Emergency running system with self-supporting tires

The side walls of the self-supporting tire are reinforced. In conjunction with a special disc wheel, the tire can still be used for a certain distance even if it suffers a complete loss of pressure.

Mobility is retained for the following distances up to a speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) and with a cautious, suitably adapted driving style:

Unloaded vehicle max. 500 km (300 miles)

Unloaded roadster less than 250 km (150 miles)

Fully loaded vehicle max. 50 km (30 miles)

Self-supporting tires demand permanent monitoring of the tire pressure to ensure that the driver is given adequate warning if pressure is lost during a journey. For this reason, these tires are only available in conjunction with the warning system RDW and from 03/2000 also with RDC.

To prevent the self-supporting tires from becoming detached from the disc wheel in the event of a complete loss of tire pressure, they must be fitted to newly developed wheels with modified disc wheel humps, but with unchanged tire seating (= standard disc wheel).

However, the new wheels can also be used for standard tires of the same size.