A New BMW “safety” feature, so Insurance Friendly.

The new BMW 3 Series comes with no spare tyre.



Is it bad news ?? No at all, She comes with run flat tyres!
Here is the "pros" n "cons"

pros
It can run at 80km/h for 150 km (or 1000km) after your tyre is fully (or partially) deflated .
It is still controllable under the circumstance where one or more tyre undergo sudden puncture.
It save your time of replacing tyre.

cons
The tyre is now still expensive.
Unaware driver could have hard time to seek the spare tyre.

Why Run Flat?
Essentially, the idea behind Run Flat is to be able to keep driving with a partially or fully deflated tyre safely.

The benefits of Run Flat are as follows:
· Safety. The vehicle continues on a straight course, even after a sudden or slow puncture on one or several tyres, and remains in control. All dynamic safety systems such as the ABS, DSC, CBC etc. are still fully active.

· Driving on. Even a moderately loaded vehicle with completely deflated tyres can be driven for at least another 150 km at a speed of 80 km/h. With a partial pressure loss, this distance increases to 1000 km, driving on residual pressure. (Remember that BMW did extensive co-development and testing with the six largest tyre manufacturers of Run Flat tyres before introducing Run Flat to its vehicles. These distances and speeds are failsafe, worst-case scenario figures. I personally completed more than 300 kms on a fully deflated tyre at an average speed of more than120 km/h. It doesn’t mean I am a hero, things like outside temperature, road condition and driving style will all impact on how far you can go before the tyre fails completely. To be safe, stick to the guidelines.)

· Added safety and convenience. The damaged tyre no longer needs to be changed at the time and place where the failure happened- which might be on the highway, in a tunnel, in the rain or in a dangerous area.

· More luggage space. The system eliminates the need to carry a spare wheel, car jack and tools. (This has caused much strife and confusion amongst 1 Series and 3 Series owners in particular, because their cars are not fitted with an emergency spare wheel. There is however now a solution to this for added peace of mind. From the parts department of your local BMW dealership, you can purchase a portable emergency spare wheel kit. The kit consists of an emergency spare wheel, a jack, a wheel spanner and a wedge to stop your car from rolling away. It all comes packaged in a neat carry-bag that can be neatly stored away when not in use. My only criticism is what on earth do you do with the flat wheel you have changed afterward? Still some work to do there. Ultimately, you really don’t need the spare, the Run Flats are good enough.)

· Weight reduction. No emergency spare wheel means a saving of about 20 kg, which helps to reduce fuel consumption.

· Integrated Run Flat indicator or TPM (Tyre Pressure Monitor). This enables early detection of slow punctures and thus helps prevent tyre damage. Sensors alert the drive if tyre pressure has dropped. More than 70% of all tyre damage is due to slow punctures.
Source: www.bmwcarclub.co.za