One of my front tyres have had a puncture and I've had to drive a number of miles on it, so suspect that there is no chance of keeping.
One thing that I have seen is that a lot of people are ditching run flats on their Minis. Is this just for the MCS or standard MC?
I've currently got 195/55/R16 H87 Bridgestones ER300 on all corners and I'm not sure whether to replace the front 2 with the same or switch to normal on all 4 corners. Looking at the price at some of the tyres that people are using, there doesn't seem to be much difference in price.
For like for like replacements it's £79.06 fitted, but only £5-10 cheaper for normal. I've also seen people moving up the sizes to 205/50, what would the benefit in doing this, if any?
I'm not what to do for the best. Can anyone give me any pointers?
I took the plunge and ordered some: 4 x Falken Ziex ZE-914 Ecorun 195/55 R16 V (87). I report back to see how it's gone, just in case anyone else is in a similar situation...
After reading lots on the internet I decided to change from rft to normal last week on my r56 Cooper S.
I can say it has made a big improvement with the handling (not that is was bad before). The car feels more agile, the steering has become a little lighter and some of the stiffness has gone riding over bumps.
I have Dunlop sportmaxx RT 205/45 r17 fitted. I was thinking about going to 16" tyres as it seems more people prefer them but I like the look with the 17's
After reading lots on the internet I decided to change from rft to normal last week on my r56 Cooper S.
I can say it has made a big improvement with the handling (not that is was bad before). The car feels more agile, the steering has become a little lighter and some of the stiffness has gone riding over bumps.
I have Dunlop sportmaxx RT 205/45 r17 fitted. I was thinking about going to 16" tyres as it seems more people prefer them but I like the look with the 17's
I bought the oem in the Mini dealer 71106792688 Compressor Mobility System 133.61 €, 71106792697 TIRE INFLATING BOTTLE 45.36 €. Quite expensive if you compare with this kit from amazon.
@MiniAlf486 Yup thats it, has really great reviews everywhere. @Cooper R I actually just decided to get a new jack kit in the boot, as the car didn't even have a jack.... I got a used one off ebay for around 60 quid. You can just buy the slime separate as a backup as you already have a little compressor.
I've changed over to conventional tires and done in with the run flats. After 30,000 km of using the conventional's the feedback is
A) Massive improvement in ride comfort
B) Massive improvement in Performance, especially in the wet
The only down side for me is carrying a spare. I only do this when on long journeys , when I'm close to home base or a support network i didn't bother but when going a 200 km journey i pack the spare , Jack etc. Its rare that i would have more than two people with me on such a journey so its not a problem. If i have more than two people to consider i take the other car.
There are some great performance tires available to suit all budgets. Im running a new set of KU39's which at this stage appear to be sensational, but that's only after 1500 km
I bought a steel space saver which fits where the tools and inflation kit where using a new insert that fits in the wheel to take the jack and tools .
Running Uniroyal's .(see other post)
Inflation kit no good for a lot of tyre failures .
I'm going to get rid of the run flats on my R53. Will get the Slime kit AND a Space Saver to put in the boot. I've worked out that you can use this (from eBay ad):
Rover 200/400 25/45, Streetwise, MG ZR/ZS Spare Wheel Space Saver 125/80R15 £19.95
They are PCD 4 x 100, centre bore 56.1 and ET45.
The rolling circumference is 94% of a 205/45/17. The Mini one (115/7/15) is 88%.
Loads of them on eBay or Amazon. All about £20.
Saves a fortune and does the job.
Interested - have you driven MINIs with non run-flats? Don't think RFs are a particular problem, just they don't ride like nons, which is why I changed mine. And yes, I do worry about a flat tyre.
I hear just keep a kit with rubber plugs in it. First pull the offending item puncturing your tire with a pair of pliers etc. Next ream the hole if you want last add rubber cement and shove the plug in. I have heard you can expect the plug to last the life of the tire. Or later go have it officially patched. https://youtu.be/M7mO0N2FAqw
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