I bought my slightly used pristine 2008 MINI S almost 2 years ago to the day.. Best car I've ever owned and easily up to my lofty expectations.. I'd wanted a Mini for the last 10 years, but with starting up a biz, getting married, the economy crash, then Obama getting elected and wrecking things even further.. it took longer than expected to find the exact car I wanted and could afford. Deposit done over the phone, I flew to Florida to pick it up at Furman MINI and except for one nagging issue.. I've loved the car since day one.. That one issue?? The run-flat tires. The previous owner had put new Dunlop SP Sport 01s on it before trading it in and as expensive as they are.. (over $200ea..) I just couldn't bring myself to take them off and buy more tires.. My plan was to just wear them out then change to non-run flats. Now after 2 years of owning the car and putting less than 9K miles on them... (i work at home so there is no daily commuting...) I've realized my plan sucked. Last week I did some Jethro Bodine cypherin' and figured out that at this rate.. I'm looking at 3-4 more years of listening to the constant roaring... To hell with that.. Made a decision... did my research... read many, many posts and opinions at this wonderful venue then called my tire go-to guys at The TireRack.com and ordered me (4) 205/45ZR-17 Hankook Ventus V12s. Cost was a very reasonable $90ea.. With shipping.. $417 to my door.... BTW.. I looked at all tire options before deciding on the Hankook ... I'm obsessive/compulsive in that regard.

Was a little apprehensive worrying about how they would handle, being a less than high-end tire.. Have never been disappointed in the handling of the aforementioned Dunlops.. only the horrid , never ending noise.. It's kinda like the car version of tinnitus. You almost kinda get used to it... sometimes forget about it.. but it's always there... The Dunlops have never disappointed in the handling department and have been put to the test numerous times here in the mountains of North Carolina.. Bottom line... I was NOT looking forward to a step down in handling precision, but the need for "quiet" over-ruled all other factors..

The Hankooks showed up in 4 days.. I made an appointment with Sears to install them the next day.. Got there, filled out all the paperwork after a 30 minute wait .. they looked at the car and said.. "Sorry.. we don't change run flats.." WTF?? I was told their machines couldn't handle the hard sidewalls... The referred me to another shop a few miles down the road.. Got there and they quoted me an insane $120 to change out the tires and balance... They also apologized for the excessive cost, and said they HATE working with run-flats.. and that standard tires would have been 1/2 the price. DOH! At least I'll get free rotations until infinity and beyond.. Got the car back a few hours later..

In a word... night and day difference... (Insert Snoopy 'happy dance" here)... The cabin is so much more pleasurable.. I can hear the wind.. I can hear the sound of the road surface against the tires.. I can hear the brake pads against the rotors.. I sleep better at night.. Even my erectile disfunction has disappeared. All good.... It took me about 3 hours to get used to the minor handling difference. The Hankooks have an ever so slight amount of oversteer.. I may play with the air pressure to see if I can diminish that, but otherwise... very impressive for the "street" use I'll be throwing at them. If I had to put a number on it I'd say the handling has diminished by less than 5-8%. On a track I'm sure there would be a greater difference.. not so much while driving like a mortal. Overall.. Best money I've spent on the car... Currently trying to sell the take-offs locally... I'm thinking .. Cost new $820+ -- Less than 1/2 life used. I figure I can get $200 for all 4 to recoup some of my $$.. If anyone knows what other cars this size fits other than a 2008 MINI.. please let me know..

Lastly... I have to give a shout out to TheTireRack.com and specifically my sales rep, Tucker. FYI.. I've been buying tires from these guys for as long as I can remember... Service, pricing, ease of purchase, and their website are all first rate. I don't even bother looking anywhere else when buying car or truck tires these days. Tucker answered all my questions like a pro and gave advice rather than a sales pitch... Refreshing. Mongo happy.

 

Great write up, thanks. Same situation with my recent used purchase coming with hard runflats with lotsa life left on them. Those tires are named Ventus V12 evo K110 ? right? Max summer performance tire.

My local tire shop that I have been dealing with for 15 years had no problem working with runflats, and although I almost rather have the Hankook tires from Tire Rack I don't think my guy really likes working with mail order stuff.

 

Correctamundo ...

 

I just ordered the NEW model Hankook Ventus V12 Evo2 tires (205/45/17) from TireRack for my '06 R53. They should be on the car by next week.

I have Hankook RS-2's on the car now, but they are at the very end of their life and are really loud at this point. I bought the car with these on it in 215/45/17 and it has alot of neg camber in the rear ( and front too..) as i dont have rear adjustable control arms on it yet. Also, i get a bit of rubbing as it's lowered with Hotchkis springs so i went down in tire size also.

I imagine these tires will be much more liveable on a daily basis but also not be too much of a step down in overall handling. I know the last gen Ventus V12 Evo's had a reputation for soft sidewalls so i'm hoping it's been improved a bit on the new Evo2's.

I'll update and give a little feedback after they are installed next week.

 

I had a similar experience going from run-flats to the Hankooks. Never want to go back.

