Our friends at Stokes Tire Pros took delivery of our new 205/45R17Dunlop SP Sport 01 DSST run-flat tire ($284.44, including shipping, from the Tire Rack) today, so we drove over there to have installed on the 2007 Mini Cooper S.
Just for kicks, I asked the technician to take a look at the original, damaged run-flat
. Evidently, the bulge in the sidewall, identified here with yellow chalk, really is the only telltale sign of the injury.
The tech speculated that when I hit the pothole and bent the wheel, it was pushed into the tire, increasing the pressure. When pressure equalized, it went to the weakest part of the tire (still the sidewall, even on a run-flat), creating the bulge and ruining the tire.
Although we plan to have the bent wheel replaced at the Mini's next service appointment (coming soon), our tech recommended moving it (along with the new tire) to the passenger-side rear wheel. In this location, farthest from the steering rack, we'll be least likely to feel any of the hop or shimmy that might result from the non-true wheel.
Of course, the Mini's highway ride can be so busy to begin with, we may not notice anything at all. Then again, I may have gotten too close to the car over the last 1,200 miles -- I'm hardly the most unbiased source on Mini-related matters.
Our mounting cost at Stokes was $26.25, including tax. We opted to hold off an alignment until we get a new wheel. We still have the non-run-flat Dunlop Direzza DZ101 and haven't yet decided what to do with it. Some of us would like to experiment with a full set of Direzzas to see how much the ride quality improves. Others think that's an unwise plan given the lack of a spare. We'll see what happens.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 10,927 miles
The tech speculated that when I hit the pothole and bent the wheel, it was pushed into the tire, increasing the pressure. When pressure equalized, it went to the weakest part of the tire (still the sidewall, even on a run-flat), creating the bulge and ruining the tire.
Although we plan to have the bent wheel replaced at the Mini's next service appointment (coming soon), our tech recommended moving it (along with the new tire) to the passenger-side rear wheel. In this location, farthest from the steering rack, we'll be least likely to feel any of the hop or shimmy that might result from the non-true wheel.
Of course, the Mini's highway ride can be so busy to begin with, we may not notice anything at all. Then again, I may have gotten too close to the car over the last 1,200 miles -- I'm hardly the most unbiased source on Mini-related matters.
Our mounting cost at Stokes was $26.25, including tax. We opted to hold off an alignment until we get a new wheel. We still have the non-run-flat Dunlop Direzza DZ101 and haven't yet decided what to do with it. Some of us would like to experiment with a full set of Direzzas to see how much the ride quality improves. Others think that's an unwise plan given the lack of a spare. We'll see what happens.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 10,927 miles
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