This might sound stupid, but if one has to replace two tires, (I have never had to

replace more than two at a time) can you replace them with two other style tires?

The run flats are so pricey. If not, what happens to the two good run flats?

 

Chances are, if you have never had to replace more than 2 at a time, then you have not been rotating your tires. . . . If you have them rotated regularly, you will wear 4 tires out at the same time and be able to start fresh rather than always having 2 old tires and 2 new ones.

You can have mismatched tires on your MINI, but why? You can get a great set of regular performance tires for the cost of 2 run-flats.

 

Thanks.

Now, about how many miles of normal wear can I expect to get on these RF's?

 

Mileage will very significantly depending on you driving style.

About how much tread is remaining on the front tires that need replacing? The rear tires on a MINI (or other front wheel drive car) wear down much slower than the front tires. In a lot of ways, the rear tires are just coming along for the ride.

You might be able to just rotate the rear tires to the front and wear them out before having to buy new tires.

For me, I got about 8000 miles on a set of performance runflats, but I wear tires down really fast. Some people with all-season runflats get 20-25000 miles or more.

And to be honest here, I wore down my first set of front tires very quickly and was actually lucky enough to find someone locally with 2 extra run flats that I picked up pretty cheap. I had mismatching Runflats (2 were Pirellis, 2 were Dunlops) for a few thousand miles before I went with the non-ron-flat Yokohama ES-100's.

You might be able to post a request in the marketplace forum and see if someone in your local area might have a couple suitable runflats remaining after they switched to regular tires.



_________________

SE Regional, BAMA Club Moderator: PM me

 

Thanks.

I don't have a Mini yet. I'm buying or ordering one Monday. I just sold my Jeep

Liberty Limited today. I am having a bit of seller's remorse. I'm hoping I love

a Mini ads much as all of you do. I wanted a "fun" car and a MC seems perfect.

My biggest hurdle is do I ge an automatic or manual. I live two hours from the

dealer and I want the least problematic transmission. I would prefer the ease of

an automatice, but I have had manual and that is not a problem for me to drive.

My friend has a PW/B/MC and she thinks a manual is the way to go for the "fun"

factor. I would get the same "punch" with an automatic, wouldn't I?

 

First the two tire question. (Good question by the way)

Yes you can replace only two of the four runflats and you do not need to replace them with runflats. Non runflats will do fine but keep them on the same axle so the two non runflats in the front and the runflats on the rear axle.

Next, 5 speed vs CVT for an MC. Both are very good and the difference is:
Cost- the CVT is more $$$ and easier to drive but doesn't return as good mpg.
Trouble free- 5 speed wins hands down for all MINIs and is easy enough to drive plus doesn't cost more and give very good mpg. That's hard to beat for an everyday driver.

I don't think you can go wrong either way.

 

I've had all three iterations of the MINI and I would say the least problematic transmission is the 6 speed Getrag in the MCS. The CVT is a good idea, but there are still bugs to work out to the transmission. The 5 speed is a Midlands tranny, but is not as smooth as the Getrag in the MCS. The Getrag alone is worth the price increase for the MCS. However, if you do get a 2005, I believe the MC will have a Getrag transmission instead of a Midlands.

 

Not knocking the CVT but I think you'll save some $$ getting the new Getrag 5-speed MC. You should also be getting better mileage and be more "in command", i.e. have fun from manual gear control.

 

I keep hearing you guys talk about how the runflats suck, but what are you supposed to do if you get a flat in the MCS? I know you get roadside assistance and all, but I don't want to wait forever for a towtruck to come when I could just drive to a service station. I guess what I'll do in the future is get a nice set of wheels with regular tires on it for driving around the city, and then put the runflats on it if I'm going to do any long distance driving.