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Are run flat tyres the way forward?
Most would now be thinking to themselves what are run flat tyres and how are they different to normal tyres? With normal tyres when you get a puncture the tyre deflates quickly and you're in need of a spare almost immediately. Run flat tyres can travel up to 150 miles at motorway speeds with a puncture eliminating the need to carry a spare tyre which allows you to travel home safely with a puncture and deal with changing it at home.
This has been a great revelation for car designers as they no longer need to worry about leaving space for a spare tyre and tyre changing equipment such as a jack and tire iron. They're now able to make sports cars more practical for everyday life making the boot and interior of the car bigger without compromising on performance.
Some argue that these tyres should be on every car as it would allow more room to make practical cars even more practical!
Not only is it practical but car manufactures that use run flat tyres on most of their models such as BMW say that they're also a lot safer on a car as the driver doesn't have to stop at the side of busy roads and change a tyre. It's also argued that changing a tyre can be difficult for the elderly and run flats get them where they need to go so they can seek assistance themselves instead of waiting for roadside assistance they have to pay extra for.
However with the good also comes the bad and they do have their disadvantages. To start off they're more expensive and harder to find that normal tyres. Not all tyre stores stock them and you may have to shop around a bit to find one, when you do find one you will also see they're a lot more expensive, most don't like paying more than what is necessary and would rather have normal, cheaper tyres.
Another disadvantage of the run flat tyre is that when they do start to deflate it shows no signs as the tyre walls don't collapse when air is lost and you end up only noticing the flat tyre when it's too late. However to counteract this problem most cars that come with run flat tyres as standard have a tyre pressure monitoring system which notifies the driver when the tyre drops below 75% of its normal air pressure which allows the driver to do something about it before it becomes too late.
Run flat tyres may be the way forward in the future when cars become even smaller and space for the spare tyre has to be compromised. However at the moment it looks like it's up to the manufactures discretion as to whether or not the run flat tyres are used on their cars. On your driving lessons Manchester run flat tyres won't be used as the type of car they're normally used on isn't something that you would learn in. Making sure you know how to change a flat tyre is something that is vital as a driver as most have to do this at some point in your driving life. Just ask on your driving lessons and your instructor should run you through the process.
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