I am at the point where I have to replace all 4 tires. I have dunlop sp sport 01 runflats from the factory. I have noticed mini also puts on pirelli pzero's and continental conti runflats. My question is, which of the 3 is the smoothest riding, quietest (if any), and will last the longest? A nonrunflat is not an option for me, I travel 40 miles to work each way, all highway, through the southern california mountains/desert, where there is one exit with a gas station, and would not want to catch a nail and get stranded. Anyone know?

 

I read the Conti's rode very well for a runflat - until I swapped them for the tires in my sig - talk about a world of difference in comfort. We put in a slime spair kit and got a 2009 Chevy Cobalt spare off eBay to throw in for long trips. Kurgo tire tote cover to make handling the spare easy, and keeping things clean.

 

I've had all three... Dunlops were OEM on my '08 and I purchased Pirellis when the Dunlops wore out. Pirellis are better than Dunlops but still loud. Contis blow both away. MY only caveat is that I have the Contis on my 2011 which also has better sound dampening "stuff" so I can not contribute the reduced cabin noise to the tires alone. Hope this helps!

 

My wife's '08 S has the Contis and we have no complaints. Got about 28k on them with a lot of tread left. One of them, maybe two of them have been plugged. Haven't rode in a Mini without runflats.

 

My '11 MCS hartop has Bridgestone Potenza RE 050A and I've never been happier with runflats. My last 3 MINIs have had runflats but they also had sport suspension. My current MINI doesn't so it may be one of the reasons they don't feel so harsh. All of the runflats I have had were the same-noisy, rough ride, and not good in the traction department. These tires I have now have great dry grip but I don't know about the wet since we rarely get rain out here in far West Texas. I would seriously look into these.

 

 

The RE 050A's are and I've never been happy until now. Like I said before, it may be because I don't have sport suspension. I wouldn't call the runflats I had on my other cars trash but me and many many others can tell the positive difference. Also, I won't replace the ones I have now with other runflats but will pick some relatively top rated dw tires with good puncture resistance.

 

 

I made a number of changes to my '10 Justa (see sig) prior to replacing the Conti runflats with Yoko ENVigors. This was the last change I made. Based on everything I had read on this site, I expected a dramatically improved ride. I have to say the difference was almost imperceptible.

In August, the Contis needed 33 psi front/31 psi rear to acheive even tire temps. The Yokos needed 35/31 f/r in September for even temps. If you could run the Yokos at 30/27 psi, they probably would ride significantly better, but you would reduce tire life and fuel economy.

The Contis were actually better hitting standing water at speed than the Yokos, probably due to much wider grooves.

In the end, I regret virtually giving the Contis away and not keeping them until they were down to 5/32 ", or so. However, even if they continued to perform well when worn and also lasted well, I would not have bought another set because of costing so much more than the Yokos.

DOC

 

My last post was from my iPhone so I didn't get to post at much info as I wanted to. Runflats are not tires from the devil and they do serve a purpose. Tire technology is always moving forward so there is hope for runflats. I hit a pot hole and damage a relatively new RF tire so instead of paying for one new replacement RF, I had a pair of Conti EC DWS put on the front. It wasn't a night and day difference and I knew the larger tire size in addition to the softer tire wall was going to give me a softer ride which it did. Tire noise went down and handling improved a little but enough I was happy. Again, if I have to replace a runflat on my current MINI, I will do the same as I did before and just go non-runflats because I would eventually go to them when the RF's wore out. Here is a pic of my tires: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/BigPic...nza+RE050A+RFT

 

I think the Dunlops on my 2011 JCW are great. Traction could be a bit better but I am immpressed. Bridgestones on my 2010 rode like a rock. I was going to swap with to non-RF right away but I do not see then need yet. I though the JCW with stiff suspension and 17" wheels instead of the 16's I had would be way rougher as my 2010 MCS did not ride well at all. This 2011 JCW is Caddy compared to my 2010. No torque steer and smoother than I thought possible in a MINI. Just amazed every time I drive it. I would never of considered my 2010 for a long road trip because of its ride. I have other choices. If there is snow I woudl take the truck, Borign trip where I want mileage the Jetta TDI and good weather and fast the Maserati. Tomorrow I am going to drive around the Olympic Penisula to finish the break in period.
Ride is so good now even with the RF's I would go coast to coast. We will see how they do as they wear.

 

Thanks guys, but of course opinions are all over the board. My 2007 MCS had dunlop runflats, and it rode fine. My 2009 convertible, with the same dunlop runflat sp sport 01's rides pretty hard/rough. I recently purchased a set of takeoff pirelli pzero runflats, from someone here in the market. They had about 2000 miles on them, tread depth is between 9 and 10/32. So, they are like brand new. Paid 400 including shipping, so a fairly good deal. Just hope they ride less rough than my dunlops. Will find out soon, going to get them put on next week.

 

Anyone using nokian runflats WRG2's on their Mini?

I see 195/55/16 is available in runflat. Last time I looked up Nokian spec's I don't remember seeing that size in runflat. Or maybe I just missed it when looking.

 

Does this mean you are running rft in the back and regular tires in the front?

 

As usual, a little late to the party.

My 1stGen MCS had Goodyears. I wasn't sad when they died a horrible death. Well, one did, and I replaced all four. I got Kumhos. They may have been all-weather, but had a fairly aggressive tread pattern. They were WAY smoother and quieter than the Goodies.

My '10 MCSa came w/ run-flat Contis. I've been happy overall with them. Grip is good in the dry, and I don't push it that hard in the rain.

