Hi everyone, newbie here! My husband and I bought our 2006 MINI Cooper S in 2008 from Carmax (a big switch from our Dodge Durango!) and it's been great! However, we are having an issue. One of our tires need replacing and we aren't sure if we should keep the run flats or switch to regular. We are short in money because my husband is still an undergrad, and we need some experienced MINI owner advice!
1. If we switch to regular tires can we keep the rims? I have heard yes and no and it's confusing!
2. Also any brand of tire that seems to do better with snow? My husband says that the tires aren't very good in the snow (live in Chicago).

Any advice would be great, my husband drives this car for daily driving to and from work and school. Thanks!

 

Welcome to the madness ! Snow i would not know live in very deep south ! But I am sure someone on here can help U out or look on the site for more info . Let me be the 1st to say welcome to the Cooper Madness
El Tiger

 

Welcome J Pradas!

 

A lot of members switch to non run flat tires for the more comfy ride. You can definitely switch. I wouldn't know about the winter tires, as I'm also from the south. But from what I've heard you need a dedicated pair of wheels/tires for the winter if you actually want to perform well in the snow/ice as well as on summer roads.

 

Welcome JPradas Nice looking MINI.

You can reuse the rims if you decide to put on non-runflat tires. If you're going to use snows, get a 2nd set of rims and just swap them out each season.

ask if you have local MINI questions.

click here for the club site

 

Watch CraigsList for 4x100 lug pattern and either 16" or maybe as low as 15" wheels. You might even get lucky and find a whole set of winter wheels with the tires on the. I live in NH and am a big fan of Blizzaks, but there are plenty of good brands of snows. Good luck.
WeaverNH

 

Welcome! I made the switch to Goodyear Eagles on the OEM rims - no issues swapping out the runflats and the ride is soooo much better! Get a Slime spare tire kit and/or AAA for the unexpected.

Check out tirerack.com for their reviews and recommendations for all weather tires or search NAM for tire recommendations - lots of threads on tires. Good luck!

 

Welcome, yes you can reuse your stock rims without runflats.

For tires that has too many options, read reviews and do some homework. Remember they are the 4 things your depending on.

 

Welcome to the forum, tires are a big grabbag. Look at the MARKETPLACE sect
ion of this forum. There are lot of tire and tire and wheel offerings that will save you some money possibly. If you post the question in the Tire and Wheel section of the forum you will get lots of opinions.