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Coupe S owners who ditched runflats AND want a spare in the boot AND cargo space...
Just thought I'd pass on this little tidbit I discovered.
The standard MINI donut spare is 22" in diameter.
If you remove the styrofoam liner from the "trench" behind the pass-through, each half of the trench actually has a curved bottom. Perfect for oh, I don't know, a tire?
Height from the lowest part of the curved bottom of the trench to the underside of the removable shelf above: just a bit over 22".
You can take it from there...
(Not sure if the same clearance exists for Roadsters. From the pics I've found it looks like it's probably less than 22" due to the folded roof. A Roadster owner would have to check. ETA: Forget it - Due to the angle imposed by the section of roof between the boot lid and the folded top, I don't think you could drop the tire in the trench from above. Sorry, Roadsters.)
Last edited by scooterboy; Feb 27, 2016 at 11:20 AM.
I've been looking at it, and I think you'd only lose half the pass-thru door. For instance if the spare was sitting in the driver-side half of the trench, the driver could still reach through the pass-thru and get to the passeneger-side half of the trench.
No, I haven't tried it. I don't have a donut to try it with - I was just measuring. I was thinking ahead to a time when I get rid of these run-flats and whether I'm going to go with a donut, or some combination of inflator/plug kit/slime.
But the tire can definitely fit in the trench under the rear shelf so I thought I'd pass along the idea in case someone else was currently considering their tire options.
Oh, ok. So that means I can probably still fit in a couple 2x4's, some golf clubs, and a broom handle or 3. Not too bad after all :-D
Adding JCW brake kit to my R58. Already have R112 wheels, but apparently like others, I don't like my run flats. I know the doughnut spare won't go on the front brembo brakes, but does anyone know if a space-saver spare will go on the tear JCW brakes? I don't mind juggling the wheels in the event of a front flat if I can ditch the run flats w/o having to put a full-size spare in the back.
Adding JCW brake kit to my R58. Already have R112 wheels, but apparently like others, I don't like my run flats. I know the doughnut spare won't go on the front brembo brakes, but does anyone know if a space-saver spare will go on the tear JCW brakes? I don't mind juggling the wheels in the event of a front flat if I can ditch the run flats w/o having to put a full-size spare in the back.
I think it will still go on the larger rear JCW brakes if you use a spacer like this one.
Roadster has a plastic panel above the space. A bit over 19" at best. Left side of trench is occupied by the top motor when so equipped. I have a fullsize spare strapped upside down in the trunk. It still leaves room for groceries and we take the motorhome or Jetta when luggage is needed. OEM tools are under the larger false floor.
I've been looking at it, and I think you'd only lose half the pass-thru door. For instance if the spare was sitting in the driver-side half of the trench, the driver could still reach through the pass-thru and get to the passeneger-side half of the trench.
No, I haven't tried it. I don't have a donut to try it with - I was just measuring. I was thinking ahead to a time when I get rid of these run-flats and whether I'm going to go with a donut, or some combination of inflator/plug kit/slime.
But the tire can definitely fit in the trench under the rear shelf so I thought I'd pass along the idea in case someone else was currently considering their tire options.
Ok, so I'm reviving this thread because I finally replaced my &@^%$ runflats with REAL tires. I picked up a MINI donut spare at a local junkyard and tested my theory...worked perfectly! I'll take some pictures of the spare in my trunk trench and post them here later. Turns out I didn't need to remove the styrfoam trench liner after all - the spare fit perfectly with it still there.
I made the blue cover with some ripstop nylon I had (I used to make my own stunt kites):
This one shows the bungee cord holding it secure, with an umbrella behind it (still deciding whether to replace the bungee with some other solution). You can also see one of the two LED lights (upper left) I added in the boot for better lighting:
And here's a view from the inside showing that I can still reach into the empty side of the trench:
Tell us more about the netting you've got there on the sides... is that the OEM MINI netting? And, how do you feel about the boot liner (also a MINI part?) I've been hankering for a boot liner for a while, just can't decide if I want to spend the $$ or not. Love the LEDs - that's a great idea.
I made the blue cover with some ripstop nylon I had (I used to make my own stunt kites):
This one shows the bungee cord holding it secure, with an umbrella behind it (still deciding whether to replace the bungee with some other solution). You can also see one of the two LED lights (upper left) I added in the boot for better lighting:
And here's a view from the inside showing that I can still reach into the empty side of the trench:
This is certainly better than behind the seat. Now if you travel with luggage and have a flat, the wheel will not fit there unless you delete the parcel shelf.
Tell us more about the netting you've got there on the sides... is that the OEM MINI netting? And, how do you feel about the boot liner (also a MINI part?) I've been hankering for a boot liner for a while, just can't decide if I want to spend the $$ or not. Love the LEDs - that's a great idea.
Netting: I really wanted to make use of those recesses on each side of the boot. I have some basic sewing machine skills so I took a couple of genuine MINI nets, removed the trim on one edge, cut the netting to fit the shape of the recesses, then re-sewed the edging back on the side that was cut. I chose the MINI netting rather than generic netting because the MINI netting already has the plastic hooks on each corner and I wanted to secure the nets that way to make them easily removable. I can fit quite a number of "soft" items in those recesses now - very handy for things like rain gear, hats, etc.
Boot liner: I had a boot liner in my previous Mini (2003 Base for 13 years) and really liked it when it came to clean-up, so I immediately bought one for the Coupe when I got it. Funny thing - even though I kept my original boot liner, I never even checked to see if it would fit correctly in the Coupe before buying a new one specifically for the Coupe. I can test-fit the original liner, and if it fits ok, I can send it to you so you can save a few $. If you're interested, I'll try it and PM you if it fits.
Originally Posted by dube53
This is certainly better than behind the seat. Now if you travel with luggage and have a flat, the wheel will not fit there unless you delete the parcel shelf.
I was hoping that if I had to replace a flat tire with the spare, the reduced diameter of the flattened tire would fit in the trench even with the parcel shelf there. If it doesn't fit, then I'll just have to figure something else out.
I made the blue cover with some ripstop nylon I had (I used to make my own stunt kites):
This one shows the bungee cord holding it secure, with an umbrella behind it (still deciding whether to replace the bungee with some other solution). You can also see one of the two LED lights (upper left) I added in the boot for better lighting:
And here's a view from the inside showing that I can still reach into the empty side of the trench:
Yea, that works, like how the wheel follows the contour of the secret compartment foam inset. I store my back up tire fix kit there and car cleaner/ polish cloth.
