Nate writes:
>With all the extra room in the rear, should we expect the Clubman to carry a spare tire and do without runflats?
As with the coupe, the MINI Clubman Cooper and One will be getting a spare under the rear of the car. And as with the MCS coupe, the Clubman S will not. Why? Simple answer: the front brake rotor on the MCS and MCS Clubman (or MCScm if you will) is too large to fit the space-saver spare. However the Cooper and One models have a slightly smaller brake set-up and thus the spare in the rear.
If you must go without runflats, we’d strong suggest a charged phone and a MINI Mobility kit (includes compressor and tire sealant) in the boot.
The Miata and the Chevy Cobalt spare donut are supposed to fit the Mini. A viable alternative?
No matter which car, running that donut in the front isn’t great – if you get a flat in the front, move a good tire up front and put the donut on the rear axle.
(MCS owner with donut spare)
I really don’t know but I find it hard to believe there is no correct diameter space saver spare to be found to fit the front brake rotors/calipers.
A good alternative is just picking up a small-size “universal spare” rim that is drilled to fit any bolt pattern at places like Discount Tire, and mount an inexpensive regular tire on the rim. Better than a donut, inexpensive and almost the same size.
The way it sounds to me, is that a compact spare which would fit over the brakes on the MCSClubman will not fit in the space allowed under the car.
As PaulGraz pointed out above a compact spare shouldn’t be used on the front anyway, even on a Cooper/One because the diameter is different. Because all MINIs run the same size at all four corners with the same offsets you just move one of the good wheels to the front and put the spare on the back.
So it doesn’t really matter what size the front brakes are.
I think the better excuse is that the over elaborate exhaust on the S takes up all the space a spare would go.
>I think the better excuse is that the over elaborate exhaust on the S takes up all the space a spare would go.
Not in the Clubman S.
I think runflat is a ripoff (half of the miles, but 2x price!) So I will get regular tires. Then I must have the spare. So I will get the Clubman. No S. I don’t need that extra HP anyway. It is just nice to boost my ego..
But can one put the spare in the trunk? Will it fit? I drive alone anyway. Then I can get the S.
Geez Pete, don’t let the lack of a spare hold you back on getting a Mini you really want. Just get a tire plug kit and a decent air compressor, something around 30LPM, and you’ll be fine. And get a AAA card for even more protection.
If compressors are good enough for spareless Porsches and Ferraris it’s probably good enough for a Mini.
Even with reg tires and no spare, unless on a road-trip a spare is just not necessary. Your flat-tire sensor still works. 99% of “flat” tires are from picking up a nail that causes a slow leak that goes un-noticed for a time, until the tire slowly goes flat. With the flat tire monitor, you get “early warning” and have lots of time to motor over to a local tire shop to get the hole patched before the tire is even close to flat. I’ve had it happen to me (sensor alert – picked up a nail/screw) twice on the way to work (30 mile drive). Plenty of air left in the tire even at noon, to take my lunch hour and drive to a tire shop to get the tires patched. Even if it was a faster leak, when alerted, just pull in to a service station, add air, and cruise to a tire shop. No worries.