I think a lot depends on your driving habits and whether you rotate the tires or not.

 

32k on p'relli and will be replacing soon. it is time

 

25-30k is average for street use.

Alex

 

I replaced my factory original Pirelli Eufori@ at 16K miles. I rotated them regularly. I may have eeked out another 4K, but I took a nail in one right where the sidewall and tread meet. It wasn't repairable, so I had an excuse to change to a new set of wheels and tires.

I thought the run-flats were a bit rough, but ok on smoother roads.

 

Hi.


I have 17,000 miles on my run flats. My girlfriend has 36,000 on her Mini and she is looking to replace them already.

Our dilemma is: Do we get 4 more runflats because our spares are run flats or do we get 4 non-run flats because they are cheaper.

By the way, I live three hours north of you, nearer Chicago and I had to purchase snow tires for my car. Run flats are not good in the snow and ice.

 

It's not that the Runflats are bad in the snow- it's that PERFORMANCE Runflats are not good in the snow- Next time order the car with All Seasons

Go with whatever tire you feel more comfortable with. If you have Cooper's your spare tire is just that spare- not a runflat!

 

Yes, it is very difficult to find a great performance tire with long wear life, and good performance in snow/rain. I went through several models finding a set of non-runflats fitting the bill. I doubt such a runflat exists yet.

 

If you put non run-flats on an "s", besides putting a temporary tire/spare in the back seat taking up the whole back seat, what do most people do? I guess the choices are a can of fix-a-flat or a portable compressor/patch kit....what problems have people run into ?

 

I managed to pull 21k out of mine, I just ordered a set of BFG T/A KDW 2's yesterday as my passenger rear tire took a 2" long bolt.
The tires are more or less bald now, anyway.
edit:
That's exactly where my tires took a bolt, weird...

 

Why do you think it takes up the backseat?

My compact spare fits in the boot with the entire backseat available. It takes up half the boot but you still can put stuff behind the tire and to the side of it.

 

Wow...I had no idea the spare would fit neatly in the boot.

 

My compact spare is in a spare tire bag and I use a bunge cord and loop it in the handle and strap it to the two brackets located on the floor of the boot. The boot shelf does stick up about an inch or so. Not quite a "perfect fit" but pretty close to it.

The only downside is the weight. It has to weight at least 25lbs. So what you lose in rotating mass you gain back in curb weight. :smile:

 

I got about 13k miles before I changed all four tires (goodyear's run flats). The front two tires were more or less toasted, almost no more depth as far as the channels in the tires were concerned. Handling around corners became very iffy.

The back two runflats, on the other hand, were in great shape.

Switched over to Pirelli P-Zero Nero M+S and it feels like a much better MINI. Great ride, grippy in all conditions (had quite a bit of snow this past winter here in NJ). Relatively competant in the snow, but I did try to avoid using it not because I didnt trust the MINI, but moreso because I dont trust how other's drive in the snow (especially some of the 4x4 drivers that lack common sense and feel that they have a license to drive with reckless abandon )

Run flats are great for the peace of mind. That being said, I did have one bad experience with them on the 3rd day having the MINI. I got a nail puncture, slow leak, in the back right tire. $80 to fix. NOT sexy.

No run flats now, but that's what AAA roadside is for :smile:

Hope this is helpful for your survey.

 

I have the Pirellis and rotate about every 5000. I am at 16k now and based on my last look, I will need to be replacing them around 20k.

I have had 2 flats and it was nice not having to be stuck, but it cost $40 each time to have them fixed and not everyone will work on them. Even the garage I took mine to the first time, forgot they could do it the second time and I had to remind them that I had been there before.

I have kept them on all winter as well, this year in NC we did not have any real significant snows, just a couple of 2-4 inchers but the tires did fine for me for a short drive. They are pretty hard and in this particualr area we have tons of raod construction and a few potholes. Several times I thought for sure that I had busted a sidewall since the car felt like I hit metal but no problems.

I am definitely teetering on the brink of getting non-runflats and taking a compact spoace on trips when I replace them.

 

I got 12,500 miles on my front tires, and they need replacing (17" runflats). I didn't rotate, and the rears are in great shape.

I don't *mind* the tires, but I am very curious to feel the difference when I have non-runflats mounted.

 

Hi,

I still have the original runflats on my 2003 MINI. Here are the details

Brand: Goodyear Eagle
Miles: 47,107
Rotation: Only once, about 2 month ago at 45,000
Repairs: One tire had an nail in it and was repaired at 28,000 miles
Typical usage: 35 mile commute (each way) over OK freeways (880 North and 580 West) in CA, East Bay where rock throwing trucks are a bigger problem than the roads.
Other: Attended one Phil Wicks driving school with these tires

I will be replacing these with non-runflats when they finally die.

 

I have the original Pirelli tires on my 03 and 34,000 miles. I rotate the tires every 5,000 miles and the wear bar is starting to show on one tire. I'm thinking of going with non-runflat tires and a cell phone. Anybody recommend the Bridgestone SO3?

