Can you change from Runflats in pairs, as I have plenty of tread on 2 tyres ?

 

You can. But highly discouraged. Not something I would do.

 

I'm curious. Why?

 

The handling characteristics vary quite a bit between RFT and non-RFT. During normal driving this may not be an issue, but in poor conditions or during emergency situations it could introduce some problems.

You can check out what Tire Rack has to say on the issue (granted, they are probably not a neutral party on the issue) -> http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=136

 

the issue is not mixing r/f and regular ... it is running two different types of tires ... especially two different speed ratings.


is it ideal? No


& I've done it and I'm sure many others have as well


running different size tires is often described as not ideal, yet isn't that exactly how many super cars are delivered ... even a Corvette?


Do you 'drive it like you stole it?' IF so, then maybe a bad idea


But if you just 'drive it', I doubt you'll have a problem


Heck Mrs had a blow out in never never land and had to buy one tire of a different brand to get home ... my wife ran on that odd tire for a year. Her normal commute is 5 miles and speed is max 45 ..... she never noticed an issue and thought replacing was a waste of money.


Tire Rack's closing comment:


it is always best to drive on tires that are identical in every detail, including tire brand, model, size and remaining tread depth. Anything else involves some type of compromise.


compromise


OP is in UK ... does it pass MOT? From I've read your rules are a lot more strict than ours!

 

I always gone by the theory that if there's a 50/50 chance that something can go wrong (50% one kind of tire and 50% another?), 90% of the time, it will. Been buying cars and trucks for 50 years and when tires on any corner need replaced, they all four get replaced. Too much rides on those things to take chances.

 

Thanks for your comments.
It would be a fail in the UK if mixed RFs with Non RFs, also would be a insurance problem if a claim was made.
Thanks again.

 

I've wondered about this as well. I have two worn RFT's and two fairly new RFT's. Hopefully someone that has actually done this will chime in on their experience.

 

The same kind of tires with different degrees of wear is not a serious issue as different types of tires as the OP is contemplating. For future reference, rotating the tires every 5K miles will help to even out the wear over the life of the tread.
The Car Talk website has a diagram for proper rotation.

 

This topic has been discussed many times in the past, search for those threads.

If you have runflats and want to keep runflats then-
If two tires seem worn and you want to replace them even if they are not on the same axle, then put the two new runflats (match to either summer or all season tire class to the older runflats you have) on the rear axle and the more worn two tires on the front axle. If all four tires or even three are worn then you can replace all with the same runflat tire or non runflat tire. You don't want one tire being very different in tread wear to the other tires.

Why all the fuss? To get predictable handling you want all four tires to do equal work and handle any dry or wet conditions you face.

Mixing runflats with non runflats is not a good thing and no tire shop will allow you to do so. Further you want the replacement tires to match your existing OEM or other tires you have on your MINI. This means that load rating and speed ratings be the same or better than OEM and tire size be appropriately close to OEM depending on your wheels.

Confused? Just match your new tires to your old tires or consult with a tire specialist while you shop around. Tirerack reps give reliable info.

Tire classes refer to whether a tire is Summer or All Season, Max Performance or Grand Touring.

For the MINI many Cooper S models come with Max Summer runflats (better handling, firmer ride, faster tread wear) while base cooper models come with Touring All Season tires (longer treadlife, more comfortable ride, usable in cold weather or light snow).