Guys,
buckle up, this is my story:
1. Ordered a Clubman S in June. I fell in love with the R105 right away but wasn't willing to pay the 3K for them. Hence I found somebody at northamericanmotoring selling them (new) to me for $1750. In retrospective, this was the only point in time when I thought I actually made a bargain.

Problem 1: I knew I had to get the wheel stops installed to prevent rubbing. I ordered them 6 weeks prior to the expected delivery date of the car. My Clubman arrived, but the dealer missed to order the wheel stops. Had to get a rental for the interim time (ka-ching: $200).

Problem 2: When the parts finally arrived and my dealer tried to mount them, he found out that the tire pressure sensor wasn't included in my set of wheels. I said I can check the tire pressure myself, no need to install the monitor. He refused to hand-over a brand-new car with the tire-pressure light blinking on my dashboard. I was keen on getting the car and agreed to get the monitor installed (ka-ching: $600)

Problem 3: After 4 weeks and 2.050 miles, my &E**@#!))@($ runflat ran flat. As I didn't purchase the wheels from my dealer, there was nothing I could hold him accountable for. I had to get a new tire. I learned quickly that there is no quick solution for the problem: Dunlops DSST SP01 is nowhere in stock (checked all online tire shops) and the tire comes with a $289 tag before shipping. I read some reviews of the DSST SP01 and realized I needed to get rid of them entirely (reviewers had to replace them after 12k and the ride was uncomfy). I decided to change the entire set of tires and to move towards non-run-flat all seasons. In the meantime I got myself a rental (ka-ching $150)

Problem 4: There are no such non-run-flat-all-seasons available in 205/40R18. I called tirerack and they said that 215/35R18 are compatible as well, are less expensive (ka-ching: Continentals for $450 before shipping). I got them delivered to the tire shop that I used to trust.

Problem 5: In the meantime the rental had a flat tire (can you imagine?)

Problem 6: The tire shop's 'best man' wrestled with the first tire for 1.5h. Apparently the low-sidewall-nature of the tire caused some 'additional challenges'. They surrendered - after breaking the tire pressure sensor (ka-ching $40) - and asked me to get the tire job done at my Mini Dealer (ka-ching: for twice the price). Obviously I had to get my rental extended for a couple of more days (ka-ching $150).

Problem 7: I had an uncozy feeling about this 'best man' wrestling with my wheels for 1.5 hours. I asked the boss whether he did any harm to my rims. The guy said 'unprobable'. They pulled the car out of the garage and parked it there over Thanksgiving. I checked the rim today at daylight and the sight was killing me: They messed up my entire wheel. It looks like the Ranger's hockey field after a 2h training session. Ka-ching: I think they are $300 each.

At this stage, I still have my flat run-flat on my Clubman, the car is still on the tire shop's lot, I have new scratches all over the place and I'm cursing about my stupid Chevy Cobal rental, hoping that it won't get a flat anytime soon.

I'm not publishing the tire store details at this time but I'm going to use this thread as an 'incentive' for the tire folks to compensate me in an appropriate way. If in tomorrow's news you'll learn about a tire shop owner burried under a set of JCW R105 wheels you may guess what happened ... and you'll get the name of the tire store, too.

I'll keep you posted.

What's in here for you guys (besides a couple of good laughs)? My lessons learned are:
- The only reasonable use of Dunlop DSST SP01 is when they stacked as buffers in a race-track safety zone. And even there the following rule applies: stay away from this tire as far as you can.
- When you get a new car, ask your dealer what tires it's going to roll on. Then check the reviews on tirerack and take action if necessary. In my case they came as a package deal and hence a black box.
- When you decide on low profile tires, get them mounted at an expert. Ask him what happens if harms the rims, take pictures before you get it done.
- Try to stay away from me: the streak of bad luck might be contagious

PS: My Clubman is still a nice car (check gallery), isn't it

 

why did you buy the wheels stops....?

I had al kind of JCW sets on my mini's... NEVER... and NEVER mounted the wheels stops.. this thing is absolute nonsence!!

:( luck 2 you!

 

Three reasons:
- I was following Mini's directions: http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...tegoryID=75816 (search for 'steering angle stop')
- The dealer wouldn't mount them without
- Did some research and the answers didn't give me a clear picture.
http://www.motoringfile.com/2008/10/...ring-stop-diy/
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...p/t-85127.html
http://forums1.roadfly.com/mini/foru...6094851-8.html
http://mini2.co.za/blogs/mininews/ar...uning-kit.aspx (search for 'steering angle stop')
At the end, I wanted to be on the save side and installed the steering stops. However, I understand your point and they may not have been necessary after all.

 

it sucks that you got such problems with those wheels.. BUT.. they look great!!! I love the R105's...

next time.. BUY them.. and mount them yourself... 16bolt... dead easy!!

 

you got a rental because the wheel stops had not come in yet? Were you afraid the car would explode without them?

 

No, the problem was that the dealer wouldn't mount the wheels without the wheelstops. Mini's run better with wheels than without
Keep in mind that the whole wheel stop, sensor thing happened before the official handover. I would have mounted the wheels myself without sensors and without wheelstops but the car was still on the dealer's property and I couldn't get my hand on anything.

 

your car didn't come with wheels? This story doesn't add up

 

Hi PGT, I traded the factory s-winders in and asked the dealer to mount my R105s (I found them on the northamericanmotoring marketplace) instead. My story may not add up ... but it's real.

