Had a nail in my LR tire lately and they said not to repair run flats because you may have a "blowout". Really glad I got the tire/road hazzard insurance. At first I was hesitant,but with the most expensive wheels and tires they had to offer on my new clubmanS, I did not want to take chances. It has paid for itself now. When you get a nail in a tire, they replace it under the tire insurance free of charge. The down side is if your other tire is near needing replacing, you have to fork over the dough for that one as I did. Lesson: Buy the road hazzard tire insurance. Well worth the cost.
Cost for tire was close to $400.00!!!!!!!!!!!!! The ones on tire rack after shipping ran about the same.

 

Who exactly said that a nail in RF tire cannot be removed and the tire repaired? When I had RF's on the MINI caught 3 nails. Discount Tire fixed all 3 for free. The tire insurance is a profit scam by the dealer. When they wear out, get regular non RF's. Much much better.

 

You can repair a runflat by puting a patch on the inside of the tire if the hole is not on the sidewall. It is not unsafe and they now use plug patches that go on the inside of the tire that is even better then the regular patch. I once had a plug put on my Corvette Firestone Firehawk tire and it stayed on until the Tires were replace. About 23,000 miles. My Corvette was to low to go on the service station lift and I was out of state so I just told the kid to plug it. It worked fine. Stupid roofing nail on the tread.

I think they come up with this crap to sell you a tire. (usually two tires) If I do get a nail in my tire I will repair it.

 

I beg to differ...The truth is, if you can repair a run-flat tire or not depends on how long the tire was driven on while flat, and where the puncture is. Should you repair a run-flat tire? Just about everyone says no, including the manufacturers themselves.

Run flat technology is good, not great, but good. The technology in the tire is designed to let you drive the car for a certain distance and at a certain speed (I believe it's 50-75 miles at 50mph). On the downside, a flat tire needs to be REPLACED and can should not be repaired. Reason being, the integrity of the technology of the tire has now been compromised and the structure of the tire is no longer as strong. It will most likely also void the manufacturer's warranty on the tire. Can you repair it? Sure! But should you repair it? Not advisable.

Side note: I am a dealer. Not a MINI dealer, an independent. I have the ability to sell these warranties. I sell them all the time. The warranty covers repair OR replacement of a tire. It also includes run-flats. I would never push it on a customer, I mention it to them and give them the option if they want it or not. All I need is a simple yes or no (I hate F&I and all the crap they try to offer you at overly inflated prices, but some of this stuff is actually useful). I have yet to hear a complaining customer. Most thank me profusely because they know how annoying it is to get a flat and how much it could cost to repair or replace a tire. I have them on all my cars, whether it's a run-flat or not. The prices for tires have shot up so much, that 1 or two claims already pays for itself in the warranty. I sold my cousin a 2009 BMW 328 convertible (18" run-flats) a few months ago and offered them the warranty. I had to PUSH them to take it. I only pushed them because they were family, and I knew they would need it. 2 months later they need 3 tires. The warranty cost them $700 (for 3 years) and the three tires they needed cost them close to, if not over $1,000 to replace/balance/mount.

 

I'm with you Shoof!!! My warranty paid for itself and I still have years to go on it and will certainly need more tires before it runs out. Of course, had I not had the insurance, I would have plugged it. We plugged one of my wife's tires on her mini and it held up just fine. She has a "justa" so her tires are much cheaper than my fancy ones on the ClubmanS 17" webspoke wheels. Now that I have left the GM family for good, I prefer to keep the tire insurance.

 

If you know how long the tire has been run without air & the puncture is in the tread, most likely it is repairable. What most people are running into is folks who know nothing about runflats or that would rather sell you a very expensive tire than repair it. Same with the mfgr, they make their money selling tires not fixing them.

IMO road hazard is one more cash cow for the dealer.

 

Craston,

I am in total agreement with you on this.

My dealer would repair run flats.

 

As I work near construction projects(Universal Studios), I have had the misfortune of picking up nails and staples in my Runflats three times, all in the tread. That being said, I went to the Goodyear dealer who promptly checked the tires and patched them from the inside. When I asked if it voided the warranty I was told, no problem as long as the repair was by a dealer.
They also rotate my tires free of charge every 5000 miles. The mini dealer recommends not rotating tires(front to back) but the Goodyear dealer suggests it for more even wear.
I understand that the 2010 manual now recommends it also...

 

Repaired my front right runflat at an non-Mini tire place. No issues for 10,000 miles.

 

I've fixed mine with DYNAPLUG several times and run 'em for up to 20,000 more with no problem

as stated ... issue is where they ever run at low PSI ... mine never were, found a nail but pressure was w/in a couple of pounds of required.

Yank the nail/screw .... align the DYNAPLUG .... stick it in ... trim it ... top off the PSI. I can acomplish this in 5 minutes with a beer break.

http://www.dynaplug.com/

1) I know your VA Bch dealer .... same one who when I came in for first service AFTER pre-paid wore out told me I needed pads and rotors IMMEDIATELY (02 MINI does not have sensors). Always wondered how he didn't notice they were a few weeks old as I'd changed 'em out myself??? and no signs of the wheels coming off (finger prints in the dust)

2) Tires from a car dealer? ..... I've got this bridge for sale . . .

