Where can I find a spare tire for my MCS to put in the car if I go on longer trips? I am putting new tires on the car and I am not going to use run flats. I am planning on just keeping a patch and plug kit as well as a pump in the car.

I have seen people who have a nice bag for the spare also. Where did they find that?

Thanks,
Kenny

 

Well you could buy a MINI donut for about $200. Yes its really that much for the rim and tire.

I kept one of my old runflats and bought a super cheap rim and carry it mounted on long trips. Normally I have a pump and slime.

 

That sounds like a good idea. However 205/45 R17 makes a huge spare to put inside the car. Personally I am thinking that a tiny spare would be only used if the tire was destroyed... I would plan on using a plug kit and/or slime and an electric pump first to get to a location where the tire could be repaired properly.

 

You can order a rim from Classic, it runs about $60 w/ shipping. The tire has to be purchased separately. Tirerack sells them for about $85 w/shipping, however, they have them on backorder till Dec.

What I did recently was go to a wrecking yard and looked at the trunks of the wreck in the yard and found a 15" replacement tire. It only cost me $20. I had the tire taken off and put onto the rim that I got from Classic.

 

The discount tire I was in the other day had donut spares for $40, no shipping of course.

 

I bought my spare tire bag from Jersey Girl here on NAM. She makes great bags.

 

No one else lives on the wild side? I have no runflats, no spare, no jack, no pump and no slime in the car. They all add to much weight.

 

I've got a follow up question about that compact tire...

As I was calling around to locate a tire for my MINI rim (got the rim for $60 dollars from my dealer) I had a few issues. One place told me they only sold them in sets, rim and tire together, so he doubted anyone would sell me just a tire... pretty darn near true...

The auto salvage yard guy had some tires on different rims, but when I told him I only needed the tire, not the rim, he said "changing them to another rim is not recommended" and didn't seem too hot to sell me one.

Is this true? Can't I buy a tire on a different wheel and have it put on my rim? Will all the tire places decline to do this job for some safety reason?

Experts and other wise people, please advise before I sink another $50 into this growing sinkhole of a spare tire!!!!



Sir M. with an MCS about to go holies....

 

Never heard such a thing. I got a new wheel and a Mazda spare and had the tire taken off the Mazda wheel and put on my new one at a local tire store. They expressed no reservations whatsoever.

 

Glad to hear that Squirlz.

I was starting to feel like I got stuck in the middle groove in NASCAR and everybody was passing me!

I'll continue on and get that tire....

 

I use a MINI donut spare in my MCS. Use one of the tie-downs with a ratchet to go from the loop at the front of one side of the trunk, through the middle of the spare to the loop at the back of the same side of the trunk. It locks the spare vertically in place behind the seat. If you need more luggage space, the small spare can be dropped behind one of the front seats when you have the back seats folded down.

 

i bought a set of used 16" factory x-lites (?) today for my spare set.

im going to put it in those tirerack tire totes and keep it in my garage
with a big sign SPARE FOR MINI!

then i can call my wife if i ever get stranded with a nasty flat.
"honey, go to the garage bring the tote with SPARE FOR MINI pretty
please? a nice big cake and coco awaits." or something.