I wanted some updated info so I thought I would start a new thread. My 2002 MCS needs new tires. What are your favorites and why?

Personally, I would like a longer life than I'm getting as well as a good ride and handling. I wont track these tires and cost is factored in..

 

What size, what are your current tires, do you want summer or all-seasons?
I like dedicated summer and winter tires over all-seasons, and currently just put on
a set of Continental Extremecontact DW tires which are surprisingly good in the dry,
fantastic in the wet, with good comfort and wear characteristics.

 

Y
I'm currently running Yokahoma but they have not lasted very long. How many miles are you getting out of the Conti's?

 

Loving my 215 45 R17 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus. I drive them hard but they have a 45k tread life warranty. I don't get anywhere near that but a sane driver would probably get 30k. They are very smooth, quiet, great turn in with great stick both wet and dry.

 

So far I've only got about 100 miles out of them since I just put them on last weekend!

They have a 340 treadwear rating so they should be good for over 30,000
miles with aggressive driving if rotated regularly. My previous tires were rated
220 (BS Pole Position S-03) and 240 (Dunlop Sport Maxx) and they lasted
about 20K and 25K respectively with aggressive driving until they got
down to 4/32".

Which model and size of Yokohama tires do you have now?

The fronts will wear about twice as fast as the rears, but much more so if your front
toe-in is off or if your front control arm bushings are shot (which makes the toe-in
setting a moving target).

 

In order to answer your question about which tire to select we need to know:

Where do you live? Any wet,cold weather or snow? Do you have winter tires?
What are the roads like? Smooth or full of potholes?
What size wheels do you have now? Any chance moving to another wheel?
What size and model tires do you have now? Did you like them for not? Why?
How do you drive? Aggressively or mostly at the speed limit?
How many miles do you drive per year? Any longer trips?
What suspension do you have now? Any chance you will lower your car?
How important is comfort, low noise, longer treadwear for you?
What is your budget for a set of tires?
Any plans to do performance driving- track, driving school or autocross?

The answers to your questions will help narrow down the possible tires that would fit best for your needs.

There is no one best favorite tire for the MINI. Each owner has a unique set of requirements and there are many choices that can fit the bill within a given budget.

In addition tire choice is full of compromise, no one tire does everything well and is cheap and lasts a long time.

Summer tires generally offer more grip and better handling in dry and wet but are not for cold or any snow. They can be comfortable or not depending on tire construction/design and tire size/sidewall height. Extreme summer tires offer the most grip but the fastest wear at about 200. The treadwear numbers are a basic guideline but can vary within one company vs another.

All Season tires generally offer good grip but with longer treadlife and more comfort for street use and commuting. Ultra High Performance All Season tires offer the most grip while Grand Touring All Season tires offer the most comfort with longer treadlife.

When shopping for tires select a tire size that gives you-
At least the same load rating as the OEM tire.
At least the same speed rating as the base Cooper which is H.
Select a tire size that is as close as possible to the OEM size or roughly 24.3" but not much taller. The limit is about 24.7" as in 215/45-17 or 24.9" as in 205/55-16.
You do not need to replace a MINI tire with the stock tire size, there are options that will fit fine and work.

If you have stock suspension, you have more tire sizes that will fit fine. If you have a lowered suspension you have more risk to rub in the rear wheel arch edge depending on tire width and tire diameter if greater than stock.

 

Tire life is the thing I don't worry about, which is good because our tires don't last long.

My favorite summer street tire is the Conti DW, very quiet and comfortable and grippy. It looks like we'll only get about 20,000 miles off them.

My favorite all season tire is the Conti DWS, also very quiet an comfortable, not quite as grippy. Its warranted for 50,000 miles, but it looks like we'll only get about 21,000 miles on them.

My favorite no holes barred performance tire is the Bridgestone RE-11. Not terribly comfortable and only lasts 6 track days or 12 autocross.

 

Well, I would say I drive moderately aggressively, while this is mostly in town driving I will occasionally go to the mountains or beach, I have a smaller pulley, Ireland camber plates, larger rear sway bar. I don't track or AX this one any more. I have this instead (this pic was the prior owner)

I'm currently running 17" eight spoke oem wheels but I have thought about going to a 16" Rota RB as I like that look better and my butt dyno thinks it accelerates a little better with 16"

Budget? I want the best value for the dollar, I'm not worried about the best time at the dragon but I don't want to slide of either. I drive about 10k a year.

 

Given your history, I would suggest looking at:

If 17" stock wheels then-
Michelin Pilot Super Sport (Max Summer tire)
215/45-17 $154 each, 300 treadwear, 21 lbs, 24.7" tire diameter, Y speed rated. Note this tire in 205/45-17 is $180+ each.
For value in a Max Summer tire on a budget-
Sumitomo HTR ZIII
215/45-17 $82 each, 300 treadwear, 23 lbs, Y speed
Tirerack test result-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=149

If 16" wheels and Max Summer tires, then-
Continental ExtremeContact DW (better on comfort)
205/50-16 $89 each, 340 treadwear, W speed rated, 19 lbs
205/55-16 $99 each, 19 lbs
Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position (better on handling)
205/55-16 $136 each, 280 treadwear, Y speed rated, 24 lbs

Ultra High Performance Summer tires aren't as good on handling and only give a little more comfort and treadlife than the Max Summer tire examples I've given.

