Replacing run-flat tires on a new car

Dear Terry,
I'm running standard run-flat tires on my year-old car and have worn them out in less than 10,000 miles. Now I'm facing a tab of somewhere around $1,500 to replace them. But they give me a horrible ride and make an awful lot of noise on anything but the smoothest of roads. Can I replace them with standard tires and a can of tire inflator? That would save me a bundle, give me a smoother ride and let me hear my expensive stereo system again!
-- Not impressed

Dear Not,
This is a tricky proposition. Cars are engineered from the factory to perform a certain way on the standard tires.

Run-flat and high-performance tires are expensive to replace. Depending on the wheels on your car, it is possible to replace the run-flats with standard tires. But consider these caveats: A serious hole in your replacement tires likely can't be fixed with a can of flat fix-it.

Run-flats do their job because they have a specially constructed sidewall that will remain rigid without any air. But if you do dump the run-flats, make sure you stick to pretty much the same tire size as factory specs, or the next time you take your favorite off-ramp at top speed you might find you don't have the grip you've come to expect.