Runflats

[PGW]

I've been browsing through this forum as well as a few other expedition forums, and I haven't really seen anybody using runflats (like in the H1 wheels). It seems to be beneficial in that you would be able to limp home in case of a flat (if you have more flat tires than spares), but it would also be a pain in the ass when you finally have to change a tire. What is the general consensus? Too much hassle?

[spork2367]

everyone running two piece HMMWV wheels should be running an insert of some sort. some run raised inserts that are runflats, some just run a ring to lock the beads. i ran the magnesium runflats in the wheels on my scout. i limped home on the runflat 1 mile at 15 miles per hour. you could see a small ring on the inside of the tire where the runflat started to wear the tire. driving a longer distance, or at a higher rate of speed would have definitely damaged the tire. origionally the military had some sort of grease pack on the runflat that was broken open in the event of a flat. it'll be that spot on your magnesium runflat that you can't get clean no matter what. while i'm sure the grease helped, it must have made such a god awful mess, you might as will have thrown away the tire and wheel anyway.

[Elwenil]

While I personally want runflat HMMWV rims and intend to keep the insert intact, I think the majority of expedition trekkers would be more interested in repairing or swapping out the tire rather than continuing on. I can see where in certain situations it might be good to drive on the flat, but there's not normally much sense of urgency to get out of the area as in combat situations. Besides, a runflat could ruin a tire that could have simply been dismounted and plugged or patched on the trail.

[AndrewMuadDib]

Consider using Staun inner beadlocks, or Inner Air inner beadlocks.

They'll work as a runflat on a trail for sure. Also, have it set in your spare tire as well. They're expensive, but can do double duty - beadlocks and emergency runflats.

[gabroxy]

BFG baja 265 R 16 with 6 + ply side wall you can easily run them with no pressure

[SPEEDCRAVIN]

I run the hmmwv wheels with the Hutchinson full rubber runflat and have driven with a flat 42 for about 3 miles with no problems before. I think the rubber on rubber is more forgiving...

Just my .02,,, JOSH

[maxyedor]

BFGs never die, I retired mine today, only made it to Baja 40 times and at 67k miles they're not quite trail-worthy anymore, but at least I can get another 20k street miles out of them, don't even worry about runflats, they never get punctures, and I pick the worst lines and run over more pointy things than anybody.

[The Adam Blaster]

BFGs never die, I retired mine today, only made it to Baja 40 times and at 67k miles they're not quite trail-worthy anymore, but at least I can get another 20k street miles out of them, don't even worry about runflats, they never get punctures, and I pick the worst lines and run over more pointy things than anybody.

I would strongly take these comments with a grain of salt...
ALL tires, even medium truck tires that have 20 ply casings can fail due to penetration by a sharp object.
On any long expedition type trip I'll be carrying 2 spares.
And the thing about tires is that if you don't have 2 extra rims, you can always just keep an extra tire to be mounted onto a rim after a damaged tire has been removed.
It's obviously much more work to do that, but you can store just the tire in a much smaller space than you can store a tire mounted on a rim. ;)

[maxyedor]

I would strongly take these comments with a grain of salt...
ALL tires, even medium truck tires that have 20 ply casings can fail due to penetration by a sharp object.
On any long expedition type trip I'll be carrying 2 spares.
And the thing about tires is that if you don't have 2 extra rims, you can always just keep an extra tire to be mounted onto a rim after a damaged tire has been removed.
It's obviously much more work to do that, but you can store just the tire in a much smaller space than you can store a tire mounted on a rim. ;)

Definitely take my comments with a grain of salt, but my point is that choosing a good tire is essential, a run-flat tire is designed to get soccer mom's to the shop when there Bimmer picks up a nail, or get some soldiers to cover and in that case shedding a tire does not matter. You're much better off carrying some tubes than running a run-flat set-up if the goal is to get yourself home when you have 3 torn side-walls and home is 1000 miles away. I carry 2 spares to the trail-head every time and leave 1 at camp to save weight, on long trips I carry both on the truck and have never needed either. I did just switch to 15" rims and came up on a deal on 12 33x12.5x15s, so spare tires are really not a problem anymore for me, bought BFG Muds again so I should be good for the next 210,000 miles:laughing:

[The Adam Blaster]

The run flats that are being discussed are not run flat tires, but an augmentation to the actual rim.
I agree choosing the right tire off the start is the best plan though. ;)

[PGW]

Well, sounds like runflats are out. Anyways, plug/patch kits are much cheaper. :D

[spork2367]

:dead-horse-beating-begin:the tire i drove on the runflat was a band new BFG mud terrain with a tear in the sidewall...while the baja's are indestructable, the mud terrains definitely have fragile sidewalls. :dead-horse-beating-end:

the hutchinson rubber runflats weren't easy to come by last time i checked. also, i forgot to note, the hmmwv wheels *must* be run with inserts of some sort. they have no safety bead and a very shallow bead seat angle. this was done to make them easy to break down in the field. the bead would probably unseat at 20 psi with no insert and a 4000 lb. vehicle.

[Seabass]

If I were to build a purpose built expo rig I would not use run flats because of wieght alone. The differance between a normal tire and a runflat is quite substantial. Now multiply that by five or six depending on how many spares you carry and theres at least another hundred pounds added to the wieght of the vehicle. Additionally it's more sprung wieght witch in turn alters your ride quality and wears suspension components. The benifit does not out wiegh the down sides in my eyes.