Yesterday, the man at my local Mini dealer's parts counter told me there was not yet a 17" (or 16") doughnut spare wheel & tire for '07 (and '08) Mini's. For any of you have or know of one, can you please tell me (us) whom you got it from (and how much it cost) ? Thanks, in advance, for your help.

 

funny, i was told the very same thing by the parts department at Patrick Mini. doesn't the older model (02-06) coopers have spares.

 

I DO NOT REMEMBER WHERE BUT I READ A THREAD HERE THAT MENTIONED USING A DOUGHNUT FROM EITHER A HONDA OR MITSUBISHI. THE BOLT PATTERN IS 4X100 WITH 14MM LUGS FOR THE R56 I THINK.

 

R53 spare works fine.. I got one off a mini in a junkyard for pretty cheap.

 

http://new.minimania.com/web/Item/NM.../InvDetail.cfm

 

this is true, and it's honda civic. go to a junk yard and pull a steel wheel from a civic and you got yourself a spare. alternatively, civic people can mount s-lites on their cars

 

I think a set of steelies from a scion will work as well, but don't quote me

 

dumb question, but where would you store this in an R53 Mini? Will it fit in the trunk area somehow?

greg v.

 

I keep mine standing up behind my seat.

 

I can actually barely squeeze a 17" S-Lite with original runflat tire into the boot of my 2003 MCS. It is a VERY tight fit and you may want to adjust the hatch bump-stops out a bit.

Here's how I look at it:

If I have to change my own tire by the side of the road, I'm still going to have to find room in the car for a full size flat tire on a 17" rim whether I carry a tiny crappy donut spare or an honest to goodness real tire I can drive thousands of miles on if I have to.

 

Also note that if you get a flat on the front, you will have to put the spare on the rear and move a regular wheel to the front to clear the brakes.

 

Oh yeah.. . . half the time it will take twice as much work to change one tire. . . .