Howdy,

Just purchased a used MCSC '05 for my wife last week. She is sooo happy with her Mini. But after having the Mini dealership check her baby over we found out there were winter tires (non-RFs) on all four corners. :(

I am debating if I should put run flats on the car to make my wife feel safer. I spoke to the mini dealer and they suggested I look for a set of "take-offs" from a new 07 MCS and purchase them for my wife's Mini. I sort of like this idea because I would then have 2 set's of tires and wheels (summer RFs and Winter non-RFs). My concern is the 07 or even late 06 MCS wheels may not fit on my wife's 05 MCS. I read somewhere in these forums that the late 06 and newer MCS wheels have a different lugnut (longer and tighter threads). So my question is would a late 06 or 07 MCS wheel work on my 05 MCS? Would I have to buy special lugnuts to make the new wheels work on the 05 MCS?

Second, option would be to replace the winter tires with new run-flats (remember no spare and my wife wants to feel safe). I've read several threads about how all of the run-flats are noisy, lousy tread wear, and very costly to replace. My wifes MCSC has 16" wheels. I'm looking for some recommendations for run-flats for these wheels that aren't too noisy, have decent tread wear, and are "V" speed rated with a UTQG of 200+. I've looked at Dunlops SP3000A and SP5000A (not sure I know what the differences are) and GoodYear Eagle NCT5s. I'm sure there are others.

One last question. Can I safely use 205/50/16 or 205/45/16 instead of the 195/55/16 tires on the stock 16" wheels?

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Gramps and Ms. Gramps

 

Hey Gramps, congrats on the new MINI! The older/newer thing works in your favor, rather than against you. Both groups will fit your MINI.
It's the newer cars that have a problem with the switch.
Take-off RFs sound like the best option (IMO). That way you get dedicated sets for summer and winter. Also take-offs are usually much cheaper than buying new.
Can't help you with the tire size Q, but if you look around a little, there are many threads here dealing with that issue.

 

Thanks 3cocinas for the quick reply.

If I can find a set of "take-off" RFs i'll be set.. If I can't I'll have to look for a good set of RFs to put on my existing rims.

Any suggestions on a good set of RFs for the 16" rims?

Thanks,

Gramps

 

i have dsst3000 dunlops on mine, about 180 from tirerack i thinkg (mine are oem). Tread wear of 240. I find they handle really well, i have beet an r comp s at the autox with them on. They are getting bald now with about 16000 miles, but i carved canyons a couple times a week on them for a summer, so you might say i abused the tires, and thats why they didnt last all that long. Yes, they are 16inch, by the way, 195/55. You may want to consider falken rt615 in a 215/45 (or is it 40) they are a bit shorter, but you can get them for like 90 bucks from edge racing, but i hear they leave a bit to be desired in heavy water (rain is fine, but standing water isnt so fun), but they are a far superior tire. They arnt runflats tho, so you might want AAA, lol.

Beecher