What does anybody think about changing from Run Flat tyres to normal. I currently have 17" Wheels with Dunlop Sport Run Flats and when I need new tyres I was thinking about changing them all at the same time to change to normal tyres. Does anybody know If I have the space in my floor for the compressor pack and is it worth it in terms of comfort as I find the Run flats very hard.

I was in your predicament literally the tail end of last week. Two tyres on the front needed replacing, I was running Bridgestone run-flats all round on an R56 Cooper S.

Tell me this... when you hit pot holes does it sound like the car is going to fall apart? When you are steering at speed and hit a bump does the steering wheel snatch left or right? Do you generally just wish your car was more comfortable? This is how I felt, was torn about what to do though... thinking about re-sale value and whether it affected my warranty. After much conversation with Mini and research on the internet I took the plunge and bought 4x Falken ZE912 tyres (205/40/R17) and I can tell you now after 4 days and about 300 miles it is the best decision!! The car rides totally different, it's quieter, more comfortable and it's a pleasure to drive. All the things that annoyed me about the car turned out to basically be the tyres! I can't recommend it more highly. Also at £97 a tyre they are much cheaper to replace.

Also to answer your other question you can buy a puncture repair kit from Mini for standard tyres because if your car is like mine there is no room for a spare tyre. The kit sits in the boot under the carpet... not sure of the price because I haven't bought it yet!

i'm running falken 452's couldn't wait to ditch the run flats..

I was going to go with the Falken 452 because I had those on my 3 series but they are mainly a summer tyre and they are also going out of production. Falken are replacing the 452 with 912 but the 912 is all season.

I was in your predicament literally the tail end of last week. Two tyres on the front needed replacing, I was running Bridgestone run-flats all round on an R56 Cooper S.

Tell me this... when you hit pot holes does it sound like the car is going to fall apart? When you are steering at speed and hit a bump does the steering wheel snatch left or right? Do you generally just wish your car was more comfortable? This is how I felt, was torn about what to do though... thinking about re-sale value and whether it affected my warranty. After much conversation with Mini and research on the internet I took the plunge and bought 4x Falken ZE912 tyres (205/40/R17) and I can tell you now after 4 days and about 300 miles it is the best decision!! The car rides totally different, it's quieter, more comfortable and it's a pleasure to drive. All the things that annoyed me about the car turned out to basically be the tyres! I can't recommend it more highly. Also at £97 a tyre they are much cheaper to replace.

Also to answer your other question you can buy a puncture repair kit from Mini for standard tyres because if your car is like mine there is no room for a spare tyre. The kit sits in the boot under the carpet... not sure of the price because I haven't bought it yet!

This is exactly how i feel! I feel the runflats are dangerous, I hit a pothole which is all too obvious these days around a corner, and I'm surprised I haven't hit a kerb or another car yet...the car moves sideways by at least 6-12 inches!

I've heard about these Falcons 912's, are they any good under all season conditions? (I'm refusing to give MINI £600 to swap for winter tyres) so I use the same trye all year.

I have no idea how much tyres such as Toyo/Pirelli's etc are which I was told are the best at the moment in comparison to the midrange Falcons

I think the Faulken tires are a low budget house brand at Discount Tires!

Poprin,

Where did you get your tyres done. I have phone BMW this afternoon and apparently you can get a replacement tray for the boot under the carpet which takes the mobility kit which is £10 ish plus the kit at £103 ish then just swap the tyres. BMW don't do the faulken tyres though, they said its not a BMW recommended tyre and they offer the continental at £160 ish + VAT which is a bit cheaper than the Dunlop Sport RF at £225 ish + VAT. The Problem is they don't offer a all season tyre as they want you to buy their winter tyres. So the continental will still be rubbish outside of summer but I don't know how they will ride! Dunno what to do really!

I am led to believe that if your car comes with run flat tyre's you should replace them with run-flats. This is to do with the set up with the suspension in the car. As the run-flats are a harder tyre due to the thicker side wall etc, most manufacturers compensate this by having a softer suspension setting. If you replace the run-flat tyre's with the normal flat tyre's you then have spongey soft wheels on a soft suspension set up. Great for around town, but I would not want to be swerving to miss something at high speeds.
Food for thought...

