Looking for new tires for my 2013 CountryMan All4. Three months shy of 2 years and 33k miles, not bad for run flats, still have 5/32 left. I have narrowed the field down to the following run flats...

Sorted by price only...

Pirelli P7 - least expensive
BridgeStone DriveGuard - in between
Continental ContiContact SSR - most expensive

I am considering the ContContact SSR a my girlfriend put those on her MINI convertible and over the stock BridgeStones the ride is way superior. So much less harsh and quieter than the stock tires it is like an entirely different car since she put those on last year.

Am considering the Pirelli P7s as they are about $200 less than the Continentals, which is nice, and I see some good reviews out there.

Considering the DriveGuard as they are in between and the few reviews I have read sound good.

Does anyone have any experience with or is knowledgeable about any of these tires?

Thanks,

 

I have driven all 3 of them. DriveGuard rides significantly better than the SSR's. I'd say its one of the 2 best riding run flats I sell. I'd rank the Pirelli's 3rd in ride quality, assuming your looking at the RFT.

DriveGuard also has very good wet traction. In their day the SSR's were the best you could get. Bridgestone has raised the bar.

 

I just got back from getting the BridgeStone DriveGuards put on. My initial drive (street and cobblestone) felt quite a bit quieter and smoother. Initially very happy with these tires. Had been doing decibel readings with my phone and was about 80-90 @ 45mph. Ride home was 70-80 @ 50mph.

 

Hi, Alex-
I have heard the ads for the DriveGuards. Nine Plan Failed's post is the first I've seen for these on a Countryman. But...when I go to your site and enter my info ('13 CTM-S, 18"), they don't come up as an option, even though they do when I search by size. What gives on that? Does this tire satisfy load rating for the Countryman? Thanks for your help.

 

The Driveguard is available and has sufficient load in 225/50R17. I am not sure why they wouldn't come up for you. You do have to input the custom size, as they are not offered in your stock size.

 

Mine are the 18s: 225/45RF18 but they don't come up with a search.

 

My mistake. I had overlooked one of Bridgestone's key objectives. They intend Driveguard for use on passenger cars. Vehicles with lower centers of gravity. CUV, SUV and trucks are not the intended applications for Driveguard.

 

That is very odd, that is the exact same size I have. Not sure what the deal is, but when I do my 2013 CMSA4 or your 2013 CMS I see the DriveGuards. For each I have to pick the optional #2 after clicking tires to get the 18". I then click on show run flats only near the bottom left.

 

Let me dig a bit further into this for us.

 

It appears to come up under several different Countryman for me.

 

Got me. It works this morning, doing the search as NPF suggests (which is how I'd done it when I read his thread in the first place).

Thx!

 

How is the handling versus the Continentals? The ride and sound seem to be better from the reviews. I called TireRack today and the person I spoke with said, with not much confidence, "they should be as good, if not better than the Continentals." I like the Continentals, but if the Driveguard offer everything the OEM Continentals provide with more comfort and longevity, I'm in!

Thank you.

 

I replace conti SSR with brigrestone driveguard and very happy .

 

Thank you. I'm pretty sure these are what I'll get. I have a 2013 Hardtop S.

 

I am considering the Bridgestone drive guards on my 2013 clubbie s. I will be contacting Alex at tire rack soon!

 

Another vote for DriveGuard's. Lots of great reviews about hem.

 

I have the SSR's, and they ride like rocks. Grip is pretty good, but they are simply way too hard for our minis already pretty firm suspension.

Ditching runflats altogether, tired of bone-shattering impacts from every pothole.

 

Alex, when comparing DriveGuards vs RE960AS RFT on the Tire Rack site, the DriveGuards have higher ratings than the RE960 in all categories.

This seems strange to me. Does a touring tire really perform better all around than a performance tire, or am I missing something?