Cover Feature
| by Austin Gamble
A Personal
Perspective
I have always considered Run Flat Tyres (RFT) as a rather
exotic product which is fitted to expensive German sedans,
and effectively inaccessible to the average man on the street.
That is why my ears pricked up when I was invited to the
T
he launch took place on a hot
Cape day on 6 November, and
the object of the exercise was
to allow the media to experience the
characteristics of the DriveGuard tyres,
at both normal pressure, and then
with one tyre completely deflated, first
one rear wheel, and then one front
wheel. We drove bog standard tenth
generation Toyota Corollas. And what a
revelation!
With all the tyres at normal pressure,
the ride on the gravel and tarred roads
around Franshhoek was surprisingly
smooth, and maybe it was the delightful
scenery, but my personal feeling was
that the ride was even smoother than
the Quest that I had test driven a few
weeks before. But then again the Cape
roads are in better condition than the
Gauteng roads, so it is all subjective. Let
us just say that the bottom line is that the
DriveGuard tyres perform just as well, if
not better, than conventional tyres.
Then for the acid test. One rear tyre
was deflated to zero pressure, and
off we rode. At 80 km per hour the
ride was once again a revelation.
You can definitely feel that the ride is
different, but the ride is surprisingly
stable. Then we had to swop front
and rear tyres, and again the ride is
slightly compromised, but you don’t
feel in danger, and a thumbs up for
the engineers behind this revolutionary
tyre. And because the RFT concept is
all about safety, and the fact that some
drivers may not realise that they have a
flat wheel, the Bridgestone guys have
insisted that you fit a Tyre Pressure
Monitoring System (TPMS), which will
warn the driver when the tyre starts to
go flat.
Now why would someone who has got
a car with conventional tyres replace,
at a slight price premium, with RFT’s?
Well, the most important reason is
safety, and I can talk from experience.
I’m not sure about you, but when my car
needs new tyres, it will be Bridgestone
DriveGuard for me.
➲ The smooth drive
encourages smiles
| words in action
A few years ago I was driving on a
particularly dangerous stretch of road,
when I had a flat, and no ways was I
going to replace my wheel in such a
vulnerable spot. I drove on at a low speed
for about 10 km until I got to a relatively
safe spot, and then changed my wheel.
The tyre was shredded, and the wheel
was damaged, but at least my life was
spared. Now if I had run flats, I would
have driven on even further at a decent
speed until I got to a petrol station, and
then changed my wheel, without the
stress of worrying about wheel damage.
This is particularly important in today’s
South Africa and an absolute must
for female drivers. And there are other
benefits. My current vehicle is a Mazda3,
with a biscuit spare wheel. If I change
to run flats, then I effectively have two
spare wheels. Biscuit spares are not
really an issue, because the range of
DriveGuard tyres are extensive, with the
15” tyres covering Toyota Corolla/RunX,
Fiat Punto, VW Golf, Volvo S40/V50;
the 16” tyres covering Renault Sandero,
Toyota Corolla/RunX, Audi A3, Ford
Focus, Chevrolet Cruze, Suzuki SX4, Audi
A4, VW Passat; the 17” tyres covering
Citroën DS3, Peugeot 207, Ford Focus,
Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Mazda3, VW
Golf/Jetta, BMW 3 series, Honda Accord,
Audi A4/A5; and the 18” tyres covering
VW Golf5/Golf 6, Audi A3; Audi A4/A5
and the Mercedes-Benz CLS. I’m sure
that I’ve missed some, but all you have to
do is ask your nearest tyre dealer.
11
december 2014 / January 2015
A Personal Perspective
media launch of the new Bridgestone DriveGuard RFT Tyres.