Z356

The first photo is of a younger Anglyne back in 1974...she has slightly deteriorated both in looks & taste in cars. She was always up-front about her assets...even back then!

Your second photo is of vinyl wrap 997 in 'pink'. That kind of thing has become a bit of the rage in the Far East, especially China!

http://www.carnewschina.com/2013/08/...pink-in-china/

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/ne...ery-80177.html

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

PS And you haven't mentioned that the Porsche factory in fact painted & delivered a 356 to a customer in 'pink' back in the day. So yes...we are not totally immune to pink in our Porsche community!

.

chuck911

Are you sure you're not thinking of the corvette magazine, "effluence"?

Hurricane

I had runflats on my C5 and my C6 - liked the security they provided in case I got a flat, the ride was fine...but the handling left a lot to be desired.

Not so sure I would would runflats on my C2S...

MKW

wasn't the " uber " C6 ZR1 the first Corvette to ditch run flats since 1996 ( and come with just an air compressor and a spray can of goop like recent Porsches )...... why are they back with the newly released " uber " C7 Z06 ?

I know the base model C5-C7 always has RFs

blschaefer1

My last couple of BMW's had run flats, the last being a Z4 35is. In both cases, the first thing I did was ditch them in favor of Michel Pilot Super Sports. The run flats absolutely ruined the cars. Ride and grip were noticeably improved with the PSS's.

Interesting that BMW does not put run flats on M cars.

Hurricane

I thought the C6 Z06 in 2006 didn't have runflats...but I could be mistaken.

vaderone

Had 4 cars with run flats. End up changing to non run flats in each car. The ride and handling was much improved with non run flats.

They definitely have gotten better over time. I believe when a manufacturer selects run-flats there are several advantages that trump ride quality and handling that would be safety when you have a flat, space, and less weight that aids gas mileage.

I would bet Porsche engineers have investigated run flats and not satisfied with ride quality and handling.

chuck911

I watched a BMW on the 405 one time drive over 2 miles, from just north of 520 to Kirkland-Redmond Exit 18, doing 80 on a flat left rear. There was a lot of smoke but no fire. It occurred to me that even if it had caught fire he could have pulled out his fire extinguisher, put out the fire, and driven on. Drive, extinguish, repeat. So where's the big need for run flats?

The other thing that occurred to me, well not then but after reading this thread, was I bet if someone had asked this guy, he would have said the ride was "not that bad."

MKW

you may be right that the C6 Z06 as well as the ZR1 had conventional tires , nevertheless, it seems retrograde to go back to run flats for the latest generation Z06 and the " ZR1 " to follow

like Porsche GT3 and GT3RS, these are not the long distance touring versions of Corvette

chuck911

and heaven knows, GM would never do anything retrograde....

Noah Fect

The sidewalls on the tires on my NB Miata were stiff enough that you could drive with 0 PSI and fool yourself into thinking that what you were feeling was just the wind, or maybe a bad stretch of road. Somewhat ashamed to admit I've done the same thing, and in the same place, albeit not at 80 MPH.

My excuse is that it was a very windy day and it just felt like the car was being pushed around a bit. I imagine the PZeros on my 981 would feel pretty similar, but fortunately I haven't had to find out yet.

Type 2

For one I have difficulty with absolutes as "BMW has just given up building decent cars ... [and run flats are] not something the suspension and car were designed for." For openers, like several posters, I am elated that Porsche AG on the 991 and 997.2 did not design their suspension for and install run flat tires (RFTs) as OEM equipment. However, we carry a donut spare, jack and tools (not part of its original equipment) in the frunk of our 997.2.

More to the point of my post , our 2011 BMW 335is does have staggered third-generation RFTs Bridgestone Potenza RE 050A (225/35/19 – fronts, and 255/30/19 – rears).

Bridgestone Potenza RFTs are identified by a molded-in lettering of “RSC” (Run-flat System Component). The 2011 to 2013 335is is one of BMW’s best sport coupes, IMO. Our (mine and Mary’s) main performance concern (read unrealized ‘fears’ to this point in time) with RFTs on the 335is is the increase in unsprung weight in the tire/wheel combination.

However, our actual experience with RFTs on a BMW 335is differs from several posters. The 335is wheels are 8’ x 19’ and 9’ x 19’; the wheels are forged, and with over 23,000 + miles on our RFTs, we have not had a wheel failure or rim cracks. Perphaps that can be chalked up to the forged wheels, as opposed to die cast wheels.

We have not had any tire noise, as compared to some Yokos designs, and specifically Michelin PS2s tire noise in the last 5,000 miles of service. The rear RFTs on the BMW were replaced early because of a bolt lodged in the right rear tire, but the fronts RFTs are original and still quiet in operation.

It should be noted that we took a European Delivery with the BMW 335is. The RFTs performed flawlessly in Europe on the Autobahns, Auto Routes, and on mountain roads. Before driving in Europe we were prepared to have the tires replaced after the car was shipped to the BMW Performance Center, in NC, for re-delivery. Our driving experience in Europe showed that there was no need to take the RFTs off the car. We have not tracked the 335is, and probably would not with the RFTs mounted (just our bias).

That being said, on the roads here in the Southeast US -- even in the twisties or curvy roads, other than BMW’s designed-in under steer coming into corners, the 335is with RFTs has held its own with 991s, 997.2s, 997.1s, and 993s, all normally aspirated, on “tours.” The third generation Bridgestone Re 050A RFTs on the 335is, in the dry, are just as grippy in our opinion as our 997.2 with its Pirellis P-Zero N2 on forged Turbo II wheels (9’ x 19’, and 11’ x 19’) on similar paved two lane roads.

We acknowledge that with RFTs on trips over 100+ miles in length, we do carry in the trunk a full spare BMW forged wheel (8’ x 19’)with a Michelin Pilot Super Sport (PSS) mounted, because again we ‘fear’ shredding even a RFT with an Interstate flat, as we have with other 'regular" radial tires. [See the note above on the donut wheel for the 997.2] Even with our positive experience with RTFs on the 335is, we do not plan to replace the Bridgestone RE050A RFTs, when the fronts tires need replacement.

The replacement tires will probably be Michelin PSSs or a non-RFT High Performance Bridgestone Potenza (our bias, coupled with cost of the RFTs). But again our experience with the third-generation OEM Bridgestone Potenzas RFTs has been a positive one, and they have been well suited for our 335is sport suspension. For road driving in the Southeast, it would be a difficult decision, both as to performance (grip and turn-in), noise, and dollars, to justify taking the RFTs off the 335is, while, IMO, those tires are well suited for spirited road driving, quiet, and still very serviceable. Just one view based upon experience --