First, I'd like to say....yes this is my first post. NAM has been so helpful with content/search that I have had all my questions answered with search.

As I get into modifying my MCS, I've found another reason to hate run-flat tires.

I had some Dunlop Wintersport M3 tires mounted on stock S-lites today. The tire shop charged an additional $16 per tire for dismounting the original Eagle RS-A EMT. They explained this charge is due to the likelihood of tearing the bead during dismounting. Low and behold, the bead tore on one tire! The tire shop agreed to replace the tire free of charge (hence the additional charge was worth every penny).

Anyway, I'm pleased to report a much smoother and quieter ride with the snow tires. Yes, they are a bit squirmier... but they are snow tires! I've also got a set of BFG G-force Sport for 3-season duty, so the run-flats will go bye bye.

Anyway, I am glad to be a part of the forums and hope this information proves useful to others.

 

Aloha and welcome to NAM.

Good information and glad you found a reason to change to non runflat tires.

I'm sure you will find them quite good and easier to live with.

Many locations refuse to deal with runflats. Period.

 

Question!

Why would they charge you for the possibility of breaking the bead on a tire that is going to be disposed of anyway?

 

The policy makes sense for any tires being removed and reused for summer tires.

Runflats come off stock rims, snow tires go on stock rims.

Runflats go on other rims of choice for summer use.

 

My main choice for abandoning the runflats was because...well... I found them to suck at just about everything. The RS-As should have come with a warning label that says "slippery when wet". The ride is rough and they are quite squealy, thanks to the thick sidewalls. The turn-in is definetly sharper with the RS-As.

My plan for them is to sell them on craigslist or something. After all, there must be less-performance-minded Mini drivers out there who are more interested in stock/OE replacments. These tires are not going back on my car.

There's a number of other things that come into play as well, such as the ridiculous cost of run-flat tires. When one weighs the cost of run-flats vs the incidence of flat tires (I've had ONE my entire life) and the average cost of towing, PLUS the fact that our Minis come with roadside assistance/towing as part of the warranty.... it just doesn't make sense to use run-flats.

Anyway, thanks for the warm welcome!

 

Whoops, you just cursed yourself!

I doubt that roadside assistance will be free when they see that they are not runflats so you might consider being a AAA member. Others have had this issue.

Living here in Germany where it stays pretty wet, I don't see the problem with the runflats being slippery, in fact, they gripped pretty well. They do a pretty good job as long as you keep them inflated properly. That being said, I am switching to normal tires for my summers this year and I have ADAC (German AAA but better) as my backup.

 

Hmm you do raise an interesting point. However, even when footing the towing bill, I can afford 3-4 tows for every set of tires I purchase if I consider the savings of standard vs run-flat.

Plus, I believe the roadside assistance program to be handled by AAA. That is... if I am reading the booklet correctly. Anyway, it still makes financial and performance sense.

 

Hey billzcat1 welcome to NAM!

Just FYI the standard AAA service gives you 6 mile towing free, it's definitely worth it to upgrade to the Plus service that gets you 100 mile towing free, it gives you lots more options as to where to take the car. I've used it many times on a previous car and it saved me more than a few dollars. Oh and it's only $29 a year to upgrade from standard AAA to Plus.

 

I used to live in Texas and to be honest I would spend the money on runflats just to avoid being stuck in the scorching heat for hours waiting to be picked up.

That being said, there are tire kits that you can get for about 50 or so dollars for self repair. Either way the choice is yours but I am willing to bet that we start to see regular tires go away and run flats or airless go mainstream. Just the wave of the future.

 

Thieves! Find another tire shop

My guy charges the same for both types of tires.

 

Keep in mind the brand and type of tire that you were exposed to. Those RS-A suck in both run flat and non run flat trim. Especially in the wet.

I had the OE Dunlop 5000 run flats on our Mini and was satisfied overall with their performance for street driving. They were pretty good in the wet and in all season driving. My only complaint is the rough ride quality associated with run flats. That is the compromise you make for run flats...

 

I have to say I am pretty happy with the grip of the Goodyear runflats...they have only gotten squirly on me once. They don't handle a roundabout at 50mph perfectly! That said, I never actaully left my lane...just a little slippage. It really caught me off guard. I push them pretty hard around curves normally with no problem.


I have gone back and forth on switching...price is the main reason. I stay with them mainly because I drive through some crappy parts of town to get home. I really don't want to be on the side of the road with the neighborhood "trucker welcome wagon" women trying to put a spare on my car.

 

I had the Pirelli Eufori RFs & they were great tires. Switched to regular tires to see what all the fuss was about & I found that while my Goodyear Eagle non-RFs are fine, they have no better grip than my RF did. I actually prefer the more go-kart like feel of a RF

 

really? roadside assistance just dispatches AAA to your location. AAA doesn't know what your mini comes with... roadside assistance just gives you the premier level of AAA.

back on topic... rf's are too heavy! i switched to dunlop sportmaxx's and loooove them. unfortunately it's winter to the s-heavy's and the rf's are going back on.

 

So what size dunlop's did you get to save so much weight?

 

I can't personally justify (or afford) getting brand new tires after shelling out a metric crapton of money for a new MINI. Maybe when the runflats wear out I'll consider getting non-runflats, but then I'll still have to spend extra money to get a donut spare that'll end up taking up all of the boot space.

The new TPMS sensors apparently don't play nice with Fix-A-Flat/Slime tire patching gunk.

 

No, I am just making it up...



There are posts here on NAM where people have had to pay for the roadside service because of nan-standard equipment on the car (aka regular tires).

I'm not saying they will notice them and I am not saying they won't. I'm just saying that it could happen.

Living in Germany, we don't get roadside assistance. Probably because everyone pretty much has ADAC already.