Bridgestone DriveGuard run-flats

[Hokiefyd]

Bridgestone has introduced a new run-flat tire aimed at the heart of the passenger car market: cars and light trucks that were not originally equipped with run-flats.

Article from TireReview.com

I don't know about the tires, but I give two thumbs-up to their choice of spokesperson!

Edit: also, article from ModernTireDealer.com

 

[dparm]

I'm wondering what sort of uptake this will have. RFTs have a notoriously bad reputation and cost more. Maybe the big push will be that you don't have to try and change a spare tire on the side of the road anymore?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
I don't know about the tires, but I give two thumbs-up to their choice of spokesperson!

Smart move to go after the female market with an RFT product. Having to swap a wheel on the side of the road is challenging for some men, and even more so for women, especially if there is a crying kid in the back seat, so being able to just continue on with a flat is a big selling point.

 

[Hokiefyd]

From Bridgestone (via the MTD article):

Quote:
“I’m not going to say they are exactly the same each tire has a unique characteristic. Driveguard, even though it’s a runflat tire, will deliver comparable ride comfort to the Turanza Serenity Plus. It doesn’t mean it’s as quiet and comfortable and serene as the Turanza because that’s what the Turanza excels at so there’s still a reason to have both of those products in our portfolio. But this run flat tire can run toe to toe with the touring tire and a lot of people would have a hard time telling the difference.”


I look forward to some reviews of this thing!

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Smart move to go after the female market with an RFT product. Having to swap a wheel on the side of the road is challenging for some men, and even more so for women, especially if there is a crying kid in the back seat, so being able to just continue on with a flat is a big selling point.


See, that's just it...I never get a flat when Julie Bowen's on my TV screen...

 

[meep]

if the price was reasonable and general performance good for a passenger tire, I would consider something like this for my wife.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
I don't know about the tires, but I give two thumbs-up to their choice of spokesperson!

Smart move to go after the female market with an RFT product. Having to swap a wheel on the side of the road is challenging for some men, and even more so for women, especially if there is a crying kid in the back seat, so being able to just continue on with a flat is a big selling point.


A lot of people do that anyway haha!

Hmm my car is making a funny noise and this (i) light is on the dash and it says Tire Pressure low. Car is still good, though.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
See, that's just it...I never get a flat when Julie Bowen's on my TV screen...

I'll take Sofia Vergara instead.

 

[meep]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd


See, that's just it...I never get a flat when Julie Bowen's on my TV screen...


sigh. she has a name now. the mystery is gone...

 

[Vikas]

Are they one time use only? No, I am not talking the pills but the tires! How many miles and how fast can you drive with them once you have a flat and can the flat be fixed just like regular tires and put back in the service?

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Are they one time use only? No, I am not talking the pills but the tires! How many miles and how fast can you drive with them once you have a flat and can the flat be fixed just like regular tires and put back in the service?


From the Modern Tire Dealer link in the first post:

Quote:
The company says DriveGuard tires may be repaired in certain circumstances depending on tire damage, amount of pressure loss and vehicle operating conditions.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
From the Modern Tire Dealer link in the first post:

Quote:
The company says DriveGuard tires may be repaired in certain circumstances depending on tire damage, amount of pressure loss and vehicle operating conditions.

Yeah, and that's pretty much what CapriRacer stated in my recent thread about RFTs.

 

[AboutTires]

I'm very disappointed that I was too sick to get on a plane for this launch, but I'm asking Bridgestone to send me a set to try them out.

John McEnroe is also a spokesperson for the tires. I hear he spoke for about a half an hour, but nothing he said was actually printable.

 

[tenderloin]

Mr.%^%$$

The DriveGuard was designed to give a Touring tire ride to a run flat tire. It should give you a smoother, quieter ride versus the RE960.


Director, Consumer Customer Support
Bridgestone Americas

 

[Quattro Pete]

Quote:
The DriveGuard was designed to give a Touring tire ride to a run flat tire. It should give you a smoother, quieter ride versus the RE960.

We know that RE960 is a UHP all-season tire. What performance category is this new DriveGuard in?

EDIT: According to a TR rep, it'll most likely be classified as a Grand Touring AS tire. If that's the case, then the above statement isn't much of an accomplishment. Now, if this new DriveGuard tire is smoother/quieter than their Turanza Serenity Plus, then that would be something to be proud of.

 

[AboutTires]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Quote:
The DriveGuard was designed to give a Touring tire ride to a run flat tire. It should give you a smoother, quieter ride versus the RE960.

We know that RE960 is a UHP all-season tire. What performance category is this new DriveGuard in?

EDIT: According to a TR rep, it'll most likely be classified as a Grand Touring AS tire. If that's the case, then the above statement isn't much of an accomplishment. Now, if this new DriveGuard tire is smoother/quieter than their Turanza Serenity Plus, then that would be something to be proud of.


Given that it's a runflat, if it's smoother and quieter than a round rock I'll at least be mildly impressed.

 

[tenderloin]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Quote:
The DriveGuard was designed to give a Touring tire ride to a run flat tire. It should give you a smoother, quieter ride versus the RE960.

We know that RE960 is a UHP all-season tire. What performance category is this new DriveGuard in?

EDIT: According to a TR rep, it'll most likely be classified as a Grand Touring AS tire. If that's the case, then the above statement isn't much of an accomplishment. Now, if this new DriveGuard tire is smoother/quieter than their Turanza Serenity Plus, then that would be something to be proud of.


The Drive Guard is not a UHP tire...but they make the Drive Guard in many speed ratings (H,V,W). If it offers a better/softer/quieter ride over other run flats, in my opinion ...many people will give up a bit of performance for the positive ride aspects of the Drive Guard

Regarding the Serenity Plus..

"We’re marketing this as a touring tire,” says Robert Saul, senior product manager. Bridgestone is using the Turanza Serenity Plus, a premium touring tire, for comparison purposes. Because the two tires share the same tread compound, they have similar wet, dry and snow performance.

“I’m not going to say they are exactly the same, each tire has a unique characteristic. DriveGuard, even though it’s a run-flat tire, will deliver comparable ride comfort to the Turanza Serenity Plus. It doesn’t mean it’s as quiet and comfortable and serene as the Turanza because that’s what the Turanza excels at so there’s still a reason to have both of those products in our portfolio. But this run-flat tire can run toe to toe with the touring tire and a lot of people would have a hard time telling the difference.”

The DriveGuard tire will be priced comparably to the Turanza Serenity Plus tire in a similar size and speed rating".

 

[tenderloin]

From Bridgestone rep.

With regard to ride, the RE97AS RFT (Grand Touring All Season) would be similar to the RE960’s (UHP All Season)

 

[Quattro Pete]

Well, that does sound promising. It's about time someone figured out how to make a comfortable RFT.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I have their 960A/S on my BMW and I can only tell they're RFT on very cold (freezing) days and upon turn in. Still relatively quiet after 25k miles.