Was driving my new 2013 Cooper S Hardtop in the (finally) nice weather today, and hit a pothole at 45mph. I thought I bent a wheel because that's what it felt like. When we were finally able to pull over, we found a huge bubble in the right front side wall. I obviously need a new tire. Are the run-flats very fragile? I've hit worse potholes than that with lower profile tires without a major issue. Obviously half the people here will be telling me to replace all four tires with something better, but I don't want to spend that much money right now. Does anybody have a good source for the OE run-flats at a lower price than Tire Rack? They're going for about $176 each right now. Thanks in advance.

 

My wife hit a big pothole in her VW Cabrio a couple months ago. Blew the right front shock and
put a small bubble in the sidewall the right front (winter) tire.
I moved it to the back axle and kept a careful eye on it until switching to summer tires
this weekend, but will replace all 4 next November as they were about at half tread anyway.
Our best friend hit a big pothole in her car and got a big bubble in her sidewall.
My advice there was of course you gotta replace it with a big bubble. Fortunately,
she was at about 90% of original tread and didn't bend the wheel or suspension, so
she could get away with just replacing the one tire with the same size/brand/model.

Anyway, back to your questions, run-flats have very stiff sturdy sidewalls, so any
visible external evidence of damage means it probably looks even worse inside the
tire. You are also more likely to damage the wheel with a runflat since it transmits
more of the impact to the wheel than with a non-runflat.

Think hard about whether you want runflats or non-runflats. Some like the convenience
of runflats, but if you're willing to plug a tire on the road (I am) or keep a spare in the
car (not much room for it in a MINI) or use a slime kit (and willing to mess up the TPMS
anytime you use that), the non-runflats are more comfortable, perform better, and are
much cheaper than run-flats.

If you look around, you can sometimes find the same tire a little cheaper than TireRack,
but not by much of a margin. I've been sticking with TireRack for more than a couple decades now.

 

steel belts may have broken inside the tire and therefore unsafe but still drivable but have it replaced when you can.

 

See if MINI will replace the tire under warrantee. If not try the tire manufacturer.

 

Is that even remotely possible with a bubble in the sidewall?

 

good call! may have to fight for it but it's worth the battle… my gosh you got it, right? mmm…. +1 +1 +1!!!

 

Yes. That's what road hazard warranty is. U may even have it and not know.

 

get a new tire asap. You ask ring your dealer might get a suprise. I recently replaced all my ROF tires from tire rack and it turns out the price difference (when the fitting price is one of the factor) wasnt that big compare to dealer. tire rack is good because they got loads to choose from.

 

I'm going to call my dealer tomorrow. I'm not even putting this car back on the road until it's replaced...it's a bubble the size of a grapefruit! Fortunately this car isn't our daily driver, so I have the luxury of not driving it until it's repaired and safe to put my family in. We were 40 miles from home when it happened...I'm thankful we didn't have a blowout on our way home!

 

your not giving us the size of tire ?
I just sold 4 runflats for $150 as my wife hated them on her car, I ditched mine with less than 2K miles, best upgrade you can make.

Did you buy the MINI tire n wheel protection ? If not I doubt you have any recourse as manufacturers don't cover OEM tires from all I read.

 

just curious, is there any photo too see how bad is it?

 

They're the stock 195/55 16 Continental Run Flats. We didn't take out the road hazard warranty, as I've never bought that for any car. I suppose if it costs me $200, I've saved way more than that on the insurance over the years.

 

Haven't taken a photo yet. Maybe I'll snap one tomorrow. Car is in the garage and I don't feel like going and looking at it again. I'm already angry enough...time for a beer!

 

Unless you keep hitting potholes or take out a wheel next time.

 

It is worth a shot. I had a national name tire shop replace a BF Goodrich off road tire that was... wait for it..... 13 years old that had 99% of the tread still on it but was dry rotted. I'm not exaggerating. They said that BFG will normally replace a tire within 5-6 years but they would do it and send it back. Like I say, it's worth a shot.

 

You can always check Craigslist for good used tires, people trying to ditch their run flats or other compatible tires. Thats how I sold mine when I went from 16" to 17".

Is there any reason why you can't replace just the one tire it with a non-run flat (if you eventually want to go the non-run flat route)? I have non-run flats and my USAA Insurance provides roadside assistance for a whooping 86 cents per month.

 

Maybe the Continentals have road hazard warranty, when I got my Conti DWS they came with road hazard included, check with MINI first the Continental

 

Continentals have road hazard warranty if you buy them aftermarket...not OE with a car purchase :-(

Anybody have any suggestions for all season non-runflats? I'm considering it, but a little nervous about not having a spare without runflats.

 

You have free roadside with your new car so no
Worries for 3-4 years. Then you can get AAA or
Other tow service.

I found out years ago that OEM tires are sold cheap to dealers etc and carry no warranty

 

Perhaps the dealer will take pity on me and sell me one cheap! I already emailed my MA....the car is only a month old, so maybe he'll try and do something for me.

 

So...no go on warranty replacement, and Mini of Allentown wanted almost $300 for the tire with mounting and balancing. I ordered the tire for $175 from Tire Rack, and am taking it to the Wheel Collision Center in Bath, PA. They'll unmount, check to make sure the wheel is round and true (and fix it if it's not) and mount and road force balance for $25. If the wheel isn't bent, I come out $100 ahead. Very costly sunday drive either way. Oh well...guess I have to be more careful with potholes.

 

The dealer is the last place to go for tires but in your case is worth a shot just to check if they would cover it somehow with RH warranty that you may have or not.

I'm glad that you were able to find a fair price for both tire and mounting. Good luck

 

$300 Tire an no warranty ? Just say no

 

Of course not! Insanely high price. As I said, I'm going to a place in Bath, PA that straightens bent wheels if for some reason mine is slightly out of true. Check out wheel collision center. Luckily this place is only 20 mins from my house!

 

last time the dealer quoted me (195/55r16) ~$200 for bridgestone and ~$240 for procontact. not sure about premuimcontact, coz they dont have any stock. but 300 for a corner is quite steep.