Run flat tires?

There have been a few threads talking about the lack of a spare, but I don't recall anyone putting run flat tires on the leaf?

Has anyone done this or looked into it?

I have them on our BMW, and while a bit pricy, they save a ton of time when you eventually get a flat and don't have a spare.

abramsh said:

There have been a few threads talking about the lack of a spare, but I don't recall anyone putting run flat tires on the leaf?

Has anyone done this or looked into it?

I have them on our BMW, and while a bit pricy, they save a ton of time when you eventually get a flat and don't have a spare.

Click to expand...

my second car is an audi a4 sted of a bmw 3 largely because of the run-flats. i didnt like them and they are way overpriced.

The short answer is: No, I wouldn't consider doing that because of the cost, the ride feel, the short-life and they are overpriced.

I've had run flats in my last two cars and would avoid them like the plague. Both my other cars had class action lawsuits against the manufacturer for not revealing the low tread like of such tires. I've had to replace both sets of four within 30k miles. I replaced them with regular tires because the replacement run flats are more than twice the price. In the case of my Honda Odyssey, I've had to even replace the wheels, because the wheels that came with the car only took run-flats.

I would NEVER consider run flats again. I've been running running two cars with no spare for 3 years now with no problems. I bought my tires through Les Schwab (awesome local tire shop) , and they have a great warranty that includes towing in case of flats. Now I wondering what I'll do with the LEAF since the warranty won't extend to that car until I buy new tires for it......

So, like I said, they are pricey. There's nothing wrong with avoiding them because they are expensive and wear quickly; I get that.

On the other hand, driving 80 on the 101 in the pouring rain and having the car calmly tell you to slow down because you've just run over some nails is better than getting stuck in the rain without a spare followed spending half the day getting your towed and the tire replaced. Or worse, having it actually blow and slamming the car into a guardrail or other cars.

I wasn't really asking if people thought they were worth the money, I'm more interested if anyone has tried to get them on their leaf.

Personally I have always been fascinated by Michelin Tweel airless tire but I have not heard anything about it for years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqRJ9GfIJtI

abramsh said:

There have been a few threads talking about the lack of a spare, but I don't recall anyone putting run flat tires on the leaf?

Has anyone done this or looked into it?

I have them on our BMW, and while a bit pricy, they save a ton of time when you eventually get a flat and don't have a spare.

Click to expand...

Run-flat tires are a good deal heavier than "normal" tires. This is because they have stouter construction, as in, much stiffer sidewalls, stronger/thicker bead wires, etc. to help them maintain their shape when they are no longer capable of holding air. They cna also have an internal corrugated ring to keep the tire from getting squished all the way to the wheel. Added rotational weight requires more energy to spin up; it's especially bad when it's as far away as possible from center of rotation as in the case of tires.

Personally, I plan to get a jack from a Nissan Altima and a cheap wheel and tire combo for a spare.