Where can I get a mini cooper spare? and what is the cost?

 

I think MINIclo is onto something here. I think the 16" Dunlop rfs are a better tire than any of the GYs or Pirellis. I am on my second MCS, an '02 and an '06, both with 16" Dunlop rfs. I am happy with them on the street and only find them lacking on the Auto-X course. They have great traction wet or dry. They are quiet throughout their tread life. They even have decent tread life.

I am going to have to think hard about what to get as a replacement. For the first replacement set I just replaced the car. The second set will not be so easy.

Inspite of the fact that they are run-flats I still carry a tire plug kit and a bottle of "Slime" & air compressor.

 

I don't track or autox. My driving is pretty agressive, but more so on straight-away. I don't take my turns on 2 wheels. At 22k, my front run-flats were banana skins. OK, I never rotated. My bad

So I had to decide what to do. I opted for 4 nrf Pirelli Neros 205-50-16 for $540 installed from a local mom&pop tire shop. I think alot of shops are using Tire Rack as their price point.

At 1500mi, I guess I'd say there's no perceptable difference. I've found no reason to dislike them. The $$$ I saved over buying 4 comparable runflats and the expection of maybe 40k--this time I will rotate them and really keep an eye on the tire pressure...honest!-- I think I made a good decision.

Oh yes, I'm checking my junk mail for the next AAA promotion for new customers, and when it arrives, I'll sign up for the 100 mile tow plan.

 

While I won't get into the discussion of 16" RFs better than GYs or Pirellis, I'll let the pros do the talking.

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...the-tread.html

 

Got my used from carpart.com for $48 shipped about 1 1/2 years ago. It should be easy to find a used one somewhere.

If you want a new wheel contact classic. Alex from TR can find you the tire for it.

 

It really does make a difference to rotate the tires every 5,000 miles. I'm sure that's how I got 30,000 miles out of my last set.

 

when you fix a flat with goop, what happens to the goop later? do you have a big gnarly mess the next time you take the rubber off that rim?

 

And hopefully 40,000 with non-runflats.

 

You got it, it is a mess! The 'goop' is not a fix it is more designed to get you to safety. Make the next time you take the rubber off the rim being in a few hours.

If you do not run RFs and you get a flat...you are now 'dead in the water' or you can drive on your flat/rim but depending on what part of the country your in this will more than likely be a very long distance.

Now if your male or female 'dead in the water' in the wrong neighborhood at night even on the interstate that is not a good thing. Not wanting to freak some people out.....but it is reality.

IMHO it is good insurance with no doughnut in the boot.

 

I don't have a problem with anyone who prefers runflats. And being hapless and not wanting to be bothered with carrying goop or compressors or whatever is a good reason to want to stay with runflats.

Just don't tell me that they are every bit as good as my Goodyear Eagle F1 DS3s for handling and grip. I also prefer paying $100 or so less per tire.

All runflats do is save you from carrying a spare or goop or whatever. They don't save you from flats and they are extremely expensive to replace when you have a flat.

For me, I'll take the substantially better tires and the hopefully very rare inconveniece of having to use a compressor and goop. I bought one of those things at tire rack that is a compressor and injects the goopy stuff all at once. I also carry a AAA membership.

And I will stay out of Death Valley which really should not be a problem from Illinois.

But for those that prefer runflats, I fully understand why. Sometimes peace of mind is more important for some.

 

I also really like my 16" Dunlop SP5000 runflats. Fantastic tires!

I make sure to rotate them every 5K miles (Front to back) and so far so good.

 

I beg to differ a little here. If you are out in the boonies and you experience a real bad flat, the can of goo and the cell phone ain't gonna cut it. Read the story of the guy here in NAM that experienced a bad flat on his way back from Vegas to San Jose, CA. He run into trouble in an area with no cell phone coverage and no can of goo or compressor would have allow him to reach safety. He drove almost 80 miles with the flat and another fellow NAM'er from the area helped him out the next day.

The peace of mind afforded by runflat tire technology is priceless.

 

Also lets not forget to factor in Murphy's Law.

God knows his law ALWAYS applies to me.

You are correct put whatever tires you want on the Mini. But as a group the best information is from other member's thoughts, be that good or bad. This is how we learn.

 

this must be the 100th thread or more on it.

Sure there was ONE GUY who had a real bad issue with a non run flat. And it could have been just as bad if a piece of road debris had torn apart a run flat tire. Just because you're running a run flat doesn't mean your protected completely from something like what he went through, just that it's less likely.

A lot depends on where you drive. Most of my milage isn't in the boonies, so no matter where I might have an issue, there is cell reception (except for around my house!) or at worst a short walk to a place that has a phone.

The RE050As are interesting, but Tire Rack doesn't yet partition the respose between the RE 050A and the RE 050A RFT, so it's hard to use those ratings as an endorsement of run flat technology. In fact, if you look at the complete bridgestone line (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/bridge...estone_all.jsp) you'll see there are 5 different 050As and only two of them are run flats. Using the rider rating results as an indication of run flat prowess is like using the GS3G as a statement for run flat prowess (yes, there are runflat versions of that tire too, just none in our size).

