I'm a new MINI owner and have only driven about 300mi but I don't feel the ride is harsh at all with 16" Bridge spokes and Goodyear Excellence RF's.

I live in Florida and the roads here are are generally excellent. I'm wondering if it's the roads, my inexperience or low standards?

After reading all of the negative comments about RF's, I had assumed I would keep these until they wear out and then look at aftermarket non-RF's and possibly some new wheels.

I am only posing the question now as I have an opportunity to buy some local, low mileage Goodyear Excellence RF's at a very attractive price. I would hate to let them slip by and regret it later.

Your thoughts/experience?

 

I have no problem with my 16" Star Blaster rims and Dunlop RunFlats. I have a pretty rough ride because of my sport suspension, but it's no big deal. The wife would prefer a smoother ride, but since I'm in the car 99% of the time it's no biggie.

 

I just replaced my Dunlop 16'' runflats with 15" Falken 912's, mainly because I wanted to run Konig Rewind wheels. MINI rides a little softer now, but it's definately lost some of it's go-kart feel. I think the stiff sidewalls of runflats play a large part in the quick, kart like cornering of the MINI.

The only real problem I see with runflats is cost. A new Dunlop runflat is $180, the Falken 912's were $51 each.

 

And I think that's what I love about the Mini right now - that go-cart feel in a quick turn or other fast manuever.

 

No point in buying tires and letting them sit around rotting. By the time you get around to using them in 2-3 years, they will be garbage.

On smooth roads, there isn't a big difference between run flat and non-rf. You will notice the difference more when travelling on rough roads.

 

It's all relative. I went from a 2003 MCS with non-runflat 16" Pirelli PZero Neros to a 2006 MCS with JCW suspension and JCW 18" R105 wheels with the Dunlop SP Sport 01 DSST runflats. From reading what everybody has said on here my teeth should have been rattling with the 18s, JCW suspension and non-runflats, but there wasn't that great of a difference. Noticeable, yes, but not a deal-breaker. I got the 2006 about two months ago and had a track day at NHIS and my dealership's annual OctoberFast autox and can't complain. I'd agree with PenelopeG3 in regards to letting another set of tires sit around. I had a set that was siting in my basement for a while and the rubber started to crack. Maybe somebody else knows how long you can keep the tires prior to having problems and if it is worth it for you or not.

 

Good point. I didn't realize tires had a shelf life. I thought I had read that 20-25k miles was pretty good for RF's. If that's the case, I'll be replacing the tires in 12-15mos. Would they degrade that fast?

 

I have been running the stock S-Lite 17s with Dunlaps since I got my 06R53, Maggie, and that was ~57k miles ago!! One of the great things about MINIs is the you-if-ications and the white S-lites on CR/W make the whole thing work, for me. Ride comfort is not an issue as I've never had a "performance" car before. I have no problems driving 3 or 4 hours down the 'bahn or German K-roads. Do what makes you (and your car!) happy!

Cheers!!

 

This is not true at all. Tires do have a shelf life but the idea that 2-3 years in storage will turn them to garbage is nonsense.

If you can get a good deal on a set of tires, buy them and put them in the basement. I've done this many times without issues.

 

Well then. What is the shelf life?

It is fact that the rubber will degrade over time even if not used. A magazine I was reading (I believe Grassroots Motorsports) had an article on this a few months ago. Wish I had it handy right now.

Not trying to be argumentative, just stating facts and experiences.

 

Here's a link for determining the age of your tires. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=11 As greystone mentioned tires do have a 2-3 year shelf life in the right climate. I'm on my second set of factory RF's with my MINI. The first set(Pirelli Eufori@'s) lasted 20k before the steel started showing. My current RF's (Bridgestone Potenza's) are shot after 32k which is pretty impressive for a RF.

 

I hated my runflats, and replaced soon after taking delivery. I'm much happier now. I also went to 16" wheels (from 17") that also helped.

ps. I hated the 17" wheels too - easy curb rash and hard ride.

 

Obie came with Goodyear 16" RFs which were fine. I bought another set of wheels with Dunlop 16" RFs and they're fine, too. When both sets are gone I will replace one with non-RFs because:

a) non-RFs are considerably less expensive
b) more choices
c) I have a spare

Again, my RFs are fine, but I'll be replacing them with non-RFs because, in all truth, they are completely unnecessary.

 

I'm using the Bridgestone run flats and I'M not changing.

I had a Corvette with non RF's but the car had no spare about 100 miles from home and at night. Tow truck took me to the closest place and I spent the night in a motel until the tire place was open in the morning. Also took the tow truck about 1.5 hours to arrive.

Now if I had kept the RF the tow and wait would have been unnecessary.

 

The only real downside to runflats that I see is the cost. Got a feeling they are going to become much more common in the future.

 

Personally, I hated the Dunlop RF's on our 07 MCS. Rough ride and noisey. We replaced them with conventional Yokohama S-Drives. Very pleased with them and would surely buy them again. Onour new 09 Clubman, it has Goodyear RF's and they ain't half bad. With slightly over 250 miles on the clock, I think I can live with these. Of course, I haven't had them on any real twisties so far. THAT, will be one of the deciding factors.

 

Arent the run flats a lot heavier than a regular tire? thus adding to the cars unsprung weight and therefore negating some of the cars peppy handling characteristics?
Any one know what the weight difference is between the RF and a regular tire?

 

Put one of these in the boot and you wont never wait again

 

I dodged the runflats entirely. Fortunately, in Australia, a "Just-a-Cooper" can come with 15" non-RFs and a neat kit in the trunk floor with a battery-powered tyre pump, sealant goo, pressure gauge and everything. (You lose 20% of the fuel tank - oh well.) Then I bought after-market 17s with top-notch Pirelli P-Zero-Nero tyres and it was still 20% cheaper than buying 17s off the option list.
The 17" non-RFs certainly give a go-kart feel. Lots of grip and sharp response. Adding some negative camber makes it even better.

BTW - Had to use the repair kit once, and it did everything it was meant to. But it didn't work, so I took the wheel off to see why - and the whole rim was split 1/3rd of the way around. I'm not sure even a RF would have worked with the wheel broken?? Really would have liked a proper spare wheel just then.
(Before you ask - came over a crest at 50mph and hit a huge gash across the otherwise good road - like hitting a kerb.)

 

I don't think it's "a lot" maybe a pound or two per tire, depending on which tires you're comparing.

The Tire Rack and other on line tire stores list the weight of their tires.

 

Yikes!

I hope that was the only damage.

 

Thanks - yes, seems to have been the only harm. It threw the wheel alignment out (no surprise) but I was getting camber kits fitted a few days later anyway.
Seems the MINI is as strong as the classic Mini.

 

I have no problem at all with my RFs, have a sport suspension as well. And I think they do contribute to the go-cart handling which I would like to keep. That being said, I have the tires for life scheme going so replacement cost is not a concern to me.

Happy Motoring,

 

Im enjoying them.. they are louder and feel harder than other 17s ive had...on other cars, but I think they'll do. For how hard they feel, the tread rubber must be rather soft, as they grip decently well

 

I have them with the s-lites. I also have the sport suspension option. I don't mind the ride/noise that others have mentioned here. I like how they provide nice feedback due to the stiff sidewalls.