo]

Bottom line, don't ditch these tires too fast, just be super critical about the pressures and they'll be fine.

Teacher,

Well said. I have practiced the same procedure since I purchased the car new in 2001. Sure they make a little more noise than your average radial. But keep the tire preesure as close to 30 lbs as possible and they're just fine. Now let's go flying.

Check six,
Remo:cool

 

[Smittybilt]

30 psi is definitely the pressure for the GY EMT's. To me they're downright quiet. My truck tires seem to make more noise than they do. As for the tire pressure sensors, they seem to be pretty much on the money. Smitty

 

[slowtrak]

Is that 30 PSI COLD ? If so, what is the "warmed up" pressure usually ?

 

[Smittybilt]

cold pressures run 29-30. Once they get heated up usually I see 30-32 on the DIC. Smitty

 

[mick_s3]

I run mine at 28 cold, 30-31 hot (Im in Florida). I have to watch it the few days a year it gets real cold because the pressures go down to like 25 and trigger the warning.

One thing that I totally cannot understand is why the centers of the tires wear like 3x faster than the outsides on the rear. Weird as hell (and expensive).

The fronts wear evenly and last 3x as long... I cannot figure out what is causing this!

(haha could it be my right foot......)

 

[clawson3]

I run mine at 28 cold, 30-31 hot (Im in Florida). I have to watch it the few days a year it gets real cold because the pressures go down to like 25 and trigger the warning.

One thing that I totally cannot understand is why the centers of the tires wear like 3x faster than the outsides on the rear. Weird as hell (and expensive).

The fronts wear evenly and last 3x as long... I cannot figure out what is causing this!

(haha could it be my right foot......)

I notice this too, MUCH more wear, I do a lot of burnouts for the grins, I think that is the reason.?????

 

[bossvette]

I run mine at 28 cold, 30-31 hot (Im in Florida). I have to watch it the few days a year it gets real cold because the pressures go down to like 25 and trigger the warning.

One thing that I totally cannot understand is why the centers of the tires wear like 3x faster than the outsides on the rear. Weird as hell (and expensive).

The fronts wear evenly and last 3x as long... I cannot figure out what is causing this!

(haha could it be my right foot......)

if the center of the tire is wearing faster then the edges you have too much air pressure, back it off a little until they wear about even.
Thats what I did with my Pirellis only I went the opposite direction my outsides were wearing faster. Outside temp and driving habits have a lot to do with tire pressure. the 30lb start point is just that a starting point. Play around with it and keep an eye on your gas milage also it will change with Tire pressure.

 

[catbert]

I'm really glad I have lived close to a Discount store tire for the past couple decades. They don't blink at fixing run-flats - for free....no matter where you got them. I just replaced a set on my C6 - at Discount. How could you not be loyal to a company with that kind of service, and good prices too.;worship

 

[BigMike5]

run flats

Last winter I had one 25 psi warning come on. Couldn't understand it altho it was in the 20 degree range at the time. I went and pumped some air into the tire and then the sensor said I was at like 42 psi. I knew that could not be right, but I let a little air back out anyway. Then it dawned on me that maybe the computer cycle needed to reboot, so I shut off the car, restarted it and drove for a few miles at 30mph, and low and behold it reset to the reasonable 31 psi range. No problems since, but I have noticed that it is 28-29 psi in cold weather til it gets going, and it usually gets up to 31-32 psi when it gets warmed up. So far no wear noticed at 10K miles. Noise I find is in the mind of the beholder. What is loud to the wife is fine with me, and great for someone else. I've been around tanks much of my life, so this car rides pretty darn quiet for me. lol I have also been told by one tire dealer that when the sensors quit [he said in about 5 years of use] they cost a lot to replace, and same when one gets damaged in the tire. Course what on this car does not cost a lot to replace or repair?lol I may try a different brand of run flats when the time comes, but I like the 200 miles at 55 mph promise if there is a problem.

 

[Jimailer]

Just had my first run flat flat yesterday. Ran over a 4" All in the road with the right rear. I don't think the read out on the DIC has anything to do with moving the car it's a time thing. The computer reads the pressure apx every 5 min if your moving or not. This morning when I started the car it said 12 psi, I let it run to warm up and got the pump, pluged it in ect... just after I filled the tire it said 30 psi never moved the car.
If your anywhere near a Les Schwab tire store they will fix flats for free, even run flats great people. They took a lot of care making sure not to hurt my car when the put it on the lift they even had there own specal plates to put under it, did not need my pucks

 

[silverbullit99]

Run flats

I often wondered ,, they say that you can run about 100 miles to safely get you to a garage to get the tire repaired in the event of a flat. What if you get a flat for example at 2 in the morning and no garage is around, and you decide to pull into a hotel and spend the night and take the car to the garage in the morning. How long can the tire stay up if it's not driven ??:confused

 

[silverbullit99]

Run flats

I often wondered ,, they say that you can run about 100 miles to safely get you to a garage to get the tire repaired in the event of a flat. What if you get a flat for example at 2 in the morning and no garage is around, and you decide to pull into a hotel and spend the night and take the car to the garage in the morning. How long can the tire stay up if it's not driven ??:confused