Run-flat tires have often been blasted for the inferior comfort they deliver, however a recent European test gives hope that puncture avoidance may no longer equal a harsh ride.
German motoring organization ADAC and Austria’s OAMTC put four Bridgestone run-flats to the test, and found one to offer comparable ride comfort and fuel consumption to an equivalent standard tire.
Referring to its inaugural run-flat tire test in 2002, which it claims was the first such test performed anywhere in the world, the ADAC reported, “marked deficits in comfort and fuel consumption.”
Returning to run-flats in 2013, the ADAC and OAMTC put Bridgestone’s ER300 RFT Ecopia, ER300 RFT, S001 RFT and LM32 RFT up against comparable standard tires; the motoring organizations noticed that since the 2002 test the “weaknesses of the run-flat system seem to have been remedied.”
Tests were carried out using a BMW 1-series with size 205/55R16 H tires and V/W3 and a VW Golf VI with tire size 225/45R17 W4. Bridgestone’s latest generation OE tire, the ER300 RFT Ecopia, was deemed comparable to the equivalent standard tire in four of the five tested areas – dry and wet handling, comfort and fuel consumption.
In terms of the latter two parameters, the ER300 RFT showed improvement over the previous generation BMW OE tire, the ER300 RFT. The older model performed better in wet performance testing, however. The replacement market S001 RFT and winter LM32 RFT both delivered comparable fuel consumption to their respective standard equivalents, while comfort was inferior. The winter tire was also shown to have comparable braking and traction qualities in ice and snow, plus comparable snow handling. All tires performed significantly better than standard tires in the breakdown running capability parameter.
“In comparison to conventional tires, the externally indistinguishable reinforced sidewall run-flats now have equal performance, while the previous generation performs relatively poorly in terms of comfort and (fuel) consumption,” states the ADAC test report. “The improvement in run-flat performance primarily results from the ambitious specifications set out by the vehicle manufacturer. Comfort performance still needs to improve for replacement market and winter tires, however.”
José Enrique Gonzalez, Bridgestone Europe’s director of consumer marketing, describes the importance of run-flat tires for Bridgestone as follows: “Tires with run-flat technology are very important for the company but even more so for the end-user. These ADAC and OAMTC tests clearly show that enormous progress has been made versus the original RFT tires from the late 1990s: not only in terms of comfort but almost in all performance areas.
“Consequently, our latest tire with run-flat technology performs as well as a conventional tire. This was also translated in an increase in sales, both in the OE and replacement markets. In OE, BMW and Mercedes are the main car manufacturers who apply RFT tires with our latest technology. Regarding the replacement market, this tire concept has become increasingly popular which translates in a sales increase of 39% over the last three years (2009 to 2012). We believe that for the next five years, the market for tires with run-flat technology will continue to grow by 23%.” (Tyres & Accessories)
