Runflat tyres

The RunFlat tyre also called Run On Flat is a fairly new innovation. A RunFlat is able to work where an ordinary tyre would fail, its main purpose and attribute are that it can carry on running with no air pressure. If you did develop a puncture, you can basically carry on driving without having to pull over and change over to the spare to wheel. The technology used in the RunFlats allows it to support the weight of the car, where an ordinary tyre would cripple under force, the RunFlat would carry on strolling along. There are many cars that are fitted with RunFlats as standard including many BMWs and Mini's. If you develop a puncture in a RunFlat, you would still have to repair the tyre. A RunFlat doesn't seal the puncture. Another key factor is that although it is claimed that a RunFlat can travel 150km at 80kmh we think that to avoid any problems you should drive on them as minimum as possible. It has been observed that the further you run these tyres the more likely it is that you would damage the tyre beyond repair. Run flat tyres should not be fitted to cars that do not have some sort of pressure monitoring system. There are many manufactures now who make RunFlats and can found in a lot of common car sizes. There is also a price difference between a run flat and a standard tyre, you can expect to pay ?20 or more for the equivalent run flat.

Cars fitted with run flats instead of standard tyres will experience a hard ride this is because runflats have reinforced beefed up sidewalls that have little flex. There has been some improvement in some of the new run flats but they will never be as comfortable as ordinary tyres.

Self-Sealing

The name says it all, these tyres are able to seal themselves up if it is punctured. Self Sealing tyres contain an extra lining which is basically a puncture sealant, this sealant automatically seals punctures when a bolt or nail pierces through the tread. Self-sealing tyres are not so common as the Runflats. Most commonly made and used by Continental, who have named it the Continental Conti Seal.