Marab Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Thinking about buying a 330d m sport coupe, probably about 12 mnths old. Having read all the nightmare stories about 19" wheels cracking and very expensive tyres I wondered if anyone has experience of 18" wheels and run flats on this car. I realise it may be hard to find an m sport on 18" wheels but some of the face lift models are starting to appear on 18" wheels. Such a shame about 19" wheel dilema, I may have to settle for a 320d or a 330d se? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Bangle Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 RFT are very expensive in whatever size you buy. I have no experience of an 330d however, depending on how long you plan on keeping the car any manufacturing faults with the wheels should be covered by the warranty. Another option is to buy the car with 19"'s, take them off and sell them on ebay/forum etc and buy new 18"'s without RFT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calm Chris Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 Runflats are poo re:handling and tram lining. PS3's on my 120d m sport have turned it in to a proper little go kart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marab Posted December 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 Thanks Andy and Chris. BMW warranty should cover cracked wheels seems to be a bit of an issue with BMW, they rather think pot holes and bad driving are usually to blame. I haven't heard as many people having issues with 18" wheels, but it does seem a bit ridiculous to spend around 30K on a used car and then start trying to sell the wheels? There is also the insurance issue, and I think it would be difficult to clear removing RFTs and replace with normal tyres with insurance company before buying the car? Such a shame, I love everything else about 300d coupe, I can't help wondering why BMW don't ditch RFTs? Is there anybody out there that actually likes them? I think not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saab Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 I have runflats and I think they are ok - not wonderful, but I certainly don't hate them. That being said I would seriously consider changing them to normals if a situation arises where all four tyres required replacement at around the same time. I know many people who have changed from runflats to normal with no problems whatsoever. Those who have told their insurers about the change haven't had too much of a problem - most insurers are more concerned about you having a tyre with suitable speed rating rather than runflat/non-runflat. Others simply haven't told their insurers taking the view that RFT is a convenience rather than a safety feature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SO8 Posted March 18, 2011 Report Share Posted March 18, 2011 I have just bought a 2010 330d with the 'new' 19" wheels .... they seem 100% fine - infact the ride is definitely / noticeably better than the 58 plate 320d M Sport which was on 18" wheels !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marab Posted March 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 Ended up buying a 320d M Sport Coupe on 18" wheels with runflats. They seem to be ok and the ride is a big improvement on my A3, but they do tram line. I suppose I'll just have to decide whether to change them to non runflats when they need changing. I'm told tyre pressures should be 35 fronts 41 rear, I was a bit surprised at 41 rears? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SO8 Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 My 18's tramlined ... but the car handled OK so I put up with it. There were lots of vibes through the steering too - I got told 'they all do that' ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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