I think I may have found the Mini I have been looking for (buying used so it's been a bit of a search). It's a 2020 Cooper S 4-door with Iconic package (solaris orange). The car has 18" wheels which I would not have picked myself since my streets are full of potholes.... so the doubt that came to mind is whether I would feel much difference in ride quality with the bigger wheels or have to replace tires more frequently due to potholes (I know these tires are quite expensive). The car has 32k and it has performance summer tires so perhaps I simply need to change the tires to non RF all-seasons? Any recommendations? I have not been able to test the car yet since it's out of state, hence trying to figure out if it's worth the expense to go see it....

 

Anecdotally, I don't see many complaints until people put 19 inch wheels on these cars. But, sure, a 17 inch could be more forgiving as long as your tires have a higher aspect ratio. I've had 18 inchers on my 3 Countryman, run flats only on the first 1.5. The last 1.5 have been Goodyear Exhilarates, which are fine, but, I think Michelin P4's have a better reputation for handling and ride quality.

 

You should also look at what peopl3 are doing on the BMW X1 since it’s the same car. 18s are the new 16/17. Also if you think about it, it’s only a half inch sidewall difference. You’ll feel a much larger difference going from RFL to normal tires than getting a 1/2 more sidewall by going 17s. . Plus you can always go slightly larger OD tire on the 18s .

that’s what I did when I went from 18s to 19s on my f31, wound up with only a 1/4 shorter sidewall instead of a 1/2 shorter… actually corrected the built in Speedo error, and went non rfl. So much better riding and handling on 19s with non rfl vs 18 with rfl.

 

Another problem with 18" wheels is the selection of tires is very limited. Also, some folks replace the original 205/40-18 size with 215/40-18's.

 

Thanks for all the info.

I did notice that the 18" selection was much more limited which is a bummer though there are some non-RF Yokos available (I had Yokos before and they were great). But since the car has no spare (or much place to store one) what is the plan if you do get a flat? Fix-A-Flat or buy a spare? I used to drive an old VW with 15" tires so potholes were never an issue....

The car is a good deal so I may just go ahead and try out the 18s and see how I fare.... I guess worse comes to worse I change tires or change wheels—the 18s are the Mini Yours British Spoke wheels so I bet someone out there will want them.

 

Well you have two real choices, get a spare, jack etc and carry it with you on long trips…

or like any car with no spare, RFT or not, have a good roadside assistance service. F31 wagon, Dually on 22 milled Alcoas and my r53 all had no spare tire. Son does have an r50 space saver spare, jack kit and tool kit for his r53 so he can change one if he has to. But you won’t be carrying those around except out of town. In town you would call someone to bring it to you.


From my experience with rft, they don’t get you very far down the road if at any, you get a blowout you are stopping there and then, rft or not. And they are twice as costly and 4-8 times harder to get in podunk BFE than a normal tire of same size at least.
space saver will get you down the road further at 50 mph, but you can probably get 100-120 miles… but you still have to stop and get a new correct size tire mounted on your real rim ASAP.

and once used, or every 7 years, you have to get a new space saver tire fitted and those cost ducats.

full size spare in a mini? If you have no rear passengers, you can always carry one atop the folded rear seats.


what I’d suggest is a decent 12v tire inflator. Even people with space saver tires usually have them under inflated or flat. If you have a slow leak you can inflate enough to get further down th3 road, reinflte again, go further, etc I had to do this 4 July 2022 when something sliced my sidewall. Got it home a few miles away after 2-3 stops to reinflate and then had to wait for new tire. A RFT wouldn’t have done a damn thing for me in that scenario either, except cost more money to replace.

 

I have aftermarket wheels with non-runflats. I took an OEM wheel with an OEM runflat tire (it still has good tread) and place it on top of the false floor. Under the false floor, I have a jack (which I altered to fit the jack-point connection) and all the tools needed to change a wheel. I also have a hand-pump and plugs under there, so, I'm ready for a couple of scenarios. Then, I put the OEM wheel face-side down and wedge it into place with a plastic milk-crate. Both the wheel and the milk-crate are where I put items I'm carrying (bags of groceries, etc.). Using an OEM wheel, I don't have to worry about it hitting the front caliper...I can put this OEM "spare" on the front or the rear...not so with the small spare wheels that some people have...those can only go on the rear. It works for me.

 

Great suggestions, just what I was looking for. I can't really call anyone to bring me a spare but I drive mostly by myself so I definitely have space for a spare wheel. The tire inflator is also an excellent idea. To me the concern is mostly that even when you call roadside assistance, if you don't have a spare, they may end up towing you who knows where and that can be quite costly depending on where it happens.
I have no experience with RFs so I guess I was assuming they were bulletproof, but if they don't deliver that well on their promise, definitely swapping them out.

 

Just realized the Mini has kit for sale....

MINI Tire Mobility Kit Puncture Sealant

 

I have this (mobility kit) in my 06 R53 JCW. I have driven all over the bottom half of my state (Western Australia) on gravel and limestone roads. Our roads are somewhat potholed though the biggest danger is where the mining road trains crush the outer edge of the bitumen and the dips they make can send you almost airborne.
I run 18" r95 wheels with Yokohama non run flats (there was only a limited supply of tyres available in my state at the time). Not had a flat, but have a jack and the kit just in case. My luck will run out one day I guess.

 

@o0o That is great to know! I was looking at NRF tyres yesterday to see what I could get where I am (Washington DC) and it's really slim pickings! TireRack only has summer tires (and the Yokos are summers, I think), but I did find Nitto NeoGen which are NRF and all season (and have pretty good reviews). So I am leaning towards that and the kit, like you mentioned. I am questionning whether I can do summer tires or I absolutely need all-seasons, but the latter is definitely the safer choice (we have cold weather but we have not had any substantial snow in quite a few years). I think I will keep the 18" for now and see how that works out, and if it does not, then switch to the 17" down the road.

I also found a cheaper and highly rated kit, the so that could work too (it's $65 instead of $148).

 

You’ll feel a much larger difference going from RFL to normal tires than getting a 1/2 more sidewall by going 17s. . Plus you can always go slightly larger OD tire on the 18s .

 

Cool, thanks. It's been a learning experience!

I had to give up on the car with the 18" wheels due to window tint issues so have one reserved that has the 17" RFs. In any case, as I was looking around, I could only find ONE all-seasons non-RF tire (and I looked everwhere!), while with the 17" I have plenty to choose from. Seems that 18" wheels are best for people who can live with summer tires year round (or don't mind switching). I don't have a garage so in the end the 17" work better for me.

 

I ordered my 24 JCW with the 18" wheels so far so good. I plan to go aftermarket 18" wheels for the winter months but the real problem for me there are no all season tires in my size so I'm just going to install performance winter tires.

 

Yup, 17's are the way to go. Looks for tires in the 215/45-17 size. Much better selection, slightly less expensive, and will give a slightly better ride. Even better if you get rid of the boat anchors that Mini calls "wheels" and pick up a set of 7.5" wide light-weight wheels. Lighter wheels will give better handling, ride, and braking performance, plus will give slight boost in fuel mileage.