I don't think it matters. Personally, I would put it on the front so it wears a bit faster (which is what I did). In your original post you were concerned about having one new tire and 3 older tires. So long as it's the same brand tire (ie all RFT), you'll be fine..

 

+1
Also if you are really ****, then throw it on the right rear....
Me...I would throw the new tire on the right front, since that typically wears fastest, but many will say to put deepest tread on the rear....
If you do worry...then get a 2nd new tire...and keep the one good used tire as a spare.
Even a 4x4 or AWD can have a slight variation in tire diameter...here the car is fwd, so no issues.

 

I've got a couple of thoughts.


How do you get 20K miles out of any tire? Mine are toast at 20K... (just saying)


There is absolutely no difference between a runflat and a non runflat as far as tread construction. The sidewalls are much stiffer, but the rest of the tire is a tire.


Most tire places are in the business of selling tires. There are very few reasons that a tire can't be repaired. The biggest one is liability. (thank all the lawyers right now)


If the damage isn't in the sidewall, and you haven't driven on it without air pressure. Any tire can be successfully repaired. I've used plugs in my sportbike / sport touring tires for 40 years, and they held up just fine. (no I didn't do a track day or explore the top speed of the bike. But when you are about 1000 miles from anywhere it works.) Hell I know guys that have had 4-5 plugs in a tire...lol (not that I'd what to ride it... but)


In my 45 years of tires, plugs simply do not fail with a catastrophic loss of pressure. If / when they fail, the tire just goes flat, just like you picked up another puncture.




So anyway, If it were me, I'd be buying new tires. Because mine would be at .001" of tread at 20K...lol

 

i wasn't thinking I could just "drive and drive" as you say. I was thinking that they might be repairable rather than ruined though.

 

They might be repairable, but they might not. The sidewalls can be overheated from flex and taking the loads of driving the car without air pressure to support them, and that can ruin them. But it depends on how much they are driven, and probably a lot of other semi-random factors. As the others have mentioned, the tires need to be inspected to determine if they're still useable. Or just replace them to be on the safe side.

BTW, I have found that running "excessive" air pressure in the original tires of my Cooper has helped them to last 35K miles so far. And I'm not exactly gentle to the tires--I believe that a singing tire is a happy tire, and I have tires that are frequently very happy!!

 

Noted. However, I never ran them *flat* or low on pressure. The leak is very slow, and I've kept it between 33 to 34.5 since I noticed it last Friday. She'll be going into MINI tomorrow.

What's odd is the SA said they'd look at the tire and make a call if it can be repaired. Then he was quick to tell me such a tire repair costs $109.00 plus tax. However, when I told him I paid $900+ tire and wheel insurance he said, "Oh, well they don't allow us to repair them -- we'll have to replace it with a new one. When I expressed my concern with the difference in tread, he said, "Well, I'll have to do a walk-around to determine if two need to be replaced." Something tells me if he recommends two be changed due to difference in tread wear I may be asked to pay full price for the second tire.

If I had regular tires, I would have paid $20 for a patch and be done with it. :(

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Now you understand WHY most folks give up and say "f$%k runflats!!"...
Worse ride, and higher cost per mile, and the pain of getting them fix (if possible, or even finding a place to look at them to decide).....
Good luck either way, but I ran my old set till they were about 85% worn...they were just TOO loud by then, and swapped them to normal tires, and never looked back.
I could have changed them sooner, but did not want to deal with selling used tires or " waste" any miles left....

 

See post #3.

 

Update: Turns out my continental tires are NOT run-flats according to the SA. He said Continental Run Flats have a special marking on them ("Ssomething") which my tires do not have.

Anyway he's replacing the tire because I have the tire and wheel coverage. Guess I got taken when I was sold the wheel package huh? Oh well, lesson learned.

On another issue. The SA inserted my key in the computer and stated the car doesn't need ANY maintenance at all. It has almost 20k miles ... REALLY?!?!?

And so I can't help but wonder why should I consider buying the extended service agreement at $1,700 if no work gets done.

Can someone shed light on this for me?

Confused in Florida. :(

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With the extended service, you are prepaying really expensive dealer prices for oil changes and brakes. The same as the extended warranty. (in most cases)


Dealers sell these packages to make money. period. If they didn't make money, they wouldn't do it. They are betting that they have to do less than what you paid. For the most part they win.


I believe you are much better off if you put that cost of the maintenance plan or extended warranty in the bank. You can pay for needed maintenance and repairs with that, and most probably have cash left over when the plan would have expired. (especially if you use an independent mechanic vs a dealer. Doubly so if you do some of it yourself.. Oil change is a no brainer, and give you an opportunity to learn your car.)


I get that there are people that cannot, will not, don't want to, do anything car related. That's fine. But there is a cost involved, and don't be surprised.


As for your car, the maintenance is computer based. The computer in your car determines what maintenance is due according to what the factory dictated the maintenance schedule to be. (woefully inadequate in my opinion.)


At a minimum, with the free MINI maintenance, you will get an oil change at least every year, or 10,000 miles. and maybe brake and coolant fluid flushes.


That's all well and good for MINI as long as the car makes it out of the warranty period, but not if you plan on keeping the car long term.


I follow a sort of old school maintenance schedule.


7500 miles, Oil and filter (based on used oil analysis by Blackstone labs) Check air filter. (reusable AEM flat panel)
30K miles Manual transmission fluid change fuel filter, spark plugs
Brake fluid every 2 years or before a track event
Coolant every 2 years, cabin filter
Comprehensive inspection every time I'm under the car. (yeah, I got a lift in my garage, so it's easy..)


Brakes when needed.
I'm about to pull the intake mani and do carbon inspection and cleaning at 50K miles. (yeah, I got those tools too..lol)


I follow this for all my 4 wheeled vehicles. (besides I like doing it...)


