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If you are in the market for new tires and your vehicle is part of the 13-14% of vehicles that came factory installed with run-flats then you may be wondering, are run flat tires worth it for my California based vehicle?

This is a good question that is often asked by vehicle owners with OEM run-flat tires. The answer isn’t as straight forward, but in this blog we’ll try to offer pros and cons for a run-flat tire so you can make the best decision for your situation

Let’s discuss their Pros and Cons :

Pros -

Stability: As this tire can hold the vehicle for miles without air, a sudden deflation results in less weight transfer and tread destabilization. Steering and handling remain near normal after a blowout.

Safety: The primary advantage of a run flat tire is that if a flat develops, you can continue driving safely and you don't have to get out of the car in cold weather or in the rain or on the street in the dark. In fact, according to most manufacturers, you can drive up to 50 miles at 50 MPH on a flat run-flat tire.

Fuel efficiency: With the spare wheel and tire repair tools removed, the vehicle's weight is lower and thus results in some fuel efficiency.

Cons –  

Reduced tread life: According to a J.D. Power research from 2013, people who used run-flat tires replaced them 6,000 miles sooner than those who used traditional tires. The cause for this is unknown, but one suggestion is that tire manufacturers used a soft tread compound on a run-flat tire to compensate for the rough ride. Tread life is reduced as a result of the softer compound. It's proven difficult to find reliable information on the durability of run-flat tires. However, owners with run-flat tires expressed higher overall satisfaction in a 2018 J.D. Power owner survey.  

No spare: Vehicles with run-flat tires don't have a spare wheel or tire, and they also don't have a jack or tools. Indeed, removing the spare tire and repurposing the space for anything else (styling, a third-row seat, interior space, etc.) is one of the main reasons why carmakers offer run-flat tires.

More frequent replacement: Blowouts can still happen if a driver ignores the warnings and goes beyond the zero-pressure range or beyond the speed limit, causing the tire to disintegrate and cause the same destabilizing effects. The driver will also need to call a tow truck if the puncture is on the sidewall or if the tire collides with a heavy item. "Customers with vehicles equipped with run-flat tires are roughly twice as likely as those with vehicles equipped with conventional tires to have to replace a tire due to a flat or blowout," according to the J.D. Power report.

Higher cost: Average run flat tire costs $40 - $70 more that its non-run flat counterpart.

Inferior Ride Quality: Run flat tires have stiffer sidewalls in order to support the weight of the vehicle in case of a flat. The stiffness of the sidewalls often leads to a harsher ride.

If you prefer convenience and/or fuel efficiency over everything else, then the Run-flat technology is for you!*

*Please note that the experts at Daniels Tire Service recommend that if the Original Equipment (OE) tires for your vehicle were run-flats then you should continue to stay with them because the vehicle was designed to run properly with that configuration. Similarly, our team does not recommend changing over to run-flat tires if your OE tires were non-runflats. The harsher ride, lower tread life, and overall cost generally don’t make them a worthwhile alternative.