63 Paceman Cooper S - awful ride

63 Paceman Cooper S - awful ride

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Yazza54

Original Poster:

19,402 posts

188 months

Sunday 3rd July 2022
quotequote all
Mrs Yazza recently got a Paceman S 1.6 turbo petrol and whilst it goes well and I do like it's go kart handling the ride quality is simply awful.

It currently has run flats on it, is that as per OEM spec does anyone know?

And has anyone ditched them in favour of normal tyres and noted an improvement in ride quality?

The thing is jarring at the moment over the slightest of bumps and tramlines terribly. I expected some of this from our previous minis with big wheels and low profile tyres but it's worse than I thought it would be.

Panamax

5,085 posts

41 months

Sunday 3rd July 2022
quotequote all
What's the wheel diameter and tyre profile?

Without doubt a reduction of rim size combined with conventional tyres should solve your problem. You might well fix it with redced rims size still using runflats if SWMBO wants the comfort of not getting stuck at the side of the road with a puncture.

Yazza54

Original Poster:

19,402 posts

188 months

Sunday 3rd July 2022
quotequote all
Pretty sure they're 19s

I don't want to go to the extreme of swapping wheels.

I think the run flats are that stiff that just swapping to normal tyres, maybe going up to 45 from 40s may help enough to make it somewhat bearable when the time comes to replace them.

Was just wondering if anyone here had done it and could confirm

E-bmw

9,976 posts

159 months

Sunday 3rd July 2022
quotequote all
19" RFTs on a fairly light car will give an awful ride.

You would be MUCH better going to 17s & matching the overall diameter.

Yazza54

Original Poster:

19,402 posts

188 months

Monday 4th July 2022
quotequote all
Done some searching and read on a mini specific forum that just swapping to normal tyres made a big difference.

That'll do.

Mr Peel

504 posts

129 months

Monday 4th July 2022
quotequote all
Yazza54 said:
Done some searching and read on a mini specific forum that just swapping to normal tyres made a big difference.

That'll do.
Going from runflats to Pilot Sport 4s on my Countryman Cooper S (18in rims) made a big difference.

Yazza54

Original Poster:

19,402 posts

188 months

Monday 4th July 2022
quotequote all
Mr Peel said:
Yazza54 said:
Done some searching and read on a mini specific forum that just swapping to normal tyres made a big difference.

That'll do.
Going from runflats to Pilot Sport 4s on my Countryman Cooper S (18in rims) made a big difference.
Thanks, that's just what I wanted to know.


TimmyMallett

2,975 posts

119 months

Monday 4th July 2022
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Yes. I ditched the fronts in favour of Rainsports (anything other than runflats) and have yet to do rears. I wont say it was night and day but it is definitely less crashy given a softer sidewall. And quieter. Which has resulted in noticing an existing small flatspot on one of the rears which is now incredibly faint and incredibly annoying.


Also, give it a remap. Just an off the shelf one. I've had a fairly mild stage one for a couple of years now and the increased torque is really usable. So it's like wrestling a slightly faster pig smile

s-x-i

194 posts

56 months

Monday 4th July 2022
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The first thing we did when we got our F56 MINI was to change the tyres to non-runflats.

I picked the car up from Leeds and the drive home to Glasgow was borderline unbearable for road noise and harshness.

Went for Michelin Pilot Sport 5's and it completely transformed the car.


Macboy

759 posts

212 months

Tuesday 5th July 2022
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Runflats to non-RFT will make a difference but nothing like as much as moving to 18s or 17s. Yes, they seem to fill the arches better but the low profile tyres on a MINI never seem to work well. Our Paceman was on 18s and was so much better than our Countryman on JCW 19s. On the CM I even kept the winters on to improve things and only swapped back to 19s to sell it.

interstellar

3,785 posts

153 months

Tuesday 5th July 2022
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My 79 year old Mum has a countryman cooper S and complained she wanted to change it due to the harsh ride.

I took the run flats off and fitted uniroyal rain sports and she loves it again.

Job jobbed.