Today at MINI Peabody I had new non-runflat tires fitted to the stock 16″ wheels:
After some amount of online research, and discussion with Alex at TireRack, I chose Pirelli PZero Nero M+S tires in 205/50R16 size – I was more concerned about ride comfort and wet handling than outright performance, and the TireRack survey results suggested these would be a good pick.
My old Dunlop runflats were very noisy after 20K miles, and they have never been all that great in wet weather – the new tires are definitely quieter and I will see what the wet & snow performance is like in the next few months. Disappointingly there is not much of an improvement in ride comfort.
While I was there, I met a few other MINI owners (Hi Chris! Sorry I did not get a chance to chat Paul!)
I also saw stock of the new iPod MINI interface.
There was another MINI having wheel work done while I was there – I don’t know what it hit (the owner was not around) but I could hardly believe the damage to the front wheels; both (17″) wheels had a massive dent and were split around the middle of the wheel! There was (not surprisingly) other damage to the car (some suspension work, I think, and a split in the bottom of the front bumper).
M&I / GBMINI 
17″ S-Lites with runflats…worst…wheels…ever.
I would rather carry a junky compact spare in the boot and be on non runflats ANY day. The $$ they cost to replace is ludicrous.
WOW, that is one big hit those wheels must have taken. To crack and dent a wheel like that is no small task.
Interesting, the ipod interface seems to have two mini DIN inputs, I assume a cable comes out the other end? Maybe not.
Welcome to the non-runflat world! I ditched mine @3000 miles and haven’t looked back yet.
hi Ian, was great to meet & chat. Yeah, I saw those iPod interfaces, I think they were $149.
I’ll be curious to see / hear how you like your new tires, I hope to ditch my RFs when they wear out as well. Hopefully the budget will allow me to get some nice Oz wheels as well, a lot lighter!
Boy, that organizer between the pillars we looked at is $65….think I’ll wait a bit on that one!
cheers,
Chris
Sorry I missed the chat too. I was at MoP trying to decide if I liked the Cockpit Chrono pack and make sure i liked the Space cloth seats. It would be nice to have an oil pressure, oil temp and a real water temp guage for the track days?? A 2005 with LSD is on for Jan production!!! Can’t wait!!!
paul
Do you plan to carry a can of tire sealant and a portable compressor in case of a puncture? If so, do you have any recommendations. I just put non-runflat Hakkapelliita winter tires on my MCS. The nature of the winter tire provides a better ride and much less noise. The obvious trade off is dry road handling. The drop off is not as great as I had feared.
Greg,
I have a “skinny” tire in one of JerseyGirls bags already (the spare from an MC); I will carry it behind the passenger seat when I travel. Apart from that, the MINI roadside assistance is available.
Update: See here for my recent comments on snow performance of these tires