Hi and sorry in advance if this post is a repeat.

I am new to the forum and just put a deposit on a new Countryman All4. I bought it off the lot and it has more options than I would have ordered.

One of the options is the Sport Package with the 18 inch wheels and performance tires. I live in NH and have always had all season tires on my vehicles.

The dealer said that he would swap the 18" wheels and performance tires with some 17" wheels and all season tires if he has a car on the lot with them.

I'd like your advice as to whether it is worth keeping the performance tires and getting a second set of rims/tires, whether I should just swap the tires over in the winter for 18" all seasons, or whether I should just swap them now for the 17" wheels and all season tires.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

I would lean towards dedicated winter tires and wheels. Blizzaks to be exact.

If you think you can get around fine on all seasons, the dealer 17" swap route certainly is most cost effective.

Keeping the runflats or not is another consideration........ We ditched the rough riding runflats right away and got the tires in my sig.......

 

The 17" wheels will give a softer ride than the 18's. Having a dedicated set of snow tires on a second set of wheels is the best for the winters here in NE

 

Two sets of tires is optimal, but with awd, you would be fine with a very good allseason thats good in the snow, like Nokian WRs, or Conti Extreme Contact DWS.

That being said you have two other issues, do you want runflats, and is the dealer giving you incentive to switch to the cheaper wheel set up?

 

If they were black or anthracite/gunmetal...I would keep the 18"s...the darker colors hide the brake dust.

Then I would get a set of 17"s for winter.

 

Also when dealer takes the 18 and gived the 17 instead will he be doing any discount?

I would definitely get the 18 to use at summer and would get other cheaper rims for the winter which are 17 or even 16, you know NH salt harms the paint of the rims. I graduated from NHC 00'

 

Thanks for your replies. I kept the 18 inch wheels with the performance tires. I will start looking for someone selling some 17 inch wheels with all season tires.

I am very happy with my purchase and decision to keep the 18s. Dealer was going to only do an even swap by the way.

 

I have 18" rims and swapped out my runflats for non-runflat all seasons. Glad you kept the 18's as they are awesome and the dealer would have been making out on the better end of that deal.

 

Lindsey, what kind of all season tires did you get and would you recommend them?

 

I just ordered a Countryman All4 with 18" rims without the Sport package. I spend a lot of time in northen NE. I prefer a second set or rims with snows.
I agree with the other comments. I would add if you are mostly in the city you are not going to get stuck with the all seasons. That said - braking is much better with good snows, and traction is better too. Downside is that the snows are usually noisier and if you buy a second set of rims you will need extra tsp sensors (Approx $200.00 for each set .... Thanks Judges) or the idiot warning light in the dash will be on all winter.
I plan in the fall to buy 17" rims and a full size or space saver spare. Blizzaks and other soft compound tires are great but if you do a lot of mileage they are only good for a year or two since the soft snow compound is only for 50% of the tread. Lately I have been using Winter Tech snow tires or Firestone. Excellent tread life, aggressive tread, and great price but noisier than the Blizzaks. When my 18" tires are done I will buy normal 18" and keep the space saver spare in the back.
Good luck.

 

The TPMS sensor are $200 for all four not each. I don't find a spare necessary, just carry a tire repair kit with pump and some green slime. Best winter tires are Nokians hands down. If you get Nokians WR's they are technically an all season, and wear quite well, and are still better in the snow than Blizzaks.

 

I got Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus and would highly recommend them.

 

AlfaDude1…I have the 17" Tunnel Spoke wheels with the all seasons that came with the Countryman..almost 3000 miles..I might be interested in selling soon as I decide on a summer wheel/tire set.

 

I ended up swapping my 18 inch silver turbo fan wheels and tires for 17s. I posted my 18s in the marketplace section:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t/19109/cat/46

I don't know how many people visit the marketplace section so I figured I'd post this info here too. Let me know if you have any questions.