No. Sidewall bubbles are usually found on tyres that have suffered from some sort of impact. Unfortunately, the lower the tyre profile, so the susceptibility to this sort of damage will increase. This is true for both standard and Runflat tyres.
The RFT is designed to carry the weights that the vehicle manufacturer specifies for that vehicle on which the tyre is fitted, at the manufacturers recommended distance and speed.
A Bridgestone run flat tyre is repairable, but only under certain specified conditions and if repair is allowed by the individual vehicle manufacturer.
The retailer remains fully and exclusively responsible for any repairs it carries out on Bridgestone RFT tyres. Neither Bridgestone nor any of its affiliated entities may be held liable for any damage resulting from a repaired tyre.
BS has a long history of RFT tyre development, though until quite recently the tyres have been utilised only on quite low volume vehicles. Safety is a core value of BS and with only relatively small volumes of tyres on the market; we could not gather sufficient data to satisfy our own very strict standards.
As a major provider to such companies as BMW, we have been able to gather a lot of experience & hence we can now be confident that the repair of RFT tyres in certain conditions can be undertaken without any risk to our customers.
Additionally, as we only provide RFT tyres as Original Equipment, developed for specific vehicle types, we have to work closely with those car manufacturers respecting their expectations of customer satisfaction.
The retailer remains fully and exclusively responsible for any repairs it carries out on Bridgestone RFT tyres. This means also he is responsible for his own judgment. Bridgestone have only specified conditions, which, if not met, the tyre is basically not suitable to repair.
Yes. Respecting the conditions, the maximum number of holes is limited to 2 and these must be separated by at least 40cm. Also here, repair companies may have their own policy and these must be adhered to.
RFT is specifically developed for a certain vehicle models. Only the approved tyre should be mounted on the specific vehicle. Repair to RFT should only be considered if the vehicle manufacturer allows.
In very simplistic terms the only basic difference between a run flat tyre and a standard tyre is the reinforced rubber sidewall. As repairs should only be done in the tread area, repairing a standard tyre or an RFT tyre should not be different.
Repair companies may however apply their own repair methods. As Bridgestone is not a specialist repair company, we then also do not specify any details on repair of tyres.
Ensure the tyre is clean, dry & inspected in a well illuminated area. Start with an external tyre check, followed by an internal tyre check. For any details on any inspection criteria we refer to the Bridgestone technical bulletin.