 

The R105's look great on your Mini. I'm also selling a set in the market place if anyone is looking.

 

I'm sorry to say, but it sounds like you put yourself through some of this hassle. You could have saved yourself $840 according to what you posted by simply taking the car off the dealer lot with whatever wheels were on it.

Have the wheels shipped to your home and install them yourself not worrying about the TPMS, or opting to do it at a later date.

Now, the issue with the tire store. That is their fault and they need to pay for it. They know the tires on their are runflats, they know runflats have very stiff sidewalls, they know runflats are very hard to mount/dismount from wheels. They are a tire store and they deal with that every day. Now, its been over a week, hopefully they compensated you for the damage they did. If it were me I would have demanded it on the spot. The more time that goes by the less leverage you have.

And I hope you weren't paying $75/day for a Cobalt (ie. couple of days @ 150). Even if couple = 3 (that might be a fun world :D ) thats still $50/day and Cobalts generally run 20-30

 

Yet I couldn't: I traded my OEM wheels in for $500. If I left the lot with the originals wheels installed, I couldn't have traded them in.

 

3 weeks later, I thought I'd give you an update regarding my soap:
The good news: I'm back on the road on my R105 rims, but it's been a bumpy ride (literally) to get there:


Problem 8: Following my tire shop's advice, I drove my flat run-flat car up to the BMW dealer with my non-run-flat tires in the trunk. The service department refused to install non-run-flat tires on those rims. They argued that MINI wouldn't allow them to do so. I showed them the original specs of the R105 rims (saying that 215-35 run-flats are a valid option) but the service manager couldn't care less. Directions are directions after all. If it wasn't for problem 1-7, I may have chosen not to yell at him ...
I called tire rack and they gave me another 'recommended installer' address. Another 5 miles on my flat run-flats ...

Problem 9: I kind of like those 'pimp-my-ride' sort of tire shops. I like the way they laugh about the other tire shop when I told them that the other guys weren't able to mount these tires. On the other hand I also got used to their long faces when after 1,5 hours fighting with one wheel they have to admit that they had to throw the towel. They were proud enough though not to charge me anything (I considered charging them my hourly rate for waiting in vain, I had to take a vacation day after all - ka-ching). My rims meanwhile looked like they just underwent a serious beat-up (see picture in my gallery).
I called tirerack again and they sent me to the ultimate 'low-profile-tire-experts' in Trenton. Another 4 miles on my flat run-flats.

Problem 10: When I saw these guys I immediately thought 'damn, I should have gotten into the tire business myself': loved the music, the rims, the tools, ... I felt a tiny piece of hope raising from within. I heard the same laughs when I told them about the failures of the other shops, a little louder though. And somebody said 'ha, piece of cake'. And in fact, for the first time I saw the new tire on the rim. After 1:35h and an embarrassing series of curses. They tried to mount the others as well but after another 1:15h they ultimately gave up. The tire on the second rim reminded me of an abandoned snake skin due to all the wrinkles and folds. When they tried to air them they just never popped into the right position. They finally gave up and re-mounted my old flat run-flat. I agreed with tirerack to finally send the tires back via fedex. On my way home (10 miles on my flat run-flats) it was my time to do some serious cursing. My rims took another series of bad hits and it became difficult to assess whether they've ever been black considering all the silver scratches.

Problem 11: The next day I sent the tires back (after cleaning them because they looked anything but good). Three days later, I received a call from tire rack saying that they received 3 tires (hell knows where the 4th got stuck) and that they couldn't reimburse me for any of the three: beat damage on all three of them. They recommended me to get in touch with the tire shop and face them with the news. What tirerack doesn't know: Trenton is not a place to kid around, pretty tough neighborhood. So if this time it's me being burried under a set of R105 rims, again, you'll learn about it in the news. I'll keep you posted ... if I'll live to tell after all.

Oh, I forgot to tell you why I'm still able to motor with my Mini: It turned out that it wasn't the tires but the valve that leaked air. During one of the tire wars it has been replaced (something I didn't get to know) and the old tires are carrying my car on 45psi again.

 

Could have sold them on here in the Marketplace. Maybe for 500, maybe not. But it sounds like you would have been better off. Those runflats are a nightmare.

Good luck with them whenever they are out of tread!

 

Hi again,
I'm owing you the final chapters of my tire story ... well, unfortunately not exactly the final ones ...
After talking to 5 different people at tire rack and escalating the case through a couple of hierarchies, they decided to reimburs me for the 3 tires (minus the taxes, ka-ching $58). They addmitted that R105 rims and the Continental 215/35 are not a good match. Apparently I was the first one though that ran into a problem.
Problem no. 12: Still tire no. 4 was nowhere to be found. Remember, fedex lost track of the tire but at the same time they rejected my claims report. 7 weeks later the tire popped up in my stairways. The fedex driver dropped the tire off ... under a different tracking number. By that time I wasn't able to get the tire reimbursed at tire rack anymore. But guess what, fedex doesn't care; they marked the delivery as completed, end of the story. I tried to convey to them that a 7 weeks delay and a delivery at the sender's address is not quite what I bargained for ... so, I keep on yelling at people at customer service hotlines: something that I really mastered in over the last couple of weeks ... to be continued

 

Holy cow. I feel your pain. I've had my own series of wheel and tire travails, and it's frustrating as anything. Good luck with the rest of the story.