I am on the verge of buying an08 Cooper S ....the car has a set of Falcons tires on the front and run flats in the rear.....should that be a deal breaker? Pls let me know the cons of this combo.....need to close the deal tomorrow...thx

 

Personally I think it's best to have all four tires match, but I wouldn't say it's a deal breaker. You can always get new tires that suit your needs.

www.tirerack.com

 

not a deal breaker but don't think of driving that car around with mis-matched tires. Very weird - sounds like the owner ran out of money. Buy two new tires to match or get a new set of 4.

 

Thanks.....I thought so too...the owner doesn't like run flats...finds them noisy..I love the car otherwise....British racing green with beige interiors....wood steering wheel...what tires work best on the s? Thx again

 

Here is a search that will show you the 952 existing posts on this topic.

I use Google, and just add site:northamericanmotoring.com to the other words I want to search for. That works really well, and the Forum Search function here is not as effective.

Happy reading!

And also, when folks ask this question usually someone will get around to interviewing them about tire choices - (1) how do you drive, (2) are you looking for performance or long wear, (3) summer or winter or all seasons, etc.

Many folks here (myself included) respect the advice of Alex at Tirerack also, so there's a recommendation.

Enjoy the ride!

Cheers,

Charlie

 

I can tell you from my other car, Do Not Mix conventional and run flat tires. It is unsafe. Kind of like the old days of Radials and Bias. The car does not like a mix. If they are all runflats but different brands, the car will perform safely, just not to its best.

 

All of you have been incredibly helpful....just moved from the uk to mountain lakes, nj...am set on the mini. If any of you are around this area, would be great to know what mini clubs exist here...should have my car by mid next week.....thx for all the tips!

 

Charlie is spot on. How you drive, where you drive and what weather you intend to drive in are all extremely important. However, one thing that gets lost is your plan in case you have a flat.

Many people (including me) replaced the OEM runflats. Mini uses the runflats because the MCS does not have a spare. However, many people find the ride harsh and performance a little off. Plus you cannot repair a runflat, so if you happen to run over a nail, you are buying a new tire for around $150 not paying $30 for a repair.

If you do decide to go away from the runflats, spend a minute to think about what happens if/when you do get a flat. You could get towing coverage from your insurance, have a buddy on call, whatever. The worst thing would be giving it no thought whatsoever as that would guarentee it would happen at midnight in the rain somewhere far from home.

Cheers and enjoy your Mini!

 

Some credit card companies also provide free road side assistance (my Gold VISA does for example).

If you go with non-run-flat tires, pick up a Dynaplug in case you get an easy to fix flat (and make sure you have a working jack in case you need to remove the tire to repair). I've got the Dynaplug (and some tire slime as a secondary option) just in case.

I would also recommend you loosen the lug nuts and re-torque because that dinky little lug wrench doesn't give you much leverage if the previous owner took an impact gun wrench to the lugs.

 

I am after all season performance tires....thanks to all of you I am narrowing down on choices .....the best news is that the baby comes home today...can't wait to get started .....will keep you folks updated on my progress. Thx again!

 

Oh boy, I just posted a tire question myself. Been reading tire threads for three days and I am...*Tired*.

 

We've been running non-run flats for 4+ years and haven't had any problems. We do carry a space-saver spare, found an article several years back that identified a Chevy Cobalt spare that works on the Minis. Shoot me a PM with your email address and I can send it to you if you'd like. I hate the harsh ride we had with the original RFs, glad we switched.