You guys are always so full of good information that I am looking for more. . . I need 2 new tires (badly) for my '06 MCS. I bought it w/ the performance tires, not the run-flats. I got a price from the dealership to replace them, but my non-Mini car friends tell me that it's outrageously high and that I should just go to a regular tire place. Thoughts? Recommendations?

 

Costco.com is one of the better places if there is a Costco near you. Prices are great, include the warranty, mounting, rotations every 5K miles, etc. I've priced tires a lot and few merchants beat them. Make sure you compare apples to apples (all charges).

Never buy from the dealer....

 

They came OEM with either 16" runflats or 17" runflats - no spare in the MCS. Let us know which brand/size you have and we can suggest a direction.
The most expensive route is getting new runflats from the dealer.

 

Just curious, how many miles do you have on the car?

Unless you bought the car used and someone had replaced the run-flats with non-runflats....yours should be runflats.

I don't think having two runflats and two non-runflats would be a good idea. What is the condition of the other two tires?

 

Dealership will be outrageous - not worth it.

Costco is great, but make sure they can mount the runflats (they require a newer tire mounting system - I believe all Costcos have 'em).

Best bet - call or PM Alex on this forum - he works at www.tirerack.com and can steer you right. Tire Rack is an EXCELLENT mail-order tire place who can recommend not only really good tires, but also local installers - if you're near Pittsburgh there are several, and reasonably priced.

A great bargain in runflat tires is the Kumho ASX (also sold by (gulp) Pep Boys) - there's another Kumho runflat that's got some good reviews at Tire Rack as well. As a comparison, current pricing at Tire Rack for 195/55/16 Kumho Ecsta SPT is $120 each, for Pirelli Eufori@ $130. For the 205/45/17, the Kumho is $130 while the Pirelli is $183.

Is your jaw off the floor yet? How's that compare to the dealer?

Check the Tires section for recommendations and testimonials and arguments on runflats vs. non runflats too. Lots of info there.

 

Okay, so I realize that I am going to totally reveal myself as a ditzy blonde and non-car person, but in answer to your questions. . .

-the tires on it now are 16" V-spoke all-seasons, according to my window sticker info
-it has about 18K miles on it (eek, since May :-(), but regrettably, when they told me that I didn't have to worry about coming in for service until the light came on, I neglected to realize that that didn't include tire rotation. So the tires weren't rotated for the first 12K miles or so, and at some point the alignment went out. So they swapped the front and back tires; now the front ones are in okay shape but the back ones have barely any tread. Do I really not have a spare tire on the car? Kind of scary!

I'm cringing hitting post on this, as I know I'm going to be scolded for being such a bad, unknowledgeable Mini owner, but I swear she gets to have lots of fun driving around with me! If there's anything else I should know about routine maintenance, feel free to make suggestions :-)

 

If you had taken the car in to the dealer they would have told you the tires didn't need rotating....but they do. If you insisted they do it, they would have wanted $60 or more. It will cost maybe $10-12 bucks done somewhere else.

Do you check the tire pressure at least once a month?

 

So having that cute little tire pressure monitor isn't good enough?? I'm embarrassed to admit that I have never checked the tire pressure. But, my friend who races cars did do a rally with me a few months ago and checked in then. And I do actually know how, so I guess I could add that to my maintenance plan :-)

 

kittykatz: No scolding, we've all been there and learned, and we're here to help. Best bet is to read your owners manual - sooner rather than later - and cover to cover. Yes, it's required reading. The (occasionally rude)abbreviation some may use is "RTFM", or (very politely translated) "Read The Factory Manual". It really does help and I'm not writing this with any venom, only in a helpful vein

Besides: You are at least smart enough to ask, which puts you in the top 2% of the population!

Tire pressure: Check every month. The TPS only tells you if one tire is low relative to the others, but not if ALL are roughly equally low. You need to check 'em all. Also, if you live where it's cold, you need to add air when it gets colder since you lose about 1psi for every 10 degrees colder it gets. Check the driver's side doorjamb or owners manual for recommended pressures. Check 'em monthly.

Tires: You have 195/55/16 all-season tires - that's the tire size the tire stores look at - it means 195mm tread width, 55% as high as they are wide, on a 16" rim. "all-season" means they'll probably handle "some" snow, possibly in an "OK" fashion, if they still have tread. They're "run flat" tires, meaning you don't need a spare, you can ride on 'em with no pressure inside for ~100 miles at lower speeds - allowing you to get to a station and affect repairs or tire replacement. You don't need a spare unless you completely destroy the tire.

Rotation: Every 5-10,000 miles. Shorter intervals is better.

Tire type: If you get significant snow, consider dedicated snow tires and wheels in winter. If you don't, you can go with all-seasons year-round.

Since you had a bad alignment, there's a possibility that the remaining two "treaded" tires are cupped, or unevenly worn, and may also need replacement. Shoot pics, or even better run your hand around the tread of the tire, first clockwise, then counter-clockwise. If you feel "scalloped" edges (resistance in one direction and not in another), the tires are unevenly worn. Once the car is aligned this uneven wear can cause the car to "pull" in one direction. If it doesn't pull, you can probably still use them til they're used up.

