Wednesday 20 August 2008

Sound Advice From Cousin Peter

My Cousin Peter, who lives in West Sussex, read my postings about run-flat tyres and home bakeries. I hadn't considered Peter's tip about motor insurance and the requisite disclosure of vehicle modifications, so it's definitely worth publishing:-

"I read your recent blog about run-flat tyres. (Incidentally, if you put Lord Belmont into Google you come out on top!). If the Z4 has run-flat tyres as standard (as my 530 does) changing them to ordinary tyres could change the handling quite significantly, as run-flats have much stiffer side walls (to take the weight of the car when flat) and so the suspension is set up to match. The new 5 series was criticised for hard riding when it was first launched because of its tyres, but later versions like mine seem to be better (although when I bought mine I tried a sports version with low profile tyres and that was very uncomfortable). The hard ride is more noticeable in wet weather, when the cooling effect of the surface water prevents the tyres from reaching their normal operating temperature. If you change the tyres you should also inform your insurance company, as the run-flats are considered to be part of the BMW safety system (or so my local BMW dealer tells me) - if you don't they could use the "unauthorised modification" as an excuse to refuse a claim! I haven't had to replace any of mine yet - they've done about 9500 miles but still look quite good - but I don't expect them to be cheap, as they're not the sort of thing many cut-price tyre dealers would stock.
Your other recent blog about home bakeries brought back memories of Bells of Holywood. Around here all you can get are chain bakeries, all mass-producing identical "cakes" and the like - you have to go out to the more rural parts to find anything different."


If you are reading this Peter, there are still a few home bakeries in Holywood!

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