I looked in the manual for my Cooper D and there is even an illustration of Mini with a spare tyre slung underneath. Has anyone worked out how to do this ?
You have to order this option from the factory - which is what I did. What it means is that when my OEM runflats have worn out I can change to standard tyres and not have a problem because I will have the space saver spare wheel if one of the normal tyres suffers a puncture.
Retrofitting this option might be difficult as the boot floor might be different due to the lowering mechanism that exists when you order this option.
There are some quite amusing comments on this thread which show a poor lack of knowledge on tyres in general particularly from tyre fitters.
Runflat tyres essentially have very stiff sidewalls which allow the tyre to still support the cars weight for a limited mileage when they are deflated. As such it means that compared to a normal tyre , their ride particularly in areas of bump absorbance and shock transmission to the suspension will be worse than a conventional tyre. This stiffness also limits the type of rubber compound that the tyre manufacturer can use to make runflats and this largely explains why runflats generally don't perform very well in wet conditions because the tyre manufacturer cannot use the softer grippier compounds on runflats. So the statements about damaging your suspension or engine or gearbox if you change from runflats to normal tyres is complete rubbish. In reality, due to the more compliant nature of conventional tyres, your suspension in particularly will suffer less wear and tear.
Most damage to alloy wheels on the Mini will come from kerbing - neither runflats or conventional tyres will protect you from this and both perform the same in this respect.
Hitting a pothole that is likely to damage your alloy is bad news all round. In this respect converntional tyres have the edge over runflats as it is cheaper to replace a damaged alloy than have to replace parts of the suspension and reallign afterwards.
Runflats have much the same repair characteristics as normal tyres in terms of what area of the tyre can be repaired and size of puncture hole repairable. The only added complication with runflats is that once you have run then for some distance when deflated then the sidewalls will have begun to deteriorate and consequently it is not really safe to have then repaired. This deterioration is why you cannot run runflats deflated all the time - typically the limit seems to be around a 100 miles or so depending on car weight/occupancy.
My original Dunlop 195/55R16 runflats are just about worn out, so I'm looking to change. A local dealer has Goodyear Hydragrip 205/55R16V tyres for a very interesting price, so I'm considering going down the non-runflat route (my winter tyres on 15 inch rims are non-runflat anyway).
So, can anyone confirm that it's OK to put the slightly different profiles on the original rims?
I have had a quote from a local dealer for several runflat options (still waiting for his proposals for conventional tyres). But now I am intrigued to discover that his runflat quote includes 2 types of Goodyears (NCT 5 A & Excellence) and 2 different Dunlops (SP3000 DSST & SP 01) for all about the same price. Then there's a Pirelli Eufori and a Michelin Primacy - the Michelin the most expensive by about €20 per tyre.
So now I am really confused! Any more advice would be very much appreciated.
I am amazed so many people fall for that 'car being manufactured for runflats only 'speel that BMW put out!*! Further more I am amazed how many people are buying their runflats from their Mini dealer!!!!**!! DONT!
Buy tyres and get them fitted by a recommended experienced independant tyre garage, build up a good relationship with them and they will look after you.
On my first dealer service (4yrs ago now)I sat next to a lady who was paying out £170each for 3 Dunlop rf's! I had just paid £90+vat each for my Dunlops rf's that very same week. With hindsight I should have said something out loud.
After 5, yes 5! punctures in rf's in 3yrs, after discovering this (VERY helpful) forum, I went over to NON rf's, Yokohama 205/50/16. No problems, except that I REALLY WISH I'D BLOODYWELL DONE IT SOONER!!
Well I just changed a pair of my run flats for normal Goodyear tyres in consultation with my BMW/Mini garage. The tyres were very competitively priced - the main cost was the 4-wheel alignment I had done to ensure even wear. I bought a Mini Mobility kit in the absence of a spare. When the other pair of r/fs is ready for replacement, I'll have the Goodyears fitted again. I'm already noticing a more comfortable ride. Contrary to others' experiences, the BMW garage was very helpful and certainly didn't try to force run flats on me.
Thanks for this news! So this means you have a pair of runflats on the front, and new Goodyears on the back? And what Goodyear tyres did you buy? Are they NCT or Excellence by any chance?
Change to non runflats and carry a couple of bottles of tyre foam in the boot as has been said about 100 times before on this forum.
Apart from being able to go that extra 50miles when you get a puncture, which you can combat with the tyre foam anyway, run flats are infinitely worse.
Also you think you have a puncture every 200 miles anyway as the indicator just randomly blips away at you.
For info - i got Falcon 452's 18/35/225 at 80 quid a tyre from blackcircles.com
Can someone give me some FACTS (not an internet link to a vague site) why some on here say 'as fact' that you should not run a set of runflats on one axle and a set of normal tyres on the other???
It is common wisdom/knowledge that you should definately not mix tyre types on an axle, though many people do.
It is common wisdom/knowledge that the tyres on an axle should have identical wear and tread depths to ensure even braking and grip, tho many people will just replace one tyre if they suffer an irrepairable puncture.
It is common wisdom/knowledge that 'ideally' a car should be driven with identical tyre brands and types on all wheels as different tyres and brands have very different handling characteristics ................. yet most people including dealers will happily fit different sets of tyres on different axles.
Considering the completely different loading and stresses put on front tyres compared to rears why do some people on here consider mixing runflats and norm,al tyres a dreadfull sin?
Bear in mind I'm talking about the normal driving that 99% of us do day in day out, NOT the race car driving on and off the track that so many on here obsessively bleat on about.
Coupe-SE, I'm with you there. As long as the tyres on one axle are the same make and age, in the same condition, I can't see why RFT, non-RFT or pink with green spots matter at all!
... and I'd never put the new ones on the front (unless they're really cheap and nasty and you're selling the car) with a Mini. Always cycle the rear to the front and put the new ones at the back, assuming they're of a similar quality. For handling, you want the maximum grip on the back, so that it does not try to overtake the front; under-steer is much easier to correct than over-steer! For plain common sense, you don't want 5-year old rubber on the back.
It bothers me that people are stating as ABSOLUTE FACT certain things that are 'Desirable' at best.
There are so many 'do's and don'ts' for ultimate tyre performance if you drive on the limits, which is fine. For the majority of us that just drive normally mixing tyre types front to back is a perfectly fine practice.
For accurate information send off an email query to your tyre manufacturer of choice, its quite an interesting excercise and quite informative.
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