Hi-

The biggest concern I had in ordering the countryman is the lack of a compact spare. I know other Mini owners have purchased there own after when they replace the run flats with regular tires. I have no experience with run flats but travel a lot as I work in sales and drive about 40K miles per year. the ability to drive 50-80 miles will not help me late night. I figure this will be more complicated because of the ALL4. Figured I would check to see if anyone had any thoughts on this

Mike

MCS ALL4 on order

 

I have a Clubman S with Run flats... I have the same concern, but my thought is that in 24 years of driving I have only had 2 flats... one in my drive way at 16 and the other on the road at 8 years ago. The first was tires that shouldn't have been driven on anyways, and the second was due to low tire pressure (my land rover tires looked air up weather they were flat or not).

My thought is I will take the chance until the Run flats wear out, then I will replace them and pic up a spare. Or I may find a spare in the mean time to have on hand.

 

I'm in the same boat. The thing that worries me is everyone I know who has runflats seem to get far more flats with those tires as opposed to regular tires. It doesn't do you much good to drive 80 miles to a one stoplight town that doesn't have a shop to fix runflats. I will ditch mine when they wear out.

 

I use a 17" Rim & Runflat tire as my spare...bungee corded...plug kit, slime kit, metric ratchet set, torque wrench in a storage container...jack in the floor...MINI Roadside Assistance.

 

Hate, hate, hate, hate, HATE runflat tires. We're going to have to get the 17" wheels / tires I think because only runflats come in the 18" size.

 

I believe runflats are standard on all wheel sizes.

In 18 & 19 you can only get summer performance tires.

In the 17s you have the choice of getting all-season at no additional charge.

But they will be run-flats.

I'm thinking a spare 17 on the roof rack for those long trips we are planning up into Canada.

Don

 

I wouldn't ditch the runflats right off the bat just because they are expensive to replace. However, right before I was going to get new tires, I had a sidewall blow out on my RF's and had to be towed. *&^$$##! Bought regular tires and an OEM spare for less than the cost of new RF's. And the new tires are rated for 60K miles. The ride is sooooooo much smoother. Never looking back.

 

Right or wrong, I switched my run flats with less than 10 miles on them. Went to Toyo 4's - 215/45/17's Perhaps a personal preference also. I do feel like the ride is smoother - no regrets (until I get a flat).


Before/after pictures below:

 

Is the OEM spare for 17" wheels or 16"?

 

JCW's & MCS's don't come with spare tires... Just stick a can of fix-a-flat in the boot and don't worry about a spare... Works for me...

 

It's a donut.

 

My 2003 MCS came with runflats, when they wore out I replaced them with some performance tires. I've had a slow leak a couple times but have never been stuck on the side of the road. If that happens, I'll call AAA and they will take the car to get it fixed.

Never really considered getting a spare. You guys keep a spare in the car? Where?

I'm sure I'll do the same for the countryman.

 

A full size 17" OEM wheel will fit in the boot of the R56 Hatch...

 

For some reason that just makes me laugh. I'd love to see a picture of that one. The mental picture I created while reading your post got me to giggle. I'm sure it would be even better to see for real.

Thumbs up for being truly prepared, assuming you drive with that around with you at all times.

 

That would be great if it would fit in the back with the seats up right, even better if it would fit below the floor panel. Either way I would be happy. Run flats would be great for me if I could drive at least 200 miles on one. seams like the way to go since the new 5 lug pattern will rule out the donuts used on previous models

 

I HATED my run flats, and replaced them with lots of tread remaining within a few months of getting my MCS. I'm running Michelin Pilots (love them) and carry an air pump that I've never used. Unless you have some sort of catastrophic blow-out which is very unlikely, the tire pressure warning will show leakage well before it's a real problem. Getting rid of those damn run flats (noisy, difficult or impossible to plug, hard riding, hard riding, did I say hard riding????) was the single best mod I've made to my 07 MCS.

 

All you guys' stories are further strengthening the plan for replacing the Runflats with normal ones as soon as I get my CMS.

