 Tires, Exhaust, brakes
I had mentioned some time ago that I would be taking off the run-flats and replacing them with all season touring tires. I bought my Mini new in 2005 and it has 45,000km on it and has gone through two sets of run-flats. The last ones were Goodyears latest Excellence made in Germany which wore down quickly and only became civilized noise-wise in their dying days. I do not drive in a sporty fashion so handling was not high priority. I wanted all season as car stays in garage during snow days, but it is possible to get caught out in an unexpected snow so I went with all season. The number of all season performance tires available in 195/55/16 is limited. For instance Michelin have a good tire but its in the 205/50/16 size. I elected to stay with the original size. My list began with about 10 makes, and ended up with six and then three. The final three were Falkens Ziex 912, Bridgestone Potenza 019 Grid, and Kumho Solus KH16. I opted for the Bridgestone. The criteria I used gave emphases to Dry/wet/Snow/Noise/Treadwear and Price. The Excellence cost me $1,400 and the Bridgestone Grid $640. The end result is:the flat tire indicator still functions, the tires are much quieter, handling does not seem to have deteriated, and the ride over rough roads is improved. No negitives.
As The warranty has expired I purchased Subaru extended warranty for power train only, expensive but dealer recommended. I plan to keep car another two years.
The muffler shows signs of external rust. Has anyone replaced theirs with dealer or otherwise? Any advise?
Also brakes are down past 30% and will soon need replaced. I am told the next service check is expensive, anyone experienced this?  | 
