Ditching the run-flats ???

[andrew]

Hi all.

I'm currently running a 2011 Cooper S on 17 inch "Infinite Stream" wheels and day to day the heavy-feeling wheels and solid ride are getting tiresome.

I don't want to move to smaller wheels unless I have to.

Please, who has replaced their run flats with conventional tyres ?
And what difference did it really make to the handling and ride ?

[skeeterm5]

Mrs S used to have a cooper S (the supercharged one) and changed from rf to normal tyres and it totally transformed the ride of the car.

A jot of the 'jigglyness' and harshness over bumps went away, when she then picked her new Mini she specificed normal tyres and had quite a battle with the dealer at the time. She said she would cancel her order if they didnt do it, so they did.

Her latest car (Countryman) came as standard with normal tyres.

S

[andrew]

cheers S

i don't suppose you recall what size the wheels were ? or if they were towards the heavier end of those available ?

i'm concerned that at least some of our issues may be down to heavy wheels

[sad61t]

Notice the JCW coupe is only available with runflats. Is this due to the specific wheels, or suspension, or just fixation of their wonderfulness by Mini marketing?

[DanGT]

As simple as no wheel required in the boot. The new run-flats are better now than on the eary cars, but work better on not so low profile tyers (After talking to some one form Dunlop).

[nickfrog]

If you ditch the RFT (any RFT), it will be a different car in terms of ride but also lateral grip and traction. The difference is significant.

[_Leg_]

I swapped my JCW run flats for toyo tr1s. Softer ride but I found the softer sidewalls a bit unnerving when cornering at speed at first. I run non run flats on all my other cars and haven't noticed on those.

Got used to it now but I'll probably go back to run flats next time as the handling is more important to me than the ride. When i say handling im talking about the experience more than the actual handling, I think it handles as well but feels a little looser now.

[c4c23]

Yes, i have the supercharged model... the best thing i ever did was get them s**te run flats off!! got toyo proxies on now, 17''s!! rides much better, corners better, quiter!! i would recommend them to anyone!!

[andrew]

_Leg_ said:

I swapped my JCW run flats for toyo tr1s. Softer ride but I found the softer sidewalls a bit unnerving when cornering at speed at first. I run non run flats on all my other cars and haven't noticed on those.

Got used to it now but I'll probably go back to run flats next time as the handling is more important to me than the ride. When i say handling im talking about the experience more than the actual handling, I think it handles as well but feels a little looser now.

interesting !

i'm not so sure that i could detect softer sidewalls in a modern lowish profile tyre

did you experiment with tyre pressures or suspension geometry on the non run-flats at all ?

[SlowlnFastOut]

andrew said:

interesting !

i'm not so sure that i could detect softer sidewalls in a modern lowish profile tyre

did you experiment with tyre pressures or suspension geometry on the non run-flats at all ?

We took delivery of an ex demo R56 Cooper S Cab last summer, which would be the same model as yours. It came specified with Continental Contisportcontact 3s which are the OEM alternative option to having Runflats. I have had MINIs with runflats in the past and the Contact 3s vastly improve the ride improve quality. More grip available, cheaper tyres and they last longer. It will be a no brainer going for these again when the current set wear out.

If you don't want to go to 16" wheels (which would obviously improve comfort again) would you consider 17" wheels of a different design? I would think the design you have would be fairly heavy compared to some of the other options out there from MINI.

[nickfrog]

The Contis (with the BMW approval) can be bought fitted for around £120 in 17' which seems good value as they are the correct load rating, against the Toyos in the wrong load rating at only £20 less per tyre.

[SlowlnFastOut]

nickfrog said:

The Contis (with the BMW approval) can be bought fitted for around £120 in 17' which seems good value as they are the correct load rating, against the Toyos in the wrong load rating at only £20 less per tyre.

http://www.camskill.co.uk/m54b0s457p61140/CONTINENTAL_TYRES_CAR_CONTINENTAL_SPORT_CONTACT_3_CONTISPORTCONTACT_3_-_205_45R17_84V_%28%2A%29_FR_TL_BMW_3_Series

Only £99, Bmw 3 series, so load rating should be fine too. Bought some for another car from here a few months back.

[nickfrog]

Yes if you have a friendly tyre fitter that will fit tyres they don't supply for a reasonable fee, plus you have to transport the tyres to them etc etc.

Not sure there'll be much of a saving but it might be quite a hassle. ;-)

[MX-5 Lazza]

nickfrog said:

Yes if you have a friendly tyre fitter that will fit tyres they don't supply for a reasonable fee, plus you have to transport the tyres to them etc etc.

Not sure there'll be much of a saving but it might be quite a hassle. ;-)

Nah. I get them from Camskill and have them delivered direct to the tyre fitters

[nickfrog]

How much does he charge you per tyre out of interest ?

[MX-5 Lazza]

Depends. I've never paid more than £10 each and I have paid £20 for all 4 depending on who's in and whether they are busy or not (if the manager isn't there they do it cash-in-hand ).

[nickfrog]

You're lucky. Places near me have either stopped doing it or purposely priced to recoup the margin they don't make on the tyre...

[MX-5 Lazza]

Rather than getting tyres then finding someone to fit them you should find a nice local independent tyre fitter before you need them and have a chat with them. I had a chat with my local about my car, they were interested in seeing a supercharged MX5 that's used on track so were all too happy to agree a cheap price for fitting.

[JamesK]

I intend to change my run flats at some point but I may get a new set of wheels at the same time so I can eventually have a summer and winter set.

The car is a 55 plate JCW - my question is do I need to do anything else when changing the tyres? What about the onboard monitoring system etc? I don't want to be having to trick sensors into not lighting up my dash etc if I can help it but would also like the option of swopping between run-flats and normal in the short term.

[_Leg_]

andrew said:

interesting !

i'm not so sure that i could detect softer sidewalls in a modern lowish profile tyre

did you experiment with tyre pressures or suspension geometry on the non run-flats at all ?

You can feel them give a little, feels sort of slushy for a brief moment under hard cornering. Handling is fine, it'll still cock a leg for example, its just a momentary feeling.

Once I got used to it I just started to ignore it and press on.

Im running the pressures quite high now. Didnt mess with the run flat set up at all.

Of course Ive assumed its the sidewalls as it didnt do it on the runflats. I have no scientific evidence, just how it feels.

PS. Im on factory JCW 17 inch wheels. Mine's an R56 and my DD.