[Shaun170]

I remember seeing a post in a thread a while back about a Bridgestone Alenza runflats that had split on the inside, looked terrible.

Well I took a wheel to the tyre shop yesterday for a repair as when I went to drive to work the rear off side was showing 0 pressure. I’d driven it home the evening before with no issues.

I’d suspected some sort of nail or screw in the tyre for about 2 months or so as every two or three weeks that particular tyre would drop by 0.2-3 bar, I run my tyres at 2.4 bar. I could never see anything obvious though on the surface. I never ever ran the tyre for more than a day at the reduced pressure and never ever drove on it flat. I’ve recently been on a road trip from the UK to Belgium for a long weekend and the pressure never dropped at all.

Called the tyre shop to check if the repair had been done as they’d found what was left of a nail in the tyre only to be told it was destroyed inside as if it’d been driven on flat.

This is how it looked and it was like this all the way round. Tyre had done just over 17k miles and had plenty of tread left.

Now £328 out of pocket for a new one. Annoying thing is I’m coming off run flats completely in about two months when I fit new rims.

[83883]

It is shocking how many problems have been posted about the Alenzas. I am so glad I got rid of them, and I'm sure you'll be happy once you replace them.

[alex2364]

OP is full of contradictories. The tire never got flat yet the mechanic said the tire was at 0 pressure.

[avi66]

Possibly one of the reason many places will not risk a repair on a run flat tyre.

It’s not necessarily the location of the puncture, but driving the car with pressure issues that affects the reenforced side walls. Then there’s the possibility the crack occurred during removal from the wheel.

[MADBMWX5MC]

One thing for sure, that is a wicked crack/split

[Shaun170]

Originally Posted by alex2364

OP is full of contradictories. The tire never got flat yet the mechanic said the tire was at 0 pressure.

No I never said that. Read the post. I never drove on it flat, I removed the wheel from the car and took it to the tyre shop. I discovered it with zero pressure before I drove. It had gone flat overnight, when I’d driven it home the night before the pressure was fine. The tyre shop suggested the damage was caused from driving on it flat with zero pressure which I’ve never done.

[Shaun170]

Originally Posted by avi66

Possibly one of the reason many places will not risk a repair on a run flat tyre.

It’s not necessarily the location of the puncture, but driving the car with pressure issues that affects the reenforced side walls. Then there’s the possibility the crack occurred during removal from the wheel.

That could well be true @[avi66] damage could have been caused by removal. I had a repair done on this tyre over a year ago though and it wasn’t damaged when taken off the first time.

[Keefy]

That’s not great to see, especially as I’ve just put Alenza’s back on my 20” alloys two weeks ago, only reason being that I got a good deal through Blackcircles and I thought that there was new Alenza’s out in terms of compound etc, but I could be wrong on that!

[avi66]

Originally Posted by Shaun170

That could well be true @[avi66] damage could have been caused by removal. I had a repair done on this tyre over a year ago though and it wasn’t damaged when taken off the first time.

I don't know what affect taking the tyre on and off multiple times has on an RFT, especially coupled with previous repair work and pressure issues.

If it was a widespread issue the forums would be swamped with reports given the number of cars with these.

I found it's a bit of lottery with tyres of any type, but here a comment on RFT cracking -

"if there is any evidence of 'creasing', 'cracking' or deposits of rubber 'crumb/dust', then a repair should not be carried out as these are signs that the tyre has been running at very low or zero pressure for an extended amount of time, therefore using the RunFlat sidewall component up to/very close to its distance/ ..."

[Manhattan]

I just replaced all four Alenzas at 13,500 miles. One of them had a large bubble on the outside sidewall. The inside has a crack very similar to the one the OP posted. The crack - about 12" (30cm) long - is NOT behind the bubble. It starts about 6" (15cm) away from the bubble and runs to about 18" (45cm) away.

Do we know if these cracks are a manufacturing defect or some "event" - pothole, curb, etc. The wheel and tire are otherwise perfect - no sign of hitting anything.

[aclockwrk]

I had the exact same issue happen last year. It is a definite crack the full circumference of the tire. BMW was of no help.
I went to the local Bridgestone/Firestone store, they said they cant do anything on the spot, and I would need to file a claim; if it gets approved, i get a pro-rate. They were charging $560 per tire!

Same day I ordered 4 Michelin Pilot sport 4s tires.
The Alenzas are garbage.

The Michelins, ride better, make less noise and handle way better in dry or wet.
Attached Images

[jrveron]

I agree that the Alenzas are not great, but I strongly believe that kind of cracks are a combination of heavy SUV + 21" rims + low-profile tires + low pressure.

IMHO, running 32-33 psi (BMW recommended) is too low. In my experience, 36-37 psi (3 people, small load) is much better.

[Manhattan]

My BMW dealership was useless as well - said it was caused by hitting a pothole. I went to Discount Tire and replaced all four tires. Discount Tire called Bridgestone while I stood there and got them to warranty the Alenza. It took 3 min. The BMW dealership refused to even ask Bridgestone if they'd warranty the tire as a manuf. defect. Then, 2 days later I got the survey and they wanted all 5 stars.

Note: Bridgestone was willing to provide $$$ toward a new set of Bridgestones. I declined.