Above all - if you have any other questions, just ask! Also, use the "search function, it's quite helpful.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

 

kittykatz - DO NOT MIX TIRES ... I had a old pair of BFG's on the rear and a new pair of AVON's on the front.
Most dangerous thing I've ever done - steering was all over the place.

T

 

I agree with the post above. Do yourself a favor and get 4 new tires and an alignment - you won't regret spending the extra money. I'd order the tires from tirerack.com and bring them to the dealer for installation or see if the dealer will let you have the tires shipped directly to the dealership.

Also, your current tires must be run-flats if you have an MCS. All MCSs come with them due to the lack of space for a spare tire (the battery is below the rear cargo area where the spare would otherwise be).

The decision as to whether to go with runflats or conventional tires (with a can of fix-a-flat and a compressor) is up to you, but I'd definitely get 4 of whichever tire you buy.

 

I agree with four tires, and the Tire Rack is a good place to buy them. I would be afraid of the likely extreme charge from the dealer for having them installed and balanced. Tire Rack has a list of recommended installers that can generally be trusted not to mess up your wheels, and to tell you if you really need an alignment or not. Maybe one of them is nearby?

 

Just to throw some variability in the mix, while the OEM size is 195/55-16, there are very few tires in that size. So if you opt for non-runflats (first, get a plug kit and a compressor, and learn how to use them) you can change to 205/50 or 205/55 size, which are respectively slightly shorter (1.5%) and slightly taller (1.8%) than stock. This will affect your speedo by those percentages, and inversely help/hurt mileage and acceleration just slightly.
The TPM (Tire Pressure Monitor) is only there to warn you that you have a flat, as you might not otherwise know because of the runflat tires.

Runflat pros - Even with a flat, you can drive 50+ miles to help/safety. Good if you tend to drive for long distances in the boonies.
Runflat cons - high prices, some shops won't fix flats, stiff ride

Oh, and so as not to disappoint you, Bad Kitty! No biscuit!

 

DrkSlvrS, I agree that 4 at one time is better but I don't see how this affected your steering. I did the same thing a few months ago because I kept forgetting to rotate my tires and the fronts went bald. I left the OEM runflats on the back (the Eagles) and put the AVON's on the front. I have not noticed ANY bad steering since then. I will on the other hand be buying more AVON's here soon though, because while I'm not a tire expert I do like them a lot better than the runflats.

 

I'm not sure why it had the effect it did but I couldn't believe how bad the car handled. I actually had to take turns at LESS than the suggested speed!

T

 

Don't buy NON RUN FLATS.

I can tell by post #6 you will be much better served with RUN FLATS! Buy from TireRack and have them drop-shipped to an installer in your neck of the woods. They should not charge much to mount them. Get a boyfriend that has a floor jack and feed him pizza and beer after he rotates your tires for you every 4000 miles! While he has them off give them a good cleaning inside and out . This takes me about 45 min with the cleaning, 10 without.

 

You may have had a bad tire, I've run different tires front and back with no ill effect as long as each "axle" had the same tires on it (matching front left -to-front right and back left - to - back right).

Kitty if you're comfortable with a *little* automotive learning (how to use a compressor, tire plug kit, and/or "slime") you can save a bunch of money by getting non-runflats. If you can change a tire you can use all or most of the above.

Tire Rack's recommended installers are mainly good, call around when you get their list (you can get their list off the website without purchasing first).

To summarize, you need to make a few decisions:

1) Learn how to maintain your car and tires (manual, and a "must")
2) Runflats vs. non-runflats
3) 2 tires vs. 4
4) Type of tire

You can get answers to 2) by searching this site
You can get information on 1,3, and 4 from www.tirerack.com or by calling Alex at Tire Rack.

If you want ONE guy to tell you what to do, here's what I'd do in your shoes, given your interest in cars but an admitted lack of expertise and a possible desire to "get this over with the right way":

Call Alex. Plan on buying 4 non-runflat tires, unless he has a decently- priced good runflat (Kumho). Get his recommendation on what specific tire you need based on your geographic area and the type of driving you do (I suspect a reasonably-priced all-season non-runflat tire will do, and the Avons are wonderful). Buy them, have them shipped to you, and get them installed by a local Tire Rack recommended installer. Also, stop by your local WalMart (sorry, yuck, but useful) and purchase a small bottle of Slime, a tire plug kit, and a small 12v compressor, and stow them neatly in the boot. Motor home happy.

A good alternative would be if you have a local Discount Tire - good selection and prices, good installation. They don't exist near me though :(

As another alternative, check your local PepBoys for the Kumho ASX runflat in an all-season and appropriate size. Have them installed and drive home. that's a simpler alternative, but ask around your specific area since not all Pep Boys are the same.

good luck!

 

or get these and sell your wheels...

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=90678

 

All four tires need to be the same brand and type, or you're going have handling and ware problems in the extreme.

Example: Different tread patterns will expell water differently. So say you have two of the same on one end, and two different on the other end. One end of the car will ride differently through water on the highway. Can you say high speed spin?

 

What a deal, too bad it's pick-up in Reno only.