The R50/53 Mini was not really designed for 17" runflat tyres and much of the running gear is carried over into the later models.......the original Rover engineering team who developed the R50/53 at Gaydon say it was a late decision by BMW to add runflat tyres to some models (along with the warning light system required) and that many at Rover thought the Mini was much nicer to drive on the 15 & 16 inch normal tyres. I have swapped to normal tyres and have to agree...........although I believe some of the later 2nd generation runflats are much improved for ride and tram-lining.

Non Cooper S models R50 & R56 can be retrofitted with a spacesaver spare wheel under the boot floor, more details here:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/wheels-tyres-brakes/190458-how-retrofit-spacesaver-spare-wheel.html#post3817434

I agree the ride on smaller wheels is much better. I wouldn't choose 17" on the hatchback if I was buying brand new.

Sorry wasn't on last night but to reply to some posts...

CrazyDave I agree with your statement totally and I think if my car was a BMW I would agree however Mini don't exclusively use run-flats across all models and when I inquired about changing to standard Mini had no problems with it and the lass on service (can't 100% confirm or deny this is true) told me that all new Mini's are being sold with standard tyres at their dealership due to poor customer feedback about run-flats.

Hammo I can't confirm from experience as I haven't had any particularly cold weather but have had some bad rain and the grip is on par with my all season run-flats that have been removed. According to what I have read online the 912 is an all season tyre.

Matt to answer your question I have used Mini for all my repair work and servicing but they do not stock any tyres cheaper than £155 for the conti sport contacts. I went to my local Hi-Q tyre centre who I have used in the past and have been excellent. They fitted the tyres no problems and the Falkens were only £97. Incidentally they could also fit the Conti sport contact 3's for £140 a tyre so cheaper than Mini as well. Also I would rather get my tyres done at a tyre fitters because at the end of the day they change tyres all day long so who better to ask to fit them for you??

Also Macguyvic if you look online at reviews the Falkens are not a budget tyre, they are a mid range tyre but every review I have read people say they perform on par with the expensive brands for a much cheaper price. I've used them on my old BMW in the past and they have been excellent, they are becoming a very well respected brand.

Just out of interest, has anyone tried the dealer fitted Continental Sport Contact on 17" wheels. Just wondering if they are a significant difference over the Dunlop Sport run flats to save going to an independant for the tyres and mini for the mobility kit.

I'd love it if my cooper had the same comfort as my partners One on 15" none RF!

Falken are replacing the 452 with 912

the FK452 is the flagship tyre,the ZE912 is a different tyre & not replacing it..

after some searching i've found that the 452 is being replaced by the 453 but there is no release date specified at present.

and it will be more than likely when the stocks of the 452's are all but gone..imo

I've just changed the front pair of tyres from Pirelli Euforia to Toyo T1-R Proxes (I personally like them) yesterday and am absolutely gobsmacked by how much difference it has made.
I have had trouble with the car when crossing the camber in the middle of the road and snatching at the steering right/left/right and convinced myself the bushes or track rod ends were worn yet I was unable to find any abnormal play. Potholes have a similar but more short lived effect.
This gets more pronounced in the wet which doesn't sound so much like suspension so I decided to change the fronts as they were nearly due before committing to take it into a specialist for bushes or further investigation.

Wow.
All front end twitchiness is gone, the car feels sure footed and is suddenly nice to drive (it was entertaining, if not nice before) the ride is more refined and the feel through the steering wheel is much better. There is also a marked reduction in noise and the rattle/creak in my dash has gone.

I can now feel how harsh the rear feels, though my car does I believe have the sport suspension upgrade.

I checked with my insurer first (no problem as I'm already on a modified car policy) and signed the disclaimer for blackcircles.
Due to the difference in grip levels, I'll swap them to the back and wear out the Euforia's currently on the rear in a week or two.

Due to the difference in grip levels, I'll swap them to the back and wear out the Euforia's currently on the rear in a week or two.
Very good sense.