3) You'll get more reads and replies if you put non-Clubman specific items in a more generic area. This I'd hang in the tires area . . . 'course there you'd also find the topic oft' discussed
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...and-brakes-36/

 

I've put plugs in run-flats on a BMW Z4 (18s) and my 09 JCW (17s) and in both cases, the plugs fixed the puncture and have lasted for the tread-life of the tire. My dealer's policy is that they do NOT repair run-flats..whether it's because of potential liability issues, or whether they just want to sell more replacement tires and/or tire insurance policies I don't know....but I do know that I worked in a garage for several years when I was in college/grad school and learned how to patch/plug tires and unless the sidewalls are damaged or the puncture is too long for a patch to work ...a properly installed plug or patch are fine ways to repair most punctures. I personally can't wait for the run-flats on the JCW to wear out so I can go with non run-flats.

 

What do you think happens if a patch in a runflat should fail....Does the tire fall apart? No! it just loses air
The cost justification on tire warranties are done at ripoff retail prices! Instead of paying $700 for a warranty, if you are that convinced you are going to need a replacement, just get on the marketplace here and buy you a spare or two there are plenty of people who dump thier runflats the day they buy the car. If you are unwilling to do that, to take up a little space in the garage, thats fine, but that is what it really costs to replace a tire! not the several hundred the same dealer will be happy to charge you because you have no other option

I got several punctures in my runflats not only did I patch them but I drove on them with the puncture for hundreds of miles. The sensors set off the light when there is about 10psi difference. there is still 30psi in those tires when the light comes on. Not zero. I just add air every couple weeks. I eventually get the tire patched at my convenience, which on one occasion was at least 6 months.

 

Had my Pirelli run flat repaired after onl;y 800 miles on my Clubman S. I went to the warranty page on Pirelli and it specifically says you can repair their run flat tires. Do you really think they would say that if it were not safe.

 

What? $400 for a tire? I never paid that even for 35" offroad tires.

 

I had run flat tires for almost 30k miles. Encountered three punctures. All fixed at no cost by Discount Tires. The key is to carry a tire pump and inflate them immediately after the tire alarm goes off. Get non run flat tires. Great ride, comfort, and a lot less torque steer.

 

A few weeks ago my sensors went off. It was because of cold weather and a drop in temp. As luck would have it, I was right at 15K miles and stopped at Discount Tire on my way to work and had the tires rotated and pressure checked for free. No problems.

Two weeks later, the sensor went off again. It was in the middle of the day after being parked, but again, another cold day in south east Texas (we don't get that many by northern standards). I checked the pressure and sure enough, one tire was at 5 psi. Drove a couple blocks to a mechanic and he pulled out a huge shiny screw. Patched it with no problem just like any other tire. $8 later I was on my way. I almost tipped the guy as much as the charge.

Moral: The pressure system works. And runflats can be fixed just like any other tire. I'm looking to get 30K out of these tires.

 

I agree. I got a nail in my RR runflat when the car was only a couple weeks old. Took it to my local Les Schwab dealer and they repaired the flat no charge. I now have 13000 miles on the car with no problems.

I see no reason to replace the tire. I looked in my manual and it does not say anything about repairing the tire. It only talks about using the goop to fix a non run flat.

 

Dunlop SP Sport 01 DSST (Ultra High Performance Summer)
5.8
Reviewer's
Avg. Rating:
Size: 205/40ZR18
RunFlat
Sidewall Style: Blackwall
Serv. Desc: 82W
UTQG: 280 A APrice: $313.00 (each)
Estimated Availability: Fewer than 8

This is the price on tire rack btw. About 90 bucks less, but still pricey. Of course, if you add shipping, then you get pretty close to what the dealer charges per tire. I have ridden in minis with non run flats and the performance is no where near what the original tires is. I personally like the run flats. Some of you don't. Each to their own.

 

Note that the reviewers average rating for the Dunlop SP Sport 01 DSST is 5.8. This is an extremely low rating. There have been lots of complaints about this tire from MINI and BMW owners. If I was going to stick with run-flats (I'm not) I'd buy a different tire. Even the Dunlop Sport 9000 DSST gets much higher user ratings. Dunlops are also among the most expensive run-flats available.

 

You are in a small minority with this tire opinion.

 

run flats are just too expensive, that is why I prefer non-runflats. I replaced a tire recently for 110.00. much cheaper than a runflat.

 

There are just so many tires, brands, styles for different driving needs, etc, that it is very difficult to say which is "better". Better for what? Snow, rain, track use? I had a nasty puncture in my '06 MCS last year. It was close enough (28K miles) that I just went ahead and got 4 new RFs. In reality the only thing the RF saved my was a tow to the tire shop. Total was $700 for 4 Kumho dry weather tires. No typo.

It's nice living in SoCal, where dry is 80% of the time. On my '10 MCSa, I have Continental RFs (205/45x17) performance tires. Better riding than the OEM Goodyear all-season on the '06, and the grip is pretty good too.

What's the tag line? YMMV

 

Run Flats SUCK! Too hard, too noisy, too expensive!!!

Can't wait til mine are worn so I can scrap them!

 

I could only stand my runflats for about 3,000 miles. I switched to regular rubber & haven't looked back. My MINI is an R53.

I've driven too many R56 loaners with runflats. To me it seems like they either are using a better riding runflat these days or they softened the suspension up, maybe both because those loaners rode better than my R53 on regular rubber.

 

Ditto, i've got 7k miles on mine now - how many more must i endure? haha