What it comes down to is a local optimization issue. Take into account your driving needs, where you will be when you drive and the like, and make a choice. While I've run into lots who like thier run-flats, I haven't specifically heard anyone who moved away from them ever express any regret with the change.

Matt

 

Here is where I am coming from.

1. My wife takes this car weekdays. Although its around town and not the Nevada desert, I would much prefer she just be able to drive the car home.
2. There is no way I am throwing away $900 worth of OEM tires. When they go bald, then its decision time. Maybe others can afford to just throw that money away but I cannot and besides, being all-season (even worse) they double as snow tires for us since we are sort of in the middle between the snow belt and south
3. I HAVE has total blowouts. No goop was going to fix it. If I go on a long trip, a real spare is coming with me. However, there is no way she will allow a real spare in the car while be driven locally.
4. If anyone truly believes they are never going to get stranded, thats sad I have read the average person gets a flat every 80,000 miles but statistics mean nothing. You can get three in a week and none for 10 years. And, just take a look at a cellular coverage map of CONUS. MUCH of the country has no service.

050As are very interesting and I figure in a year or so the data will accumulate. If they truly rank just below the Goodyear F1s, then I would see no point whatsover for going non-RF. Just need to wait and see the reviews.

 

My gosh, I just put the wheels with runflats on again* and was completely appalled by how awful it was - it felt like I was running on square tires made of stone - bad ride, bad grip, bad performance, blech. I had forgotten just how cruddy they were compared to the better rubber and light wheels I had on. The KDWs may be horridly noisy but they are certainly more fun then the runflats!

*I had the S-lites before with RFs and now have the smaller X-lites with RFs - I thought they would be better then the larger ones sinced they are lighter and, I think, have more sidewall but they certainly do not feel better :(

 

Why it is a bad idea to put a donut spare on the front of a fwd car?
If this is true, then carry a donut spare with non run flat is not a
good combination??

 

something about messing up the drive wheels with two different size tire circumfernces. However, if you only going like 100 miles, I doubt it will hurt. I know I drove from Searchlight to Vegas on a donut on the rear wheels of a RWD and it did no harm

 

Well, it makes sense that you would want to put the full tire on the drive & steering wheels for safety - if a front tire is damaged you can just swap out one or both rears to the front and put the spare on the back.

 

the Bridgstone RE050A is NOT a runflat tire. The Bridgestone RE050A RFT is. As I look over the tire rack website, there is no way to really sort out the difference between the rating and exactly what tire was run.

But you're also making my point perfectly. You have a perfectly reasonable set of use criteria that say the run flats fit your needs. And that's good. But your set of use criteria, while sound, is far from universal.

As for that average number, I wonder what the standard deviation is. I've NEVER had a serious blow out (not to say I never will) and I even had an explorer equiped with the Firestone tires that were accused of creating all the mayhem on the freeways....

Matt

 

Thanks for the info.
I am planning to get rid of the run flat tires and carry a donut spare, plug kit and a small compresser.
I think I should be ok with all these on hand, at least it can take me to the
nearest tire store.

 

Run flat vs standard would be a good one, and how many have been screwed by the move to standard would be a good other one.... It would be nice to get some survey statistics to get an idea of how bad the risk really is.

Matt

 

Which is why I said if you prefer runflats, I can understand.

BUT - if you get a flat out in the middle of nowhere, keep in mind that the runflats can only get you so far. You can have a "real bad flat" on a runflat too. And this speaking from my own experience of having a flat on a runflat and finding that in the 15 miles to my dealer, the runflats were down to a point where I was nearly riding on rims. I know they say that the runflat is good for 50 miles or something like that on a flat but I think that depends on the type of flat and the condition of the roads you are driving. So if you are WAY out in the boonies, the runflats may not get you as far as you need to go.

But again, if the runflats satisfy your driving needs, and the expense is no object and you feel it gives you peace of mind, then go for it.

 

I'm with Chow on not wanting to waste $900ish by tossing out brand new OEM equipment.

However, when my OEM 16" Dunlop RF's needed replacing, I switched to non-RF Michelin Pilot Exalto and discovered (pleasantly) a HUGE difference in performance. Since 90% of my driving is urban, I'm willing to risk a flat. I've had one flat tire in 30 years of driving. I'm willing to play those odds, but would not denounce anyone for being more cautious.

Would I go back to runflats? As RF's evolve and narrow the performance gap... YOU BETCHA!

 

my Pirellis only last 7 months or so. Wasn't a long wait. And I'm with you, WHEN (and who knows how long that will take) the RFs are up to it, I'll use them. Or maybe when I graduate into the multi-wheel set crowd, then I'll have one set with R-compound for the track, and some RFs for day to day. While I see progress in that direction, I don't think we're there yet....

Matt