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Run Flat Tires

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Fundamentally, a car tire is a car tire, effectively unchanged ever since Harvey Firestone perfect the vulcanization process in the early years of the 20th Century.

Yet there have been some incremental developments in efficiency and utility in recent years, in particular the introduction in 1994 of “run flat” tires, which are designed to carry a vehicle at least fifty miles even after a puncture. This allows the driver to either get the vehicle home or maneuver it off the highway and into a repair shop.

Widespread adoption of the new tires has been somewhat slow, owing perhaps to their slightly higher cost and slightly lower ride qualities, but run flats are worthy of serious consideration, considering they have the potential to allow drivers to dispense with spare tires altogether.
There are two main types of run flats: …show more content…

Quality and cost

Some drivers have expressed concern with the ride quality and cost of run flats; the tires tend to cost about a third more, on average, than a comparable standard tire, and reports are that they run a bit more harshly on the road surface and have weaker traction, on the whole, than standard tires.

Moreover, while a standard tire puncture can be repaired with a simple patch kit costing only a few dollars, run flat tires can’t always be repaired once they’ve been damaged – which necessitates buying a new tire – and, even if they can be, they require some time off the rim as part of the process.

There have also been indications that run flats wear out far more quickly than do regular tires – one study found that run flats needed to be replaced an average of 6,000 miles sooner than standard tires. That claim was enough of an issue for some drivers on the AutoGuide Forum Network to inspire a lawsuit against the manufacturer.
Fixing Ride Quality

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