Too many other crazies doing that here in SoCal. Also, last winter was mostly dry, and this year it didn't just rain, but POURED.

Put myself off-topic. Sorry...

 

Yes it does. For the time being it was. I was on the road out in the middle of nowhere when I damaged my right front tire in a pot hole while en route to MITM/MTTS. I called my wife to see if I had her blessing for all 4 at that time and she told me I could only spend my trip money. So 2 tires it was. Also, the two Conti EC DWS were less expensive than replacing the RF at Schomp or at the Discount Tire in Colorado Springs. I was going to get the rear two as soon as I could. I traded that one in already so I didn't have to. I'm not in the market for any non-runflats at this time but will only upgrade if I have to(tire damage) or they wear out.

 

I changed from runflats to regular tires at the 100 mile point in my 2007 MCS. I don't like them and will never again put them on any car I own. If you get a puncture or worse you gotta shell out ca $300 for the tire, mounting and balancing. No thanks, no run flats for this old guy.

 

to be honest.. your better off running a Non Runflat tire...
but if you must and feel better off purchasing a runflat.
I purchased a Yokohama Runflat, now price wise, you can't beat them unless you purchase Kuhmos, and i believe those are the least expensive of the bunch. My Yoko's were under $170 buck a tire. they rode just like the Bridgestones that came stock and handled just as well as the Dunlops. But they'll cost you far less than the other brands which can be over $200 a tire. But the treadwear is still a joke with all of them in my opinion.

 

FYI Discount Tire will sell full replacement and R/H warranties for OEM run-flats at about $22/tire; the only catch is you have to do this before about 300 miles or so. I got a serious sidewall puncture in one of my Contis before break-in was over, and they replaced it NQA.

And my pref: of the 3, Contis, because they are relatively reasonable to replace, and they were TONS better, ride and noise-wise, than Dunflops that were on my 05 S.

 

Not true. Most punctures in RSCs can be fixed with plugs, except for serious sidewall punctures (see above post). had like 3 on my 05s rear Dunflops, and all were fixed fine.

My main complaint about RSCs are short tread life. I get no more than about 15-17K out of a set, but then I drive the snot outta my car. Once the Contis are toast, I'll switch back to my conventional Z-rated BFG G-Force Sports.

 

I will share my experience, and you can draw you own conclusions. I had the Goodyear run flat tires, stock 16". When the alignment got off in the rear and I didnt notice it until I could hear the problem, it had ruined one of the rears, and almost the other. Fortunately, this was at 45k miles, and it only cost me about 5-7k miles of tire life. After shucking out $300 each for the two new tires, I realized it would be soon that I would need two more. I said enough is enough. I did some research, and it turns out that one of the best rated tires for the stock 16" size was also the cheapest from TireRack.com. $85.00 each. Yep, thats what I said. They are Hankook Ventus V4 ES H105, size 195/55R16. I have a bit of advantage as I live near one of the warehouses, so I didnt have to pay for shipping, but it usually only runs $50-$60 anyway. So, for the price of mounting and balancing one Goodyear, I got four new tires, And two pretty good ones to sell one Ebay to boot!

Oh, how do they work? FANFRIGGINTASTIC!!! They have more wet grip, quieter, softer ride, and, to me, as good if not better handling. Plus, I have to drive on about a mile of dirt road every day, and what used to be a white knuckle oh-my-God-I-am-going-to-get-stuck when it rained a lot is now a ridiculous laughing and whooping romp through the mud. Tons of mud grip. I can't say enough about these tires. And as to the flat hazard, here is my thinking. Short of a solid tire, if something shreds your tire, run flats won't help. So, a puncture is the only real danger. Run flats are stiffer, so I see a bigger danger of a semi-sharp object being forced into the tread by the stiffer tire than the softer tire giving and not getting punctured. And for those things that will puncture either tire like nails, I bought one of those Slime brand Safety Spair kits that has the mini compressor that will squirt the Slime in the tire then pump it up for $38.00. The compressor can be used without the slime too!

 

JHB141, Sounds good, but the slime will ruin your tire pressure monitor sensors, so in addition to a new tire you will have to purchase one of those. Depends on the situation, ie where you drive, city, hwy, etc. As I stated, I drive 40 miles each way to work, all highway, with only one gas station, through the mountains just north of LA. I have had 4 blow outs in the 13 years I have been making the drive. (none in either of my minis). So, it does happen. For me a runflat is the only way to go. And I do not have room for some sort of spare in my car. If I get another blow out, I cannot be stranded in the middle of nowhere for 3 hours until AAA or mini roadside shows up. But if it works for you great. Besides, you can usually buy low mileage takeoffs for a fraction of the price on the marketplace here. That is what I did. Same cost as new non runflats, what I purchased they only had about 1-2 thousand miles on them, look new, and have between 9 and 10/32 tread left.

 

Thinking of getting a new MCS. Is the ride noticably harsher with the optional 205/45/17 runflats compared to the standard 195/55/16 runflats?

I'll try to test drive both to compare but a modest test drive often isn't enough to really get a good feel. Of course I realize non runflat offer the least harsh ride. Currently have standard non runflat 15 inch tires on my Justa.

 

Yes, generally the ride is harsher with lower profile tires, especially with RFTs.

The sports suspension will also add to ride harshness.

 

Thanks Slinger

Thats what I figured. I'll pass on the sports suspension and just get the regular 16inch runflat allseason when I decide to buy another Mini. And of course if I find the 16inch still too harsh, I could switch to non runflat.

Finner