If interested check out-
BFG g-Force Sport Comp-2
205/50-16 $102 each, 340 treadwear
205/55-16 $106 each
215/45-17 $115 each
Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport
205/50-16 $99 each, 340 treadwear
205/55-16 $103 each
215/45-17 $124 each

For a person that likes to drive, I would spend more and get the Michelin Pilot Super Sport. It does everything well short of lasting on the track. If you rotate tires it will wear satisfactorily/good enough.

 

I want these, and I'm even prepared to pony up the cost, but they don't come in 205/50/16. A 55 profile is too high and will rub (I found out the hard way with my 55 winters, popped out my wheel arch and broke a tab.)

 

If you want to stick with 205/50-16

Then in Ultra High Performance All Season tires:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...wws=N&showcm=N
Continental ExtremeContact DWS $117 each, 540 treadwear
Tirerack test results-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=165
General G-Max AS-03 $93 each, 480 treadwear
Kumho Ecsta 4X $92 each, 420 treadwear
Tirerack test result-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=151
Of these three, the DWS is more comfortable, the 4X handles better in the dry and is a good value.

 

Thanks for the input, I had Kumho's a few years ago and they got EXTEMELY loud I'll check out these reviews.

 

I have 205/45/17 Bridgestone Potenza's on my R53, the only problem with it is that I find it to be a bit noisy. Same case with the Potenza's on my dad's Bmw (came with potenza's from factory). The previous owner of my MINI had Pirelli Runflats at the rear and Continental Runflats on the front, and it was actually less noisy than the potenza's.

 

minihune, thanks for the heads up on the Kumho, I'll check it out

I was hoping for the Michelin's because they seem to compromise the least (other than in cost.) but it's just not going to work for me! I need something that's great in the dry/wet and can handle the occasional light snow/frost. This winter we got zero snowfall, but some years we'll get a couple of inches.

 

I've heard good things about the Kumhos and the price makes it an incredible value. I have dedicated studless snows (Blizzak 70's) on my original 16" rims, so I was looking for a good summer tire. I was thinking at first of solid dedicated winter plus solid dedicated summer performance, but in reality, the seasons do not transition in such a black and white way. So I figured no compromise in the winters - my MiNi will be the one that gets to the slopes when everyone else is still shoveling. That meant that my summers need to handle the transitional periods - late spring and early fall mild-moderate snowfalls. The Kumho Ecsta 4x's are 195/55R16's - like the Blizzaks - mounted on Borbet LV4's which should look nice against the Pepper White. They are enroute from TireRack now, and I hope to mount them and report back next week.

 

Yes, for your needs you want an Ultra High Performance All Season tire in either-
195/55-16
Kumho 4X $84
General G-Max AS-03 $94
or
205/50-16
Continental ExtremeContact DWS $117 each, 540 treadwear
Kumho 4X $85
General G-Max AS-03 $93

Check out these UHPAS tire tests-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=119
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=151

 

Just put a set of Kumho 4x 205-50-16 on my wife's MINI. I'd say they are a pretty nice tire at a decent cost. There is a $50 rebate going on them until June 30.

A friend just bought some Continental DSW tires in the same size. He described them as being soft & rollie feeling. So comfort is good until you lean on them.

 

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus - 235/50zr17

 

I've had a set of Kumho ecsta 4x on for about 10k miles now and am thrilled with them. Don't get these confused with the old Kumho ecsta tires....not the same thing. These are a newer model tire that have come out within the last year or two...had the old ecsta model tires on my last Cooper and they were nowhere near as good as these and wore down rather fast. I'm rather picky about road noise and these are still absolutely silent after 10k miles! They ride nicely and handle well for all seasons. Highly recommend!

 

Ok, that's what I went with.

 

has anybody actually driven the PSS in the cold or snow? These are a dual compound tire. I read that Michelin had discovered that too much summer compound actually hindered performance, and they are designed with summer compound on the outer 20% of the tread, and all season rubber for the 80% of tread remaining. Wonder how much they'll suck in December in Indiana? Just mounted some on my '06 JCW, so unless I win the lottery this fall, I'll probably be finding out for myself in 7-8 months.

 

215/45ZR-17 Michelin Pilot Super Sport XL

 

They do have a different compound on the outer shoulder but neither is all-season.

Michelin specifically states that they should not be used during the winter season when temperatures are colder and approach freezing.

http://www.michelinman.com/tire-sele...er-sport-tires

 

Do you have a source for that compound info? I only found this one place, and there is no reference, but it says something different:

"Through testing Michelin found that adding any more summer compound gives no real help but actually hurts the winter/wet capabilities. For the new PSS, only the outer 1/5 of the tire is a summer compound, while the remaining 4/5 is a winter/wet compound."
http://www.motortrend.com/features/p...t/viewall.html
Also in the "is this true or not" category, one of the comments at the bottom of that article is from a Porsche owner who claims his PSS were permanently altered by exposure to freezing temps, so there's conflicting information on the same page. Gotta love the internet...

 

I provided a link to the source which is Michelin. The confusion may arise from the fact that many people confuse winter/all-season with wet handling. Summer tires often have excellent wet weather handling.

"Bi-compound delivers excellent dry braking using LeMans-inspired compound on the outer shoulder and the latest generation of wet-oriented elastomers on the inner portion of the tread."

Here is the link again:
http://www.michelinman.com/tire-sele...er-sport-tires