We registered the new (to us) 2007 Mini Cooper S and I just realized that I do not have a spare tire. The tires are Continental ContiProContact SSR 195/55/R16 87V. Didn't realize these were run flats...

Not sure about driving in the woods of NH without a spare... Is there a kit I can buy to be able to have a spare tire as the car would have had with normal tires? Must be a donut spare...

Some people cary spares in the trunk, but your runflats should be able to go for another 80 miles @ 50 mph. I have runflats for winter tires, but my summer tires aren't. What I did was buy a airpump that works on the cigarette lighter. I also carry 2 tubes of stuff you can put in your tire to either seal the puncture or foam the tire up. And I figured yesterday I should buy tire plugs just in case. It takes up less space and it's lighter than a spare, so I should be able to drive for a while when I get a flat. The pump was most expensive at around $60, the rest of the stuff runs another $20 or so.

I think Mini Mania used to (maybe still does) sell a kit and you can also buy one from a dealer. I just pieced mine together.

Several vendors sell official MINI donuts. Here is a link to one from WayMotorWorks. (Way is active on the forums, with great advice.)

http://www.waymotorworks.com/mini-spare-tire-wheel.html

Another option is to grab a spare from a Civic at a junkyard. A donut is a donut

That said, the run flats are tough. They will stand up to NH easily. A donut is more important when you travel on regular tires.

Yes we offer a donut spare for the MINI. I actually carry it in my MINI when going on long trips as it is much cheaper than a tow.

The spare tire can be covered with a bag and don't forget to carry a jack, flashlight, gloves and tire wrench.

Make sure that spare tire has air in it.

Going on 2k mile roadtrip this week, and wasn't comfortable traveling in the vast expanses of nothingness that is the southwest without a spare. After looking on NAM I found some recommendations for spare and decided to hit up my local salvage yard in search of a more economical option.

As anyone who's been to a salvage yard knows, it's pretty much chaos when it comes to locating spare tires. I decided to grab a tape measure and start looking for 4 lug mini spares with a 100mm spacing and a hub at or larger than 2 3/16. I found a ton of 13" and 14" spares that would work but wanted a 15" so it would fit over the front calipers. I stumbled on a perfect spare that was laying by a SAAB 9000. Sure enough it met the requirements and $10.00 later I had a spare that fits perfectly. My recommendation is just to pay the $2 or $3 and walk around the salvage yard until you find one that works. They're out there

BTW, I was told to use the donut on the rear even if you have a front flat. swap it with the good one from the rear.

Not that worried about it as the time the spare is on will be just be on long enough to get to a tire shop.

I've driven vehicles in much much worse condition

I just purchased a 2004 MCS in October and found out a week into ownership there wasn't a spare tire. Then I discovered that the previous owner ditched the run flats in favor of conventional tires. This is great because the car runs super with conventional tires and light weight alloys, but the worry of not having a spare is too much. So I signed up for AAA coverage and will be buying a donut spare.

I just got new tires installed today. I've been running run flats since day one. I purchased new wheels and tires before my ordered car came in. I've always kept a truck sized Fix a Flat can in my car in case of a flat. I've never had to use it. I've never thought about this option till today. I think I'll pick one of these spares up.

If you use a spare that is not the same size, on the front, as the wheel/tire that is on the other side, can any damage be done?

Great looking R53!

The wheelspeed difference from tire size variance is the equivalent to what the front differential experiences in a turn. Aside from nascar, you don't want to continually turn in one direction. That being said, i wouldn't be too concerned about a standard open diff if you had to use a spare for 50-100 miles provided you keep it below 60mph. Around town wouldn't concern me at all.


FWIW, the spare is 22 3/8 tall.

Thanks! Oh, BTW, I'm Mountain Cycle Shawn over at that other place.

From what I have read, a donut will not fit on the front of a Clubman S model because the front brake assembly on an S model is more heavy duty and therefore larger so the inner space on the donut will not clear the brake assembly when you attempt to mount it on the front. The understanding I have is you must mount the donut on the rear and take the good rear tire and put it on the front to replace the front flat tire. Correct me if I am wrong.

Indeed. NEVER put a donut spare on the front of a FWD car!