Since ditching my run flats I have been carrying the space saving tires in the boot on top of the folded back seats. Although nothing can replace the peace of mind carrying around a real spare it comes at a price.

Beside taking up precious space there is also chaffing problem unless I carefully protect the felt-like fabric of the seat back with a blanket. I also strap it with a tie down strap so it doesn't become a projectile in an emergency. Another problem is the weight of the spare applied to the folded seat backs. I am afraid over time it will permanently compress the foam cushion of the seats.

I now decided to only carry it in a long trip. For day to day use I equip the MINI with a emergency tire repair kit. My goal is to gether all the bit and pieces in the least weight possible. The other criteria is minimum space occupation. I set out this morning to find all the bit and pieces. I found all the pieces of my kit except the Leatherman tool from my one-stop shopping to the local Harbor Freight Tools this moring.

Flat tire repair kit $3.99. 12V air pump with built in flash light on sale for $12.99. The air pump measures 10.5" X 4.25" X 5.75" and weights only around 2.5lb. It is very light construction and the motor/pump is not the highest of quality so I don't recommend using it for routine tire pressure maintenance as you may wear it out and risk it not function when you need it in an emergency. I test ran it when I got home and it pumps out pretty good volume.

The DC cord should be long enough to reach all 4 wheel of the MINI as we have the front cigerette lighter and the aux outlet in the boot. Both the DC cord and air hose stow inside a storage compartment. There is a air pressure guage on top. There are 2 rocker switches on the side, one for turning on/off the pump. The second switch controls the built in flash light and has 3 positions off, stead on, and flash. The red lens can be removed to turn the red light into a normal flash light if you need it to fix a flat at night. Snap on the red lens and set it to flash so passing vehicles can see upi while you remove or install the wheel for patching.

I carry the Leatherman tool for pulling out the object that causes the puncture. Of course a cell phone is always handy if the flat is such you cannot repair it.

While I was there I also picked up a clicker torque wrench for sale for $11.99. I don't expect it to be terribly accurate but should be good enough for torque down the lug bolts. You can alway find a place you can check the torque in the range of interest to see how much it is off and take the error into account when you use it.

 

Here are more pictures:

 

I considered carrying all of that stuff too, and had a 12V compressor that I carried for awhile. Then I thought about how many times I would have been actually been stranded by a flat over the years I have been driving if I had not had a spare. None in at least the last ten years. Most of the times I had flats was when I was young and had no money for new tires so ran them down to the belts. Other times I have had any tire problems it was just a slow leak that wouldn't have stranded me.


So now I just run my non-runflats, don't carry anything except my AAA card. Two years and counting without incident..

 

I agree the chance you need to self-help when you have a flat is not very likely if you have a cell. I watched too many movies when life take a turn to horrors started when someone got stranded in nowhere without a good spare.

 

Fippling through the manual of the compressor I am struck by the surprisingly excellent assembly drawing at the back. The quality and degree and details are better than any service manual I have especially the Bentley for the Mini.

The little single cyclinder recipical pump has verything a good pump should have. It has a main crank, counter weight, brass sleeve big end bearing, sleeve cyclider, con rod, piston pin, piston, piston seal, and a cyclinder head with air cooling fins. The pump is driven off a big reduction gear off the little DC motor. There is a flasher module for the flasher lamp.

It is amazing that in Taiwan they can build something so complex and sells for so little money no wonder all our jobs are gone to other countries.

 

Anyone tried using Fix-a-Flat? I have kept a bottle in my trunk but never had the opportunity to use it. Any thoughts?

Amit

 

Thanks for the excellent and informative post. I too want to be sure instead of sorry and will follow your lead with this equipment. I also regret that jobs have gone to other countries, but if we consumers (and Americans are the world's biggest consumers) would be willing to pay 5 to 10 times as much for our shoes or, even, our tire pump kits I imagine there might be a few dozen more folks employed in the USA to make them for us. Problem is we won't have income sufficient to support them. I wonder what a MINI would cost if its parts weren't made all over the world?

 

I will have an all-in-1 Continental kit available in June. this is the kit used OE by BMW and MB. One cool feature is completely water soulable sealant.

The internal selant doesnt completely cure, allowing removal. You can still drive tru puddles, dont worry!

This keeps your wheels and tires, and most of all - your installer happy
and keeps you on the road.

Alex

 

R Speed sells this kit:
http://www.rspeed.net/mini/item.asp?...0&prod=M20-890

 

djafactor - I've used fix-a-flat many times over the years (never with a MINI). I've been quite happy with it, though I've noticed it makes quite a mess for the tire repair shop. It's an amazing product I'd like to think I may never need again, but...

 

[font=Times New Roman][size=3]I have a new Mini S convertible with a slow leak defective run-flat tire.[/size][/font]

[font=Times New Roman][size=3]Neither Mini nor BMW want to take any responsibility for the tire.[/size][/font]

[font=Times New Roman][size=3]I have now found that this run-flat tire can not be repaired in the US.[/size][/font]

[font=Times New Roman][size=3]The cost of replacing this tire is close to $500.[/size][/font]

[font=Times New Roman][size=3]Certainly I think Mini/BMW is responsible for replacing this defective tire.[/size][/font]

[font=Times New Roman][size=3]But, I really do not want to have tires on a car that must be replaced at $500 each for even a simple nail or other puncture. I think this run-flat concept is seriously flawed and that a recall is in order to replace these run-flat tires with a reasonable tire. [/size][/font]

[font=Times New Roman][size=3]I agree with the idea of having an inexpensive emergency repair kit with high quality repairable non run-flat tires as standard on the mini S, and let those who insit on driving over RR tracks at 80mpr at night buy their run-flat tires as an accessory![/size][/font]