Lots of people think they should put the grippier tyres on the front of a front-wheel-drive car which is fine - until they come to make an emergency manoeuvre that demonstrates they have created a Mini with lots of oversteer.

i hope the rears aren't runflats..

as the general consensus is it's a nono due to the different handling characteristics of the tyres..

i hope you've told your insurance if you are still running runflats,as well as normal tyres

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=15&t=874826&mid=0&nmt=Mixing%20run%20flats%20with%20non%20run%20flat s

I have to totally agree, changing to NON Runflats was the best thing i ever did, on the second day of ownership i lost the rear end on a roundabout and scared myself to death. After doing my own research i found other owners that had found the same rear over-steer. I have used Z912s before but went back to Neuton NT5000s a budget tyre made under licence from Yokohama, they are very similar to their S-drive of years gone by. I ran them on my Golf MK5 TDI before the Mini and found them to be perfect for my use and abuse, at £239 delivered for 4 they are well worth a try, the Mini D drives great on them, look at the reviews, i know tyre snobbery is abundant and you do get what you pay for, but Don't Laugh there not bad if your on a budget or not.

Are the Toyo's run-flats or not?

Are the Toyo's run flat or not?

Are the Toyo's run flat or not?

Tried google??

Are the Toyo's run flat or not?

No

I have Dunlop SP on the front and Hankook on the rear. Both RF's on my 03 S.
I like the hard ride as it goes with the car, the supercharger whine and sense of purpose if you know what I mean.
RF cornering is rail like and I would not want to compromise that for all the tea in china.
Just my thoughts
John

Run flats are horrible! Changing to any decent tire will transform your car. The only hitch is that there is no spare. We just keep a can of run flat and a charged cell phone.

No need for a really sticky tire, something with a treadwear rating of 280 or higher will grip very well in all situations.

Run flats are horrible! Changing to any decent tire will transform your car. The only hitch is that there is no spare. We just keep a can of run flat and a charged cell phone.

No need for a really sticky tire, something with a treadwear rating of 280 or higher will grip very well in all situations.


Run Flats give the MINI the sports ride it should have. The whole ethos of a supercharged S is the 'pick it up by the scuff of the neck and sling it down the road' BMW MINI salesmans words not mind BTW.
Hard ride with max grip? I love it.
John

Run Flats give the MINI the sports ride it should have. The whole ethos of a supercharged S is the 'pick it up by the scuff of the neck and sling it down the road' BMW MINI salesmans words not mind BTW.
Hard ride with max grip? I love it.
John

Have you driven an R53 on non run flats?

Have you driven an R53 on non run flats?

When I brought my S I had a shortlist of 2 MINI's. Mine and a 02 Works, which had 16" wheels and 'normal' tyres. The Works was tempting and I really liked it but, there was a hole in the service records that ( for the price) was unacceptable to me. My S has RF's and, this is just my opinion, the handling is superb.
So, if asked 'should I change from RF's?' I would say no...
Each to their own.
John

I just swapped out my run flats and let me tell you what a difference !!! What a quite smooth ride !! Those run flats make the car feel like a go cart!!

Run Flats give the MINI the sports ride it should have. The whole ethos of a supercharged S is the 'pick it up by the scuff of the neck and sling it down the road' BMW MINI salesmans words not mind BTW.
Hard ride with max grip? I love it.
John
I strongly disagree. Run-flats have no advantage accept for the safety point of view. There are much better non run-flat tyres that will give lot more grip and road feedback which makes it lot more fun to drive. You can lower the car or lower tyre profile if you want harsher ride (with better driving characteristics). Run-flats just give you harsh ride with no pros and make your body hurt.

1st gen didn't have run-flats and yet they set how Mini feels on the road. BMW recommending run-flats is just marketing decesion. Why BMW uses RFT and Alpina does not? :smile:

I strongly disagree. Run-flats have no advantage accept for the safety point of view. There are much better non run-flat tyres that will give lot more grip and road feedback which makes it lot more fun to drive. You can lower the car or lower tyre profile if you want harsher ride (with better driving characteristics). Run-flats just give you harsh ride with no pros and make your body hurt.

1st gen didn't have run-flats and yet they set how Mini feels on the road. BMW recommending run-flats is just marketing decesion. Why BMW uses RFT and Alpina does not? :smile:

Mine is a 1st gen and the 17" wheels were fitted with RF's in the factory.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion and have just expressed why I personally would not change the RF's. The 'sporting cars' I have owned over the years have been lowered and with strong springs /adjustable shox to give a very firm ( harsh if you like) ride.
It boils down to personal preference.
John

Just swapped Pirelli runflats to normal tyres on my Cooper S and cannot believe the difference. Would recommend to anyone to do the same. Wife found driving the car with the runflats on terrible but the change has been incedible.