Had an incident last night in the dark. Fired up my Mini S with run-flat tires and off I went on a dark street. With a minute or so, I get a message that my right front tire is low along with the "whole nine yards" warning on the center panel. Since the car was driving OK, I proceed to a gas station 5 miles up the road where I intended to get out and see what the tire looked like.
It didn't look flat to me, but I pulled ahead to the air pump (which was in a dark area and me without a flashlight). I thought the air hose read 20 PSI, but I couldn't tell for sure. So I gave the tire a good shot of air and it still seemed to read about 20 PSI.
I then decided to drive home (about 25 miles away), following the manual's instructions to limit the speed to under 50 MPH. It was an uneasy ride home, thinking i might get stranded anywhere along the road (it was midnight). Made it home, parked the car and decided to look into it in the morning when it was light.
In the morning, I pumped up my air compressor, inserted it into the tire in question (right front) and I think it read around 25 PSI. The tire pressure instructions in the driver's door panel along with the manual state that with run-flat times, the pressure said the Mini S that I have should have 41 PSI in all four tires. So I pumped the right front up to 41 PSI and then checked the other 3. All of the remaining 3 said they had about 30 PSI so I pumped them up to 41 PSI also.
I'm guessing the dealer gave the car to me with 30+ PSI in all four tires and the right front went below what ever turns the tire warning on. According to the manual, the standard Mini tire pressure should be around 30 PSI.
41 PSI seems very high to me, but "when in Rome..." Does anyone know if this high tire press is because the tires are run flat? I would suggest anyone with run flat tires check their pressure to avoid an uneasy situation that I found myself in.
I've read a few complaints here about run flat tires, with some stating they are going to replace them with conventional tires. Can that be done with the standard wheels that come on the Mini? In my reading today about run flats, it appears that the wheels have a different rim that would prevent standard tires from mating up with these wheels. Is that true statement?
41psi is really high, no wonder the cooper S has such a hard ride!
I recently replace my 16" run flats with standard tyres and it's now a lot nicer to drive, the bumps aren't as harsh and it's not as noisy on the motorway. I think the effect is greater when replacing 17" ones.
I recently replace my 16" run flats with standard tyres and it's now a lot nicer to drive, the bumps aren't as harsh and it's not as noisy on the motorway. I think the effect is greater when replacing 17" ones.
I agree that the ride is hard AND noisy;probably not acceptable if it was my only ride. That said, my Roadster is the most FUN car to drive that I've even owned. Sure turns a lot of heads, especially when the top is down.
Did you replace your run flats when there was a lot of rubber left? Unless one is sliding around corners, burning rubber with rapid acceleration or hard braking, I would expect the factory run flat radials to last 30-40K (mileage I may never see as we have 3 vehicles).
'12 Passat (wife's car)
'12 Range Rover Evoque (my main hauler)
'13 Mini S Roadster (my fun machine)
I wouldn't own the Mini if I didn't have my Evoque to haul the big stuff. Really big stuff goes in my trailer.
Normal tyres are ok to fit on runflat rims but runflat tyres must not be fitted to normal rims despite what some tyrefitters may say. (This is because the runflat rims are shaped to locate the tyre beads more firmly for the runflats when actually running flat).
41psi is really high, no wonder the cooper S has such a hard ride!
I recently replace my 16" run flats with standard tyres and it's now a lot nicer to drive, the bumps aren't as harsh and it's not as noisy on the motorway. I think the effect is greater when replacing 17" ones.
This, the Mini does have a hard ride. My previous '05 seemed to have the same ride so I thought it was a Mini thing. So, what did you do about the lack of a spare? It's my understanding that IF a Mini has run-flat tires, there is no donut spare. Looking under my Mini rear end, I can see where a donut tire would be stored. Not sure I would want to venture out on the roads without a spare if I were to replace my run flats sometime in the future.
41 psi is the recommended pressure for the 205/45-17 non-runflats on my Roadster, so this isn't an unusual pressure - even if many people (including car dealers, tyre fitters, etc) think all car tyres should have 30 psi in them.
Interesting that the manual has different pressures for the convertible, the coupe and the roadster (all slightly different). My tires are supposedly rated for up to 150 MPH! My max is about half that.
