18 replies to this topic

[jonnyboy777]

Hi Mini Forum

i'm new here and this is my first post so hopefully i will get it all correct.

i have bought an '02' mini cooper. it has 17 inch run flat tyres. i need to replace them and have discovered that they cost about £160 a piece. so £650 for 4 (ouch). i have never had a puncture in 15 years of driving, and so i am wondering whether i really need to buy run flats, or whether i can buy non run flats (about half the price) and then buy a can of tyre weld (or something similar) in order to fix small punctures, and for larger ones call out the AA and ask for transportation home.

what are peoples thoughts on this. do i really need to buy the run flats, and will the non-RF be ok?

thanks for your thoughts

jon

Edited by jonnyboy777, 31 October 2010 - 08:03 PM.

[Puddings]

the car was designed to run on run flats and BMW would not have put all that work into R&D if not also you don't have a spare and its illegal not to carry a spare also the tyre weld is only a temp fix so would have to fix/replace tyre once punctured

[danrock101]

I've heard all sorts of stories about run flat tyres, my dad had them on his old Saab 9-3 he drove over a cats eye at high speed and went flat, he didn't know, he was still doing 70mph and it got hot to the point where it started melting, he didn't notice any difference to the handling, he could smell burning so he pulled over and saw his tyre was shredding. If he had normal tyres on, maybe he would of known straight away or noticed a handling difference while the tyre was deflating and been able to pull over, and stick some tyre weld in the tyre and carried on the journey, tyre weld is pretty good stuff, I know someone who did 800 miles with a tyre that was being kept inflated with the stuff doing between 90-110mph

[danrock101]

it's legal to not have a spare wheel, maybe not in germany but here it's legal

[Burnard]

yours cars suspension will be setup to use the run flats, so if you put normal tyres on the ride will become allot softer/ smoother as runflats have a thicker side wall (this is what allows them to be driven while flat), this could make the handling pretty strange

And its not illegal to drive without a spare wheel.

[buddha01]

hi. you dont have to use run flats and being a tyre fitter i see loads of people buying non run flatt. most people tend to say the ride comfort is alot better on standard tyres too. best to buy a space saver spare just incase though.

p.s at 160 quid each your getting ripped off evn run flats shouldnt be that much.

[danrock101]

put the tyre size into google or ebay, I got a cheapo tyre for my dads saab when it went for like £40, they were 225x17 can't remember the profile had a 186mph speed rating though

[Big_Adam]

I just keep a footpump in the car.

[danrock101]

what do you do about punctures though?

[mab01uk]

I have replaced the 205/45/17 Pirelli Runflat tyres on my 2002 MINI with Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 215/40/17 non-runflats (same overall diameter). This is a common mod carried out by MINI owners. You can fit normal tyres to run-flat rims. The MINI is available new with either normal or non-runflat tyres and Rover originally engineered the Mk1 New MINI for normal tyres, runflats were added quite late in the design along with the flat tyre warning system as BMW were starting to offer them on their own range of cars.

Pros: much smoother ride and far better grip and handling than the runflats with stiff sidewalls, plus tyres are cheaper.
Cons: You need to fit a space-saver spare or to carry a can of puncture repair from Halfords.

I opted for DIY retro fitting the optional MINI space-saver spare under the boot floor but this can only be done on the MINI One or Cooper. On the Cooper S the twin exhaust box and battery are in the way.

Spare wheel carrier assembly part numbers and prices for R50 Cooper and One:-
41 11 7 043 349 Holder £3.83
51 71 1 510 375 Protection Foil £0.47
41 11 7 044 687 Guide £0.47
41 11 7 044 685 Spring £4.65
51 71 6 800 127 Cover £5.35
51 71 8 165 737 Lift Handle £2.77
Hex Nut 3-off £1.92
Nut Plastic 3-off £0.78
51 71 6 801 257 Spacer Rubber 3-off £2.82
Hex Nut £0.38
51 71 7 184 110 Support £27.50

Easy to fit once you have all the above parts.
I got my 115/70/R15 space saver Mini spare wheel secondhand off Ebay for only £20 and a genuine MINI jack for 99p + postage!

The retrofit installation of the MINI spare wheel and associated components:-
The first thing to do is to open the boot of the car, lift up the carpet and remove the MINI Mobility Kit or whatever may be installed in the cut out in the floor.You will see a rubber bung and three threaded studs.
Get under the car, you will see a plastic cover/undertray by the side of the exhaust. Remove this. It has 2 nuts that need to be removed at the back of the cover and 3 screws at the front.
By removing this cover you can now see the under side of the rubber bung and 3 more studs facing down. The threaded studs may have a rubber cover over them. Remove the bung and rubber stud covers.
Assemble the items inside the car in the order shown in the Realoem.com parts drawing to the 3 studs using plastic nuts. (The latest assembly listed in my parts list above is modified with less parts to assemble than shown on the earlier realoem.com diagram below).
http://www.realoem.c...o...hg=51&fg=80
From the underside of the car, fix the final component with 3 plastic nuts to the studs.
Fit the 3 rubber bung buffers to the existing brackets on the underside of the boot floor.
Place the space-saver spare wheel over the plastic support assembly on the ground and position it under the car. Fit the lifting handle to the assembly through hole in the boot floor and pull the wheel up into position. You may find that you need to move the exhaust heat shield out of the way of the wheel. The wire spring clip holds the wheel up while you tighten the retaining nut with the wheel brace. This nut is the same size as the wheel bolts. (See also MINI Handbook for more details and pictures).

Edited by mab01uk, 31 October 2010 - 10:14 PM.

[zedsta]

Hi guys,

 

Great conversation.

 

I've got a Mini Cooper S Camden (59 Plate).

 

Will I be able to put non-runflats on as well then?

 

Thank you in advance 

[Alex_B]

Hi guys,

 

Great conversation.

 

I've got a Mini Cooper S Camden (59 Plate).

 

Will I be able to put non-runflats on as well then?

 

Thank you in advance 

You may get a more accurate response on a new MINI specific forum, 

But from what I know I believe you can yes and they are a big improvement for NVH compared with the runflats. My mum on her R56 'S' swapped to non runflats and was a big improvement! 

[Cooperman]

I replaced the horrible run-flat tyres on my wife's BMW 325i SE and it transformed the ride of the car from 'nasty & harsh' to 'smooth and wonderful'. I bought a 'space-saver' spare from my local scrap-yard and put a jack and wheel-nut wrench in the boot. Result - happiness  .

[benm]

Its 'technically' classed as a modification if you want to be arsey about it, as I got informed about it at work.

[mab01uk]

Hi guys,

 

Great conversation.

 

I've got a Mini Cooper S Camden (59 Plate).

 

Will I be able to put non-runflats on as well then?

 

Thank you in advance 

 

Yes you can fit non-runflat tyres to your Cooper S Camden......runflats or non-runflats are often listed as an option on many models and versions of the MINI when ordered new. There is no difference in the cars suspension but all cars fitted with runflat tyres must have a warning system for a puncture which all models of MINI have had right back to the 2001 MINI R50 & R53 designed and developed by Rover in the late 1990's. Some models of One and Cooper also have space under the bootfloor for an optional spacesaver spare tyre but not the Cooper S due to its larger twin rear exhaust boxes and battery.

Edited by mab01uk, 07 May 2016 - 08:25 AM.