Space saver for e91

Can't help with the q but I would be interested to hear how you get on with non runflats.  Isn't the suspension set up designed to allow for the slightly stiffer runflat tyre?  If you put softer tyres on it i.e. non runflats will the car then wallow around a bit more?

Certainly the runflat rims will take non runflat tyres.

Is there much of a price difference between non runflats and runflats for your E91?  Price wise for me there is only a few ££ (like about £20) for the same make/model/size of tyre for mine.

You have got everything to loose if you don't tell your insurance company about the change.  Simply telling them can avoid a nasty suprise in the event of a claim.

Is it out of warranty, if not, they may be interested to hear about your change.

A few years ago Mrs D had a 318Ci running on style 44 17" star spokes while I had a 330Ci running on style 79's.  Hers ran 225/45/17 and mine had 205/50/17.  The 330 rode in a much more civilized fashion.  Its amazing what a little extra sidwall does for comfort (and handling) for little discernible loss of grip.

This time out, the tyres are 205/55/16 so there is plenty of sidewall.  I'm fairly sure that losing the runflats (for which I have no particular fondness) will be enough to restore calm.

Andrew, the car is a 2007 so warranty isn't an issue at this stage.  If it was I' d probably have thought twice about making the change just yet.

I probably won't make the switch for a few weeks yet.  We'll have a decent holiday run down to Chamonix and back via the west coast of France to test them out in late August/September.  Will report back after that on how they perform with a tail full of wine!

Swapped on to the non run flats yesterday - Conti PremiumContacts.

Wow.  The improvement is even better than I expected.  As new tyres you'd expect them to be a bit quieter than what they've replaced but the change on that score is better that I'd normally expect.  Grip is improved as you'd expect - considering the old tyres were near their wear marks.

The big difference is in ride quality. 

On less than perfect roads that are easy to find around my neck of the woods the composure is vastly improved.  A series of surface blemishes don't unsettle the car like it did on the run flats.  A mid bend bump doesn't echo through it to the cabin like on the run flats.  If anything, the handling is improved as the bit of flexibility in the sidewalls communicates the progression of transition through corners, etc. even better.  That might impact on the upper realms of absolute grip but I don't see that being an issue in daily driving.  I tried it on the motorway too and it runs quietly, comfortably and as straight as a die.

The net result is that the car now rides with a smoothness and composure that puts it far closer to my beloved e39 than any e36 or e46 I've yet driven.

Other than souricing a spacesaver for it I can't see any downsides so far.