 

WOW

That must to be a record for mileage out of the Goodyear run-flats. I know that a lot depends on the roads you travel on, driving style, and proper maintenance (pressures and rotations), but over 47,000 miles?!? Wow. And only ONE rotation?!

I have 20,200 on my original Goodyear's and there is NO WAY I can see getting past 30,000. I think I am at 5-6 mm on the depth gauge now. I've only done 2 rotations, one at 10,000 miles and the other at 19,500 miles. By the way, I have a plug in one tire and 2 plugs in another , all from screws.

I will be going to non-runflats when my time is up, since I have a regular Cooper and the spare tire issue is a non-issue. I will also go from 195/55/16 to 205/50/16 to gain a greater and lighter selection of tires to choose from .

 

I'm at 22k miles now and I measured ~4mm of tread depth left. The tires are starting to be a little dicey in the rain. Enough so that I drive my wife's turbo Beetle any time we're going anywhere and there's rain in the forecast.

I would like to get 25k out of them, but I'll just have to wait and see. Maybe if we have a dry summer...

 

IBBY - I have the same situation, two good back tires that are just sitting in my garage. I say we ebay your two and my two together.

If you're curious to feel the difference between run-flats and non-runflats, I can tell you from experience that NON-Runflats make the MINI INFINETELY better in every aspect. Once you go non-runflat, I dont think you'd ever go back...

 

My '03 S arrived from the factory with the Pirelli Eufori@ 205/45-17 runflats. I rotated them about every 500 miles, and got about 15,000 miles out of them before I got almost down to the wear bars on the fronts last fall. The other 10,000 or so miles on the car were on 205/50-17 Vredestein non-runflat snow tires. Since I only had the S-lites at the time, I had to swap them for the winter tires each fall and spring. I opted not to keep the runflats for a third year, in part because they didn't feel nearly as "grippy" as they had when new.

While they were on the car, I didn't have any complaints about ride quality or "choppiness," but with the heavy truck traffic some of our local highways see, tramlining was a sever problem. At times, it was severe enough to make me wish I'd kept the snow tires on year 'round. The Eufori@s' predilection for seeking out every low spot in the pavement was also a major part of my decision to switch to non-runflats.

(I'm now running BFG TA-KDW2 205/50-16's on 16x7 Panasport FS-16's, and the snow tires have a permanent home on on the S-lites...but that's for another thread...):smile:

 

I use the runflats during the winter and normal tires spring/summer. I will get one more season out of the runflats and will not replace them.

Worried when carrying no spare? Join AAA and carry a compressor ($25 from Sears) and a can of tire repair. You could also carry tire plug kit. The vast majority of punctures hold the nail or screw, so the leak down is slow, allowing some time to get it fixed. That covers just about any tire problem you'll run into.

I think runflats provide a false sense of security. It's hard to find someone who can repair one, and it can be costly. However, runflats are very handy for those times when it's hard to deal with a flat, ie in the rain. Good for the ladies, too. The overall value of runflats is questionable, IMHO. They ride like crap for sure. Why? They hold very little air, so you're riding mostly on a rubber carcass.

 

Liked and opted for the 16" stars for my new ('03) MC and had to take the GYE Run-flats with them. Wondered what I was in for with the Run-Flats? Had problems w/GYE performance tires (as stock) in another life. Got Goodyear to replace them then, same happened to the replacements.

On my MC, the stock set lasted 26k. This current set is going just as fast, with the exception, that I now have a front left tire that became defective at 18.5K. I thought I'd thrown a counter weight, but the tire shops I've taken the car to for reballancing say it's the tire, its' defective, and they will not even touch it.

Currently looking at the Zero Nero's, Avon 500's, Toyo T1R's and Proxes 4's as replacements. The T1R's are the only tires in our size (195/55R16). Personally, I cannot wait to see how much things improve with tires other than the Run-Flats. From what I can tell from this forum, I'll have a better performing car, longer tire life, and a better ride.

Good luck on your replacement hunt.

Lowell

 

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the T1R a competition compound tire? If so, I can't imagine they'll last very long on the street.

 

If you aren't racing in some form or trying to pose or feel like you are racing and can enjoy going around a corner fast enough without slamming yourself against the driver's window, there is no need to abuse yourself with the hard riding, slower, harder steering feel of 17 inch runflats or runflats in general. As soon as I got my MCS with Pirelli Euforias I had my car at the dealer's for service and I drove an 05 MCS with 16inch non-runflats. I was in heaven. I thought I was driving another car. I immediately got rid of my 17's and runflats and am a really happy camper with BFGoodrich all season T/As. I also hear that the Toyo Praxis 4 all season is a good tire. Anyhow, the car is faster, more responsive, and much smoother and still takes turns well enough to be fun. Just one perspective..but you'll notice how many sets of 17's with runflats are on eBay at any given time.