I went to the dealer ship yesterday to place my order fro my '06 Chili red MCS, and while I was out in the lot kicking the tires on the demo unit I decided to search for the spare. Upon looking under the mat in the back I discovered that the battery is in the rear of the car which made me exclaim, "This car REALLY IS a race car!" But the search continued, I looked under the car and then decided to ask the sales man. He explained to me that due to the run flat tires, there is no spare... I'm new to the whole nice car having run flat tire thing, so it was a surprise.

What does every one who puts new wheels with performance tires do about a spare? What if you get a flat? Share your horror stories here...





Ryan

 

MINI offers a "Mobility Kit" which includes a small compressor and a can of tire sealer. It's very easy - and a lot less expensive - to assemble your own Kit, including a can of Fix-A-Flat.

 

I bought a spare from MINI, and carry it with me behind the front passenger seat.. bought a tire bag also from Helix... together it cost me about $190 which I didn't want to spend, but rather buy the spare, than be dependent on waiting for MINI assistance... especially if I am far from home, etc... or if I am traveling with my 3 y.o. or 4 month old.....etc, etc...

It fits pretty nicely behind the passenger seat, stays stable, and I use the run flats in the winter months.... that's my way to avoid a horror story

 

If you have a blowout, forget about the goop or any MINI "whatever" kit.

I was driving from Laughlin, NV to Las Vegas, NV once and got a blowout in the middle of the desert. No amount of goop was going to save that tire.

Buy a real spare. Get a tire bag from The Bag Lady, one of our own, she rocks. http://millpondminis.com/baglady.html

Around town, you get a flat, call AAA or Mini RA (which contracts to AAA anyway to get you home). Keep your spare at home and then change it. On a trip, take the spare with you

 

I've driven my 2003 M3 46K miles so far without a spare, and M3's don't have runflats. I just don't worry about it. The mobility kit will fix small problems, a major blowout far from home would be inconvenient but not insurmountable. I plan on slapping on a set of aftermarket wheels with regular performance tires as soon as I get my new Mini home. The weight savings and performance dynamics of regular tires are worth the risk of a flat to me.

 

This is exactly my plan. I'm picking up my mini soon and have set of 5 wheels on its way.

sd05jcw, is the front passenger seat still useable with the tire behind it, or is the seat pushed too far forward to accomadate the tire? Also, what's a good(light) jack?

 

I think the jack that came with my '04 MCS is pretty light.

 

Ah, this is one of my favorite topics right now (see my recent posts in this forum for proof: "Slow leak on a run-flat" and "OEM 195/55/16 to 205/45/16 vs. safe brakes"). I like the feel of non-runflats better, and for the money you get SO much more performance and variety. :smile: In terms of horror stories I have none. To me the worst case scenario would be some kind of blow-out causing bad injuries. As I have never had that happen in many years with many different vehicles in many environments - I'm feeling good about our sweet set of Yoko AVS ES100 with a Walmart compressor and fix-a-flat - which has saved my bacon many a time in the middle of nowhere. It's been so reliable for me that I never bothered putting on the spare when I flatted. Just seal-and-go to a shop for tire repair when I get a chance.
That said, this is my first time to go without a spare tire. Again - never needed one but I LOVE the idea others have shared about a spare-in-a-bag for long hauls... that'll be next purchase before road trip to New Mexico from California. The money I saved on non-runflats would buy a spare. The problem with run-flats as I just found out is they are danged expensive to replace as I had a mild injury on a tire last week. I hated to spend THAT MUCH MONEY on a tire that was so bumpy and slippery compared to tires costing less. I rarely, like every few years, get a flat, this past three days I've almost had TWO of 'em. Last night I picked up a screw in the front-right, BRAND NEW YOKO as I pulled out of a parking garage in downtown San Jose... luckily it was short and it flicked out with my fingernail - because I stopped instantly before it could get in and do some damage. But I was prepared to remove with pliars and use the fix-a-flat. If you can't already tell, I love this topic and can't wait to find out what you decide. Paranoia vs. performance .

 

No horror stories here and I’ve been running on non run flats almost 3 years.

For daily driving I have a 12V pump and Fix-A-Flat in the boot. For road trips I throw in a 17” run flat for a spare. End of story and I’ve never had a problem, but I have had flats and I was always prepared for them. :smile: