Edge

What makes you say that? The taillights match the 05 redesign...

Didn't you get larger rear calipers with your brake upgrade? The Cooper spare might not fit it... unless you already checked that with Chad? :angel: We all know it won't fit your front ones (therefore requiring rotation in the event that a front tire goes flat).

Yeah, it's great. And the other nice thing about their products - they are usually designed that you can remove a pin and tilt them away from the boot, so you can still open the boot without actually removing the attachment (or wheel)!

That is the Spare-Link Tire Carrier attachment, made by Mini-Fini. In order to use it (or any of their other attachments), you first have to have the Sport Link installed in your MINI, which is the mounting point for all of their attachments. The Mini-Fini Sport Link and Bicycle Rack attachment were both adopted by MINIUSA as OEM accessories for 1st Gen MINIs, available for purchase, installation and warranty from MINI dealers. I don't believe that MINIUSA continued the relationship for 2nd Gen MINIs, but that's OK because you can still get them directly from Mini-Fini (and also for 2nd Gens). They are extremely solid, well-made pieces. If you want to check out the Bicycle Rack attachment or Tow Link attachment, to see what I'm talking about (or just the Sport Link itself), I'll be happy to show you at one of our meets. Mini-Fini is now owned and run by a father and son team who do excellent work and support the MINI community. They come to MINIs on the Dragon every year and even do installs right on-site at MOTD. I can't recommend them (or their products) highly enough.

Probably because you skimmed the text he was quoting and responding to. :laugh:

Uhhh... he wasn't talking about your Countryman spotting... besides, that's not a Countryman!

Most, but not all 16s can fit over the 2nd Gen Cooper S (front) brakes... I hope you did a test fit to be sure! However, if you ended up buying Jim/carman63's Bridge spokes (aka R94) in Post #10 above, you'll be fine, they'll fit over your factory brakes.

I've got nothing against Discount Tire Direct, I've just found that they tend to have fewer choices than Tire Rack. I usually check both when I'm shopping for tires anyway.

If you happen to be someone who has runflats (whether by choice or not), the TPMS is very important. I agree it's not so important with non-runflats though.

You have to remember - there are two kinds of automatic washes... the usual kind (with brushes, etc), and touchless car washes. Touchless ones don't do as good of a job, but they won't harm your paint. I use the one at Sunoco off Gallows Road in Merrifield (next to Sweetwater) all the time. I know that's not what you were asking, but it's an option to consider. Right now that gas station is closed for maintenance (replacing the fuel tanks, I think), but the car wash itself remains open.

LOL - indeed. Your message seemed to imply that you'd seen this problem though. I'm generally curious to hear (and learn) about it if that's the case!

Should not a problem for OEM wheels - any of them (quote: "all OEM wheels have holes large enough for either size wheel bolt"). Why - have you seen evidence to the contrary? Curious! Of course, it will still be a problem with some aftermarket wheels only designed for 12mm.

Not that I'm aware of. I doubt it would change, because it would affect all of the existing MINIs out there. Who knows what they'll do for the 3rd Gen MINI though!

As long as you have the stock brakes (and not the 1st Gen JCW brakes), it should be just fine. Here's some info for you: This info is from the MINI2 Forum Wheels and Tyres FAQ.

Then what about the gear selection? I suppose since you're talking about using only two hands to replace both two hands and two feet, it's quite difficult. I can definitely appreciate the ingenuity of the design - it's a great low-cost improvement to the standard controller, without paying bigger bucks for the full wheel & pedal setup.

That's very cool, but it's missing a pedal!

Not an issue, according to MINI2's Wheel and Tyre FAQ:

A few small bubbles are normal at the start. They will disappear over time, especially when exposed to enough sunlight (warms up the film). Can't speak to the sand/dust issue though. Definitely give Carlos a call to chat about it before you head up again.

Thread title corrected (MINI capitalization and minor spelling error). Jerome - it was great to meet you all at the MoS Meet N Greet! I hope you're finding this case study a fun project. Just an FYI - all new MINIs (i.e. those manufactured by BMW, since 2001) are properly referred to with capitalization (i.e. "MINI", not "Mini"). The non-capitalized version is reserved for Classic Minis (i.e. manufactured between 1959 and 2000). Also - since I was surveyed/interviewed at Meet N Greet, I didn't take it online again. I gather you don't want the same info twice? :angel:

Sorry to hear that Ali... yes, it's very important not to ignore your TPMS. Check the pressure of all 4 tires every time it goes off! As for you having a flat, despite some rumors (and dealership policy), most runflat punctures can be patched, just as long as the damage isn't too close to the sidewall. I got a flat tire only a few weeks after I first picked up my MINI (with the stock runflats), so the tires were brand new! The dealership wanted me to replace the whole tire (at a high price). I took the car to the Midas Falls Church (in Merrifield, on the corner of Gallows Road and Gatehouse Rd), had them look at it, and they managed to patch it just fine (without even taking the wheel or tire off the car). Cost me ~$15, and the tire lasted the rest of its natural life. Worth checking out!

I can appreciate you not wanting to confuse, but I spoke up because I thought that the runflats were getting more blame than they deserved. I don't think they deserve quite as much hatred as I've seen some people give them (for years now). I suspect the added weight for runflat vs. non-runflats is probably little more than 1 lb per tire in most cases (with all other factors being equal, like same size). Rota wheels vs. OEM? Umm yeah much bigger difference. Oh Ali - you know we wouldn't do that if we didn't love ya!

Craig, I do believe you skimmed - are you trying to take Ali's title?

I don't doubt that RFs are "generally" heavier, but I'd wager that the difference in wheel weight with Ali's switch was more significant than the tire weight, and therefore the larger impact in her experience. Rotas are known for their light weight! Agreed! "Unbearable" is relative. I honestly don't give a crap how harsh the ride is, provided I get the driving feel I want. If I wanted a Cadillac, I would have bought one! Different people, different preferences. Absolutely true. No argument there - software sidewalls lower the noise and smooth the ride. Check out the sidewalls on (stock) Cadillacs! Well, in 2nd Gen MINIs, the TPMS reports which tire is low - but you have to have the factory Nav system to see it. In 1st Gen MINIs (or 2nd Gen without Nav), it's nothing that a tire gauge can't tell you very quickly. Track driving (even autocross driving) is a totally different animal than street driving. Non-runflats tend to have softer rubber, as well as more sidewall flex (obviously). This does increase the limit of handling - i.e. in very hard corning or very fast sweeping turns, non-runflats will generally grip better. That obviously is preferred in high performance environments, which the track clearly is. However, when driving on the street, it's exceedingly rare to actually need to handle at the limits of the car. The majority of our driving is dodging in and out of traffic. That's why I love runflats, because the steering response is positively amazing with the ultra-stiff sidewalls. It feels like a dragonfly (or a bumblebee, or a hummingbird...), where quick lane changes are immediate and without "mushy" tire roll. By the sounds of how you've set up your car, you've done some things to counteract this (running 235s on a MINI is certainly an "extreme" setup!), but many people may not want to go to those lengths. Don't get me wrong - if I was buying tires for the track (or for autocross), I'd buy non-runflats. Just not for the street/highway. True, getting service on RFs is more difficult, but that is slowly changing over time as RFs become more and more common. I wouldn't take my MINI to any Mom and Pop place anyway (if I had a choice). I pay for the AAA Premier membership, which includes a 200+ mile tow. In most cases, that's far enough to get to a MINI dealership, for example (unless you're driving cross-country, perhaps). Yup! All the more reason to buy runflats for a winter set. It's why I went for the Blizzaks (despite my dislike of them for the DC region) over the non-runflat Pirellis when those were the only two choices I had left in the size I wanted (205/45R17).

There is an official MINI spare tire - 1st gen Coopers (R50) didn't come with runflats and came with a spare. You can probably get that one. I also recall one enterprising lady who made (and sold) "totes" for the MINI spare to cleanly carry it in the boot, as a number of Cooper S owners bought the Cooper spare. Yes, runflats are more expensive, but the difference in cost is not always as significant as you'd think. You have to compare runflat vs. non-runflat in the same brand and model of tire. If you're comparing one brand's runflats against another brand's non-runflats, it's an apples to oranges comparison. Some companies offer both (in the same tire design). As for being stranded... your perspective changes when it happens during a snowstorm, and you're stuck on the side of the road with 4+ hours until a towtruck arrives, due to the sheer number of calls from people (mostly SUVs :laugh:) stuck in a ditch. Or, if you're traveling in a remote area... on NAM a few years back, one guy wrote of how he got a flat tire in Death Valley... and he said he would have been utterly screwed if not for his runflats. He had planned to get rid of them when they wore out. I agree that's also what a spare is for - but I'd personally rather not have to worry about toting a spare in my boot in the first place.

Ali - one other very significant factor is the weight of the wheels themselves. You didn't just change to non-runflats, you also changed wheels. I'd be willing to bet that your Rotas weigh notably less than the wheels you had prior (and also than the wheels you have your snow tires on). That alone can make the difference. The only way to truly compare the effect of tires on mileage is to test them both on the exact same wheel type.