My friend who has MCS did the same thing and advised me to just replace them. Then simply upgrade to AAA plus or platinum just in case to tow it to a shop. I am already a plus member so it will make more sense to do so. Besides, better ride and cheaper cost seem like a no brainer!

 

I actually already bought Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus for our Countryman. Going to have the dealership put them on before we even take delivery. We are getting the 18" wheels and since there is no all season option we went with non-runflat all seasons. Also didn't want the harsh ride of run flats.

 

I'm going to go counter to the trend here and recommend you keep the runflats.

I personally love them. Yes they are heavy, cost more, and have a stiffer ride. But what they mean is you aren't stopped to change a tire in a really bad position, like a zero-width shoulder at night or in the middle of nowhere in a snowstorm.

The thing is, that 50-80 miles is just an estimate, as is the top speed. If you are kind to them they can go a lot longer than that, even the MINI guide says on a good road you may be able to go longer (you know the owners manual has to be as paranoid as possible, read the section about 4WD and acceptable road surfaces for a laugh). And because of the pressure warning you'll probably know your tire has issues well before it becomes empty, meaning you can go far longer still if you carry a pump and stop to inflate it at times.

My personal experience with them has been that I managed to go about 100 miles with one at zero pressure going around 80MPH, by accident (for some reason I believed at the time the pressure warning was incorrect). Yes I did get new tires right after that, but the thing is I hardly noticed in driving except there was a bit of a pull to one side I hadn't noticed before.

I've also had a chance to drive a slalom course on a track with runflats all totally drained. The car is slushy but it's amazing how well it still performs with no air. You do not have to baby an empty runflat.

The other thing I like about them is how much stronger they are - that sidewall doesn't just mean you can ride on them, it also makes you more immune to debris damage breaching the tire (which I have seen happen on MINI drives when someone pulled off on the shoulder) and even much harder to knife (or so I suppose, not having tested that theory myself!)

I plan to actually take my Countryman into, well, the country - back roads in Colorado and Utah. So I value the ability to get out of areas like that before I have to address a damaged tire, and the resistance they have to be blown out in the first place.

 

In retrospect I was foolish, however, with run flats I hit something in the road on my way around Houston and the car seemed to ride a little rougher. I was on the way to the coast to kayak fish, it was 5:00am and I continued on the Galveston. During the trip I was doing 80 more or less. The low pressure monitor never came on. After a day of fishing and when it was still light I noticed the tire looked a little lower the the rear. When I checked the pressure it was zero. I proceeded with caution, and the tire monitor light, to the nearest station and pumped up the tire. I reset the monitor and took off. Less than a half mile later the light was back on. I pumped again and same thing, except I could hear the air escaping. I ended up driving back home at about 65 and it is about 83 miles. Next day I went to Discount Tire where I had tires on order for replacements that still had not arrived and they would not plug the tire and would sell me a replacement tire that would not match those on order. I went to sears and bought a small 12V compressor and Autozone and bought a plug kit. The called Tire Rack and had them deliver the tires I wanted to Goodyear where they were installed. Cost was less with the two-step process.

I learned a bunch - Run flats are worth every nickel - Tire Rack over Discount - 50 miles at 50 mph is probably sound advice but not necessary.

BTW I asked the folks at Goodyear to look for damage in the abused tire and though they found my plug, they saw no signs of damage. They did say I had taken a chance.

Bill

 

Thank goodness for MINI Roadside Assistance and the MINI Tire Warranty.

My wife blew her tire (RF) out from a pot hole near JFK Airport Shipping Side.

The CM was towed back to Morristown MINI in NJ and the next day the dealership had a tire already on the car...when I walked through their door when it opened up...didn't cost me a cent since it was covered.

 

MINI tire warranty is free or sold by the dealer?

 

Interesting question. My BMW has no run flat warranty. They have no hesitation charging me for replacements when they bubble. Can't imagine MINI would be any different.

 

Its sold by the dealer

 

Well, doesn't that tell you something about run flats. The whole car is warranted, but you have to buy the coverage for the tires. I think I smell something here.