True, but I can drive to and from work for a week at posted speed limits with no air in them without exceeding the manufacturer's specs while awaiting replacement. I could also switch over to my winter tires.

With few MINIs here in Maine, popular non-runflat replacements aren't available off the shelf either.

 

I'll bet a lot of Houstonians would love to be able to do that. I could run across town and be well past the specs.

 

I saw a Toyota pickup with a flat tire on the side of the road today. It started me thinking. . . I haven't see a car on the side of the road with a flat in a long time. So I thought about all of the times in my life I've been on the side of the road with a flat. I could only think of three times (oh, many times in my driveway in the morning, a few times at work; and there were those pretty fast slow leaks). One was a blow out in a retread when I was in College. Another time in Mexico a tire we'd borrowed from some shop equipment (graduate school botanical expedition) and was probably 10 years old, failed. The other time was in summer in Arizona where the tire wasn't flat but the tread separated and flapped against the fender. I changed the tire but I could have limped to the next town as there was still plenty of air in it. None of these were in a MINI. College was thirty-five years ago.

Maybe the problem being solved with run flats isn't as great as most people assume. Let's see, in my life, stopped three times with flats and twice by accidents. . . .

 

I am a magnet, apparently. My 06 MCS has had one runflat replaced (under tire warranty for $25) due to a nail near the sidewall, and one other repaired for a screw in the tread. both were discovered at home, so no risk of being stranded.

I had 4!! nails in a span of 8 months in my old BMW. I guess I have bad luck.

That being said, I'll be ditching the runflats when they are worn out next summer.

 

I don't deny many flats over the years . . . those nasty nails and screws near the sidewall . . . but, come to think of it, not many have required limping home. Three in 42 years of driving. Only one with the sort of tire I would consider having now (that is to say, not a retread, not borrowed).

I like the analogy of the NFL player in sandles . . . I think real people laugh at a performance car with runflats. I know it is a BMW thing . . . but then there have been famous and charasmatic Germans with bad judgement.

 

I'm not quite as lucky. Three flats in 27 years, one in driveway, one in parking lot, one exiting airport. In addition to numerous nails, screws, etc. that did or did not cause leaks.
Though flats are an EV=P*C equation.
For a person unfamiliar with cars and/or unable/unwilling to change a flat in unpredictable circumstances, the 'cost' could be so high that even an extremely low probability makes the Expected Value (EV) high enough to justify the cost of runflats.

 

If you do go non runflats do not use Fix-A-Flat the stuff will stick to everything inside the wheel and is hard to get off. Slime kits include a compressor and slime for 19.95 at alot of auto parts stores or the Kit from Mini which is very expensive at 121.00. Both of the last two the "goo" can be cleaned out with water.

 

i had a flat in week 2 of driving my r56 (first flat in 10 years) and it cost my insurance co. $400 to replace and took 3 days at the dealer. RF's feel squidgy around the corners. i'm going AS non rf today

 

My spell checkers says squidgy is not a word, but I like it

Mark

 

Woo!...i just put on my new SSR's and Goodyear F1 AS 215 45 -17 and it made a huge difference. Very solid around corners, more responsive to steering and suprisingly, cured most of my torque steer. Highly recommend Tirerack.

 

thanks....maybe i've found the name of my car, "Squidgy". Squidgygate refers to the pre-1990 telephone conversations between the Diana, Princess of Wales and a close friend, James Gilbey, and to the controversy surrounding how those conversations were recorded. During the calls, Gilbey affectionately called Diana by the names "Squidgy" and "Squidge."

 

My 2 cents

I just replaced our stock run flats with the Continental run flats. The have a AA traction rating and ride much nicer then the stocker for about $130 installed a tire. I race only a few times a year and the car is my wife's primary ride. I tend to like the idea that if she gets a flat she can drive home and pull into the garage and call me. I would tend not to like the idea of her bent over in a downpour trying to stick some aerosol can in a valve that she have never seen before and along comes Bulba in his pickup truck with the slanty "3" stuck to the side wanting to give her a lift

 

LoL Winter here like 49f at night

 

Straight answer...the new runflats are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAy better the first gen, period

 

I have to give it to Goodyear.. man these tires rock. these should be a standard. I switched from the dunlops RF, to these yesterday... wow what a difference. The turn in is much crisper and now i have a confidence with these that i never had with the dunlops. I would highly suggest these as a replacement from the runflats.

 

Absolutely without a doubt better than runflats regarding handling, ride, and treadwear.

 

Which Goodyears?

 

When you switch to non-runflats with the stock 16" wheel, do people typically change the size of the tire? I find very little for all season non-runflat tires in the 195/55-16 size. I'm guessing a few different sizes actually fit that wheel.

 

Runflats stink period... I think peoples biggest gripes with them are the fact that driving with them is like driving on rocks. They're super uncomfortable, and have about as much grip as an eraser coated in olive oil. Swapping to non-runflats means you can buy tires for $79 instead of $200+, it also means that when you hit the brake the car actually stops instead of pulsating the ABS if you do anything more than breath on the pedal. All the complaints about traction control.... has more to do with crappy tires than a crappy traction control system!

 

I run 205/45/R16's on the street. I'll likely switch to 215/40/R16's when I need new tires. On the track I run 225/50/R16's, but that's just because I got a killer deal on them. When they're toast i'll likely get some 225/45's.

 

As mentioned... we run non run flats for both of our MINIs (his and hers). you can check out tire rack for tires that fit. I'm running Kumhos and the misses yukos.

 

I run Parada Spec-2's on the street. Can't beat them for the price ($69). If you live in a sunny state and don't mind paying a bit more, Falken Azenies RT-615's are damn good, super sticky.

Parada Spec-2's are Ultra High Performance Summer and the RT-615's are Max Performance Summer

Toyo Proxies 4 and Kumho ASX are both decent compromises for performance/safety if you get a lot of wet weather or light snow.

I'm surprised MINIHune hasn't chimed in, being our resident tire expert .

 

Goodyear F1 All Season.
They handle and feel great.
About $146 tire installed at a Good Year dealer.

They have very new technologies built in like carbon fiber for some rigidity.

 

'Kay, thanks. I'm getting near the time when I need to replace mine--and of course, if I have a flat now, I will change over at that time.

 

I had forgot to mention that the super annoying torque steer that i had with dunlops has been fixed with the non rf's. unless i am REALLY get in it, there is no chirp or pull, comparatively.

It's as if i am driving a different car.