Well yesterday i got 2 nails in 2 of my runfalts, (How unlucky) I have been thinking of geting rid of the runflats for a while now and this was a good excuss as there is no garages that will repair them around my way.
I found out the 4 Kumho KU31 Ecsta Sport 205/45/17s were cheeper than geting 2 runflats. Result.
I have also herd some very good reviews on the grip etc on these aswell so i am excited to get them fitted later today.
What is the rule when changing from runflats to normal? is there any thing that i need to do or get, I have a can of foam at home, is there anything else i need to do,
my cooper is coming has now done over 27000 miles and I am looking ahead and thinking that if I need to change the tyres I will go non runflat as well.
I would be interested to see some comments/replies to your post.
Hi
Im in the same position I change mine last week for 4 yoko prada 2 s must say I personally didnt like the runflats thought they were to hard and it made the car tram line at times. Theses new tyres seem a lot better more grip and feel a whole lot better all round, not as much noise too. The things Ive done is to get a can of tyre weld as you say. Some types might need you to reinflate the tyre yourself so you may need a small compressor that pumps it up for you. They work from the cig lighter. Just check to see which type it is and that should be all you need. Thats my understanding anyway. One point as well after a day or so my warning light came on the dash to say the tyre pressure was down not sure if this happens to everyone but its just a case of pressing the reset button. Hope this helps.
Last edited by broady; Jun 20th, 2009 at 07:44 PM.
Exact same situation I was in (2 run flats had nails). I had them repaired but the outside edges were worn and needed replacing soon.
I switched to the KU31's and have been very impressed with them. The initial feeling of switching to conventional tyre's is a weird one the first time you drive it. But after you adjust and realize the potential these tyre's have it makes up for it Very quiet compared to my Dunlop Sport 01's. I'm running them at 40psi all round but will change front's to around 45 as they fill a bit too soft.
Just had to change the fronts on my mc at 24k, i tried my friends mini with non rf toyos on and i must say i didnt like it, all a bit wibble wobble at the back especially, i can understand why people are over inflating them to try to get the turn in back and lose the blancmange feeling! no cheaper really as you cant mix rf and non rf tyres, so i would have had to buy 4 and bin 2 tyres with 15k left in them...i bought some oem dunlop sport 3000's at £120 ea. i dont have a problem with the firm ride, indeed i like it i also like the convienience of runflats to - last puncture i had a light came on, i drove home, parked up & nipped it to ats the next day, had a cuppa while they fixed it, brilliant ! no messing about at the side of the road with aerosols amd pumps for me...
You CAN use run flats with non R/F's, not advised on same axle. If you like the firm ride of R/F's fine but you pay a price for them. At least ATS repaired, many won't which is a con' and non R/F's will fit R/F rims another con' tyre dealers try.
Disagree.....with what?
Running Runflats & conventional tyres on the same car?
You are running 4 x conventional tyres so have obviously experienced the vastly different handling characteristics of each type of tyre..
In my experience runflats were harsh, noisy, prone to tram-lining, prone to severe understeer and had both the ABS and DSC kicking in constantly.
My Vredestein Sportrac 3's suffer from none of the above, are as grippy as hell, quiet and give the MINI the sort of handling the designers no doubt had in mind.
Back to the Runflats & conventional tyres being mixed........it's a very bad idea and you know it, frankly an accident waiting to happen such would be the upset to the balance of the car (I personally would never run a different type of conventional front/rear either but that's a whole other story).
It's been debated to death already but why would anyone buy a relatively high-performance car such as a Cooper S and then totally compromise it in this fashion for the sake of a few £'s......I can't understand anyone with a true appreciation/respect for driving such a vehicle doing this..
Get a Polo/Panda/Corsa etc and be done with it if you want cheap, reliable but boring transportation..
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Very quiet compared to my Dunlop Sport 01's. I'm running them at 40psi all round but will change front's to around 45 as they fill a bit too soft. 