I have no doubt that this car will last for a VERY long time. And when I go to sell it, the buyer will feel a whole lot better about buying a car from me, than anyone else...

 

I couldn't match the tire's tread in your pictures to a Continental run flat. That is why I asked what size they were. The default 2013 Hardtop wheel and tire were 15" non-runflat. If fitted at the factory with 16" or 17" tires they used runflat tires.

So where did the non-runflats come from? Did the dealer mistakenly (being polite here) install non-runflats and then sell you a warranty for runflats? These are questions I would be asking the general manager at this point.

Is it time to learn a new lesson? People can't deceive you when money is involved. It is criminal fraud.

 

Agree 100%, doesn't pencil out for 99% of people I'd guess. You would have to be some high mileage driver to get a deal here. As long as you have access to a good indy mechanic or do the work yourself, then the ext maintenance is just a solid mini profit center.

For me the Mini oil changes however are a bargain, I can't get a better deal elsewhere and for the amount of times I need it done it isn't worth having the gear to do so. (old age is also a factor )

 

I have a couple of posts in this thread, and today I discovered I have a nail in the right rear tire (and I DO have RFT). This is the third tire I have had to replace due to a nail in a RTF. Fortunately, a few months ago I bought the Discount Tire hazard warranty on all the tires. And yes, you can purchase the warranty on tires not bought at Discount. Anyways, took it in, they will replace the tire for $40 (Continental). I paid about $100 for the warranty, which has now saved me at least $60.

 

Guys, it's obvious you know your stuff. So here comes my OCD issue....

I checked the new front tire against the one with 20k miles. Although the used tire has good tread, it's nowhere near what the new tire has. I swear it's almost an 8th maybe more difference in tread.

Will this impede handling, or worse yet cause front end issues down the line. My placebo effect has be believing I *feel* a slight difference. Not as evenly tight, but this could be me.

I can't fathom how the new tire will EVER match the other ones and this concerns me.

I'll have to check on the run flats. My MINI doesn't have a spare and I swear he told me they were run flats. Which is why we added $945 for tire/wheel insurance.

Anyone have experience with something similar? Advice/Suggestions?

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You know what? You make perfect sense. This is why when the technicians replaced the tire on my upgraded 16" 5 spoke rims, they installed a run-flat. Then they had to take it back and install a non-run flat.

All I have to establish now is that 16-17 rims come with run-flats by default. And if they do, what can I do now? All this time I thought they were run-flats. :(

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This is turning into an interesting thread. As I recall, you have a base mini? I thought they all came with regular tires and a spare. Maybe they changed something in 2013. Are you sure you don't have a spare? It would be under the rear of the mini.

 

I have a spare under the boot. However, this is the wheel upgrade I received (see attached). Not sure this means they're suppose to come with run-flats in 16-17 as was mentioned. But I could swear that salesman told my wife and I so which is why I assumed they were run flats all along.

 

OK, I think I know what's going on. I believe all 17 wheels received RFT and no spare. 15-16 wheels on a base received regular tires and a spare. 16-17 wheels on a MCS received RTF and no spare. On the MCS, there is no room to install a spare.

 

Ahhh OK. Nothing I can do then. That said, I received a regular tire at no cost. With that, if I may repost my concern.

I checked the new front tire against the one with 20k miles. Although the used tire has good tread, it's nowhere near what the new tire has. I swear it's almost an 8th maybe more difference in tread.

Will this impede handling, or worse yet cause front end issues down the line. My placebo effect has be believing I *feel* a slight difference. Not as evenly tight, but this could be me.

I can't fathom how the new tire will EVER match the other ones and this concerns me.

I'll have to check on the run flats. My MINI doesn't have a spare and I swear he told me they were run flats. Which is why we added $945 for tire/wheel insurance.

Anyone have experience with something similar? Advice/Suggestions?

 

What is the basis for your belief?

 

Because MINI/BMW usually only has run flat tires on the cars they sell. (other than the 15" MINI's and the M cars from BMW.


I'm seriously surprised that you got non run flat tires in 16" and a spare. (which I bet is a 15"). When I got my 2010 MCS, non runflat tires were not even an option. The 15" will not clear the front brake calipers. The choice was all seasons or summer performance tires in 16-17-or 18". No spare.


I opted for the 17" performance (if you can really call the R050A a performance tire...lol) I bought a set of 16" wheels and RFT snow tires from TireRack before I even took delivery of the car.


Anyway, back on point, I'd check the spare and see what size/type of tire is on there. If it's a 15" then if you have a flat front, you have to swap a rear to the flat location and install the spare in the rear. Otherwise, the traction and stability will go nuts.

 

Update: Update: MINI will refund me $700 for the $943 plan because they billed one tire. That said, I mentioned I was concerned about running a new tire (front left) with three older tires with 19,200k on them. It hasn't thrown any sensor/traction lights so I guess I'm good?

Here's a cardboard I used to measure the tread depth on the new vs older tires. The first line (bottom) is the old tire with 19,200k. The second line (top) is the new tire tread. The difference may actually be a tad less than shown.

Will I be OK running Zippy like this?

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Checking my monitor with a ruler, and based on new tread of 10/32, the 20K line
measures 7/32. That's close enough for now.

If you rotate the right side twice a year and leave the new one on the left front,
(in other words, don't rotate the left front and rear) they'll all get pretty close*
to the same depth by the time you need 4 new tires.



*no, it won't come out completely even, but it'll be close enough not to matter.

 

Excellent tip Cristo. I'll keep this in mind at my next service.

Regards,
David.

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similar situation in Colorado small nail slow leak. took it to sams they fixed it for nothing. tipped the guy 10 bucks, he said they could only fix it one time. its been 5000 miles and good.