 

The truly obsessive/compulsive check out the local approved installers on the tirerack.com website and have their tires shipped there with a guaranteed installation price.

 

Most people go up to 215 45 17 which also helps with the ride. Did you checkout the Sumitomo HTR Z III they get good reviews and are cheaper than the Hankook's you bought.

 

2006 MCS.

I'm following down this same path. I've had the OEM Dunlop Sport Run Flats, new on the front, originals in the rear. 35k miles. The booming from the rears is deafening.

I was perusing TireRack's web site, and found the Ventus V12 Evo K110, 205/45-17 on closeout for $66 each! It was right around $300 including shipping. I think I paid $300 just for one of the new front Dunlops.

These $66 Ventus are W-rated for 168mph!

I'm not sure how soon I'm going to put them on; the Dunlops still have a lot of miles in them. I may drive the car more just to wear out the tires. I'm anxious to see how much more enjoyable the car will be with new shoes. In the meantime, the Ventus are sitting in the basement awaiting future installation.

 

Great bang for the buck and performer.

 

I've been trying to search for a set of non-rft, and hit this site via google. I am extremely glad that I did. I bought a set (4) of these tires, and shipping directly to an installer recommended by tirerack.

Awesome stuff. 205/45/17... loved the price, and the reviews. Just wanted to say thanks for everything in the thread. Helped out a lot.

 

I went with 215/45/17 hankook v12 evo 2

I feel like the handling was lost a bit but there was a gain in comfort

At the moment i don't know if im 100% happy.

 

Try increasing the tire pressure by 2psi and run it for a few days. Try another 2psi and keep testing until it gets too harsh, then go back. The psi is temperature (weather)sensitive, but also on low profile tires to how aggressive you turn and heat up the tires.

I have BFG's but settled on 37psi as the compromise between smoother ride and the snappy handling on the steet. I have measured the tires increase to 40psi after 30 minutes on the track.

 

I've had the new Evo 2's on for a few months now.

The ride/comfort was improved alot with these tires. However they are not as precise as my previous Hankooks but thats to be expected as the Evo2's are a less aggressive tire than the RS2's were. Softer sidewalls = better ride ...i'd say ride was improved 70% on tires alone. They have decent outright grip in the dry but felt really good in the wet. If this were not my daily driver, i'd likely go with a more aggressive tire but for the daily commute these are a decent compromise for the price.

 

I just had the Ventus's installed at a local shop. Paid $26/tire plus tax, etc.

The ride is improved somewhat. Some of the of harshness is softened over. (I've got the Sport Suspension. It's still pretty stiff). The handling feels to me to be about the same, maybe even better. New tires are going to be stickier than 6 or 8 year old tires that were on there.

But the QUIET! All that roaring from the Dunlops is gone. I can actually hear the engine and stereo now. Before, it sounded like I had a failing wheel bearing, or maybe two.

We'll see how the tires hold up. I've now got a 60 mile round trip commute, so I should be putting some miles on over the next year.

 

When looking at various tires there can be more than one tire with a similar model name.

Hankook makes two current (one on closeout) Max Summer tires-


V12 evo K110
Ventus V12 evo radials feature Hankook's High Tg Polymer & Specific Resin (HPSR) compound molded into a directional tread design featuring a Multiple Tread Radius (MTR) profile that combines notched shoulder ribs, independent intermediate tread blocks and a continuous center rib to blend powerful braking with predictable handling. XL load rated, W speed rated. 280 treadwear.
Tirerack test results from June 2011-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=149
This tire is value priced, and offers basic performance. Sumitomo HTR ZIII offers more on a budget.
205/45-17 $67 each
215/45-17 $80 each


V12 evo2
The Ventus V12 evo2 radial’s high-grip silica tread compound features an innovative functionalized styrene polymer that lowers tire rolling resistance to enhance vehicle fuel economy without surrendering dry and wet traction. This compound is molded into a directional tread design featuring notched shoulders and 3D intermediate ribs flanking a continuous center rib to promote dry handling and traction. Circumferential and Aqua jet lateral grooves promote efficient water evacuation from the center of the tire’s contact patch to enhance hydroplaning resistance and wet traction. Grooves in the intermediate blocks feature stealth technology and a unique wing tip design that reduces noise. XL load rated, W and Y speed rated, 320 treadwear.
205/45-17 $96 each
215/45-17 $102 each, Y speed rated.
Tirerack test result from July 2014-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=190
V12 evo2 is improved from K110 but is still a value based tire but delivers responsive handling and good dry grip with good mpg.

Old tires whether runflat or not get noisy as the rubber hardens. New tires are always going to feel much better than the same tire that is worn (replacing tires with same model).

When buying older tire models you are getting old technology and sometimes even old tire stock so check the manufacturer's date on the sidewall (four digit number, has week of production and year).

XL load rated tires have a stiffer sidewall that doesn't flex as much as Standard load (SL) rated tires. W speed rated or Y speed rated are fine for the MINI, not really significant for street use.

The evo2 tire has a better mpg feature that the other tires lack.