Hey Arkansas MINI guys- my tire is screwed, as in, has a gigantic hex-head screw in it. It is so bad that air hisses around it. So, I've got runflats.... Nothing out here in po-dunk can do anything with them, so Hubby has the tire and wheel in the back of his car to carry in to the big city when he goes to work today.

So, can any of you reccomend a tire shop that can deal with these accursed run flat tires?

 

I use Austin Brothers on Cantrell for all my tire needs. They deal with a lot of high-line cars and take good care of wheels.

 

Thanks- I was worried about the wheels, having heard horror stories. I will give Hubby a call and see if he can get over there. I wish that either runflats could be dealt with closer to home, or that I didn't have runflats... I've got a great tire shop three miles from home, owned by family friends, but they don't do runflats. My tire is practically brand new too. Boo-hoo. Ooooh well. This is the second flat I've had in a months time- the other was on my Altima, not a runflat. $8.00 fixed that one. Doubt this time I will be so lucky....

 

plug it yourself

 

$285!!!!!!!! Holy moly! And they wonder why runflat tires haven't been widely accepted? Cripes!

And- I thought you can't plug/patch runflats for some reason?? There's a lot of places I end up that I really am not 50 miles from someplace that can fix my tire, so if the plug comes out and all the air goes too, I could be in a pickle. I'd kinda like a donut, really....

These tires are gonna get replaced with tires that don't run flat, can be patched or plugged for 8 bucks or so, and I guess I need to find a donut spare that can fit in the boot that has the right lug pattern. Um, where do I find that? Dealer?

 

you can plug or patch them honda does daily on the odessy , i thought that too but have done it for a few years,,,, works great

 

I just gave mine to a forum member, it was off a 08? i would plug it if it were me, but you decide

 

I didn't even DRIVE on the thing flat- backed 50 feet down the driveway and TPMS went off, so I put her in drive and right back into the garage we went. I think I must have picked up this screw between my house and the "real" road as fast as the air was going out of it - TPMS would have been set off pretty quick. I am thinking to patch from the inside? I did just talk to the fellow at the tire place and he said they have never patched a runflat, just replaced them. So I called the dealer, and left a message with the service advisor, guess he's at lunch? I am waiting, waiting.

Interesting about the Hondas- they don't worry that Jane Doe drove the thing forever while flat and that the tire is going to seperate at the sidewalls violently, sending the van full of kids into an icy river to all die? Seems a little cavalier to me...

 

My tire guy here in Hot Springs says, you can patch anything, and it will be like new. Plugs should not be used on high performance tires at all. Some places won't even patch high performance tire, but patching should be okay (I had a couple in an old set of tires and drive hard and no probs so far). When I got my first MINI I got a flat and a tire company told me that if your tire is speed rated for 150 or more (which our tires are) that they could not be fixed in any way. Had to be replaced. He was trying to sell me new tires. Run flats can be fixed, but really should be patched and not plugged.

 

Ok, well, here's the update to my tire story. For now, it is getting a plug, because the tire place is worried about messing up the tire by buffing the area to allow a patch to adhere. Given that I drive like a little old lady (I have like 8000 miles on these tires and they look BRAND NEW- I know, wasted potential for my MINI, poor thing, not getting to tear it up in the twisties)--- anyway, I think this will be ok, at least for a while. Definitely not going to forget that the plug is there. Definitely looking forward to new tires hopefully before long. Of course, since I drive so sedately, it may be longer than optimal. What is the worst that will happen? The plug comes out and I have a flat? So what? They're runflats...

 

My two cents:

1) Find some comfort here - I got a nail or screw in a runflat on my '03 MCS within first month of ownership. Goodyear Tire on Cantrell patched or plugged for cheap (not sure which - didn't ask) and I ran fine (even high speeds and thousands of miles) on that runflat for more than a year until I put enough mileage on the set that it was time to replace. Would not recommend that Goodyear simply because they did nicked a lot of paint off the wheel in the process (I second the opinion that Austin Bros. is a great place);

2) I replaced with non-runflats and have never looked back - much improved ride (older, pre-2004 MCSs have much stiffer suspension than later models) and higher-quality tire for dramatically less money;

3) For cost savings on a spare, I'd look for an emergency spare/donut from a wrecked regular MINI (all non-MCSs come with spare) in a local junkyard or U-pull-it place, and I think Tirerack.com even sells an inexpensive emeregency spare for the MINI. Another option is a full-sized (15") wheel and tire, which will actually fit in the boot (but takes up 3/4 of your storage space). It's a bit risky, but I've done fine for 3+ years now running my MCS with non-runflats and no spare (just some tire sealant and a small inflator).

 

If you replace your runflats with nonrunflat tires, you can call around for a shop that will put nitrogen in your tires. Nitrogen acts as a natural runflat, plus giving you a longer life on your tires. I put Nitrogen in my tires, hit a pothole and flattened two tires on my honda. Made it 15 miles home on two flats - no problems. Good luck!