41 psi is the recommended pressure for the 205/45-17 non-runflats on my Roadster, so this isn't an unusual pressure - even if many people (including car dealers, tyre fitters, etc) think all car tyres should have 30 psi in them.
I have a can of "flat mate" ib the boot. Basically it's a pressurised sealabt so puts air in the tyre and seals the puncture. Obviously won't work with a blow out though.
I also have a compressor which i might leave in the boot.
I wanted to replace them for a while then i noticed one was right near the limit and the others were 3-4mm so just bought a set. Even on the cooper s on 17" the ride is meant to be a lot better and you get more grip from the non fun flats.
Yeah, my mini is actually the wife's car but i find it fun to drive. My other car is a 3.0l V6 mondeo so plenty big enough for when we need to move stuff or going on a long drive, but the mini is great about town
And in the manual. Over 50 years ago (before steel radials) it was very common to check tire pressures after getting gas. The last few cars I've bought, I didn't even lift the hood/bonnet to see what the engine looked like.
So, flash ahead to today when I bought my Mini a tad over 2 months ago. I didn't look at the engine OR check the tire pressures (brand spanking new Mini). I guess I assumed the engine had oil and the tires were pumped put to standards, which apparently they weren't. Besides the tire that falsely said I had a flat, the other 3 tires only had about 32 PSI on average. I blame this on the dealer or maybe the service department. Or MAYBE I should take the blame for driving a vehicle with tire pressures that were far below the 41 PSI recommended.
So, if anyone reading this is buying a new Mini, better check your tire pressure to be sure they at the recommended levels. I wonder if the dealer purposely had the tire pressures low for a smoother, softer test ride???
I bought a 4 door S Mini Hardtop in February, 2015. It came with Pirelli run flat tires. One year later, I have replaced 7 tires due to 7 blow outs. I am unbelievably frustrated. I have been told by the service manager at the dealership that this never happens -- that Pirelli run flats are very reliable.
In over 30 years of driving, I never had a blow out until I bought my beloved mini. Now I hold my breath whenever I drive over a bump because more likely than not, the bump will result in a blow out.
I have complained to Mini which says that it is not their problem because they didn't manufacture the tires. I am still dealing with this situation.
Has anyone else had this problem? Any thoughts or comments? ::frown::
In spite of all the hype, after years of repeated and bitter experiences with Pirelli tyres on everything from motorcycles to agricultural equipment, I would not put them on my billy cart. The rubber compound they use seems very soft - which is great for handling for a short period until wear becomes a problem, but useless for use on a road if you expect to get any sort of reasonable lifespan from them. I had issues with Conti runflats (tread delamination) which my tyre guy said he had also seen regularly with Contis. Ditch the runflats and fit a set of Yokohama R1's.
you mean yokohama A Drive R1? they can handle the torq of the cooper s?
thinking of these tyres but not sure if they can handle the cooper s. Inputs would be awesome.
I have 17inch conti run flats on my R56 mini that I have had since Jan 2015 and 16inch conti run flats on the wife's BMW 1 series that we have had for over 4 years with no problems
My 2 Clubmans have Goodyear Excellence run flats and the R50 has pirelle on the rear and Bridgestone run flats on the front. These will all be converted to the Goodyear Excellence too with the fonts being done first as they are near their limit.
I've always had run flats on my minis and never had a problem with them. Yeah they are a tad more harsh than normal tyres but this adds to character of the mini. I have thought about switching to normal tyres several times but always ended up sticking with run flats lol
I bought mine with run flats, I changed them for a cheap set of standard tyres and its the best thing I've ever done, much softer, less tyre roar and road noise.
Here to agree that run flats are hard, noisy, and heavy. Going to swap them out when I do a wheel upgrade. Can't wait. Also, I'll sign up for AAA roadside assist to make the not-having-a-spare anxiety go away.
Yes, we run Yokohama A Drive R1's on both our Manual N18 Cooper S and my daughter's auto N18 Cooper S. The load rating on these tyres is 88W. We have covered 40,000km in our car with no issues - which is more than I can say for the original Continental run-flats.
The Yoko's are all over the Conti's in every respect - comfort, grip and tyre life. I would have no hesitation in using them again.
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