That look better! All the other benefits seal the deal, 225/50/18 soon. Love the pics, it says 1000 words.

 

I was going to do these tires as well, but now thinking 225-55-18 All Terrain tires, with the 2" lift from Detroit Tuned.

 

Just had my Kumho's installed Friday. Here is my review. Much quieter over the Pirelli run flats. I don't believe currently after taking through some of my favorite "motoring" roads in the area that they lose anything in handling. The ride is definitely more smooth, but I have the sport suspension, so there is still a little bit of "harsh" on the really bad roads.

Got to drive them in a downpour near South Bend IN yesterday and did great in the rain. No hydroplane or wiggle in the trenches. We'll see how that continues as the tires wear.

Two observations. The GPS app on my phone clocked me at 3mph slower than the digital speedo with the Run Flats. Now I am almost dead on. Weird considering I went from a 205/55/17 Pirelli to the 215/55/17. Only the width changed???

Second, my gas mileage is suffering. On the highway yesterday, I could only manage 27.5 where I was getting 30 mpg with the Pirelli RTF. Any thoughts?

 

the second number is not a direct measurement of height but rather a ratio (percentage) of the tire width. in this case, you went from 55% of 205 to 55% of 215 for sidewall height. times two.

that's about a 2.65% increase in radius.

 

Nice review; I'm definitely going to consider these at replacement time. The tires are slightly larger in diameter and width. A 225/50-17 is about the same diameter as the 205/55-17.

I think one trip is too little information to judge fuel economy; average over several full tanks of fuel (assuming similar driving conditions).

 

Exactly!

 

Try a couple PSI higher. The tighter the tires the less the rolling resistance the higher the gas mileage......to a point. You have to decide what is more important ride or mpg. Interesting to read on motoringfile.com that the new R56 GP will have non-runflats as the standard.

 

Checked the tire pressure after a couple of weeks of driving. They were set at 31 PSI. I raised to 45 and am already getting better feedback from the mileage readout. I checked later in the day with more driving and they had gone up to 47. A little noticeable harsher ride, but still way better than the runflats. 51 Psi is the max listed on the sidewall of the tire. Time for some snow to see how they fare in the white stuff!

 

you guys got me sold on these.. Im reading the there is a bit of sidewall movement/flex during cornering on this, on tirerack. Has anyone noticed?

Also I hear they have tramlining issues on the freeway.. Anyone care to comment??

 

No tramlining at all, at least from my seat. Maybe a little more cushion on hard corners, but cornering is all together better. Im running at 35 psi. Can't see going much more than 37?

 

Sidewalls are not as stiff and yes, you can feel it. Worth the trade off, IMO. It's not bad, just noticeable when you hit cloverleafs at 60 MPH.

 

Driving home the other day with my wife asleep, she got jarred awake several times and demanded I get rid of the run flats.

My car's at the tire shop getting Khumo 4x's put on! Im really excited to have a comfortable car to drive

I got the 225/50/17's put on, I'm hoping there is no rubbing or other issues! I doubt it though

FYI - Khumo has a 75 dollar rebate right now. my cost out the door before rebate was 581. FTW!!!! The place I went to matched tire rack, and since I'm keeping the RFT's he knocked off the "tire disposal fee"

 

don't forget to post back your impressions of the khumos. even if it's all been said before . if ya get a chance please clip a couple pics i'm interested to see how that size tire looks.

 

Well, I just got the car back and went for a drive, especially on roads that used to be unbearable with the runflats. It was MUCH smoother and much more quiet. Still not as smooth as my wife's infiniti, but a marked improvement.

I was a bit worried that 225/50/r17s would rub when the wheel was turned in all the way, but so far no issues at all.

I need a bit of more road time to determine if the swap was totally worth it though, right now I'm pretty happy

The tires do look really fat on the rim, which is ok by me, especially since i have the anthracite wheels and scratches would show so easily.


I also might add that the 225/50/17 is a direct fit to the 205/55/17. According to the tire calculator the wheel diameter is identical to the 205's, so no speedo issues..
Here's some pics of the wheels (sorry my car is filthy in the first 2 pics)

 

Those are defiently beefy in the 17" size. Lots of rubber there... Everyone keep in mind the benefits will be more dramatic in the 18" size, since the stock 17" runflats have more cushion compared to their 18" counterparts.

Earlier this week we had a major rain and wind storm and I was impressed. Car sticks to the road and now I have a great deal more appreciation for the awd... just fantastic.

 

what tire pressure are you guys running with these tires? I have mine at 35 psi on all 4 wheels.

 

Hey guys, has anyone used the Yokohama Geolander A/T tires? I want to go with All Terrain tires but want to ensure whatever I go with is fairly street friendly.. not real loud or obtrusive.

 

I was thinking of this tire for my car, I have a set of well worn ContiProContact SSRs in 195-55-16. I was looking at the 205-50-16

 

Another happy customer.

Had a set of four in 225/45-18 installed yesterday. Wife is ecstatic over the change from Goodyear Efficient run flats. She was especially pleased at the reduction in bump steer and noise. Ride obviously improved as well.

Thanks to all who took the time to post their experiences on this thread.

John

 

6 month update. I finally had some worthy snow to drive in the past few days. My first winter in the Mini, so hard to compare to old tires, but my impression is this: Good not great in the snow. Accelerating with the all wheel drive is adequate. Turning and cornering in anything over an inch of snow is a crap shoot. I am used to all wheel drive/4wd Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango, Ford F-150 with much more aggressive off road type tires, so I am not sure if I am just used to more bite with that type of tire. I braked hard to take a turn off a deceleration land with 2-3 inches of loose brown road snow and didn't turn a bit. skidded up the mpu that runs next to the road. Cherokee would take this turn like it was on rails. I even try to accelerate out of the turns and that doesn't work well. I think I may keep these tires as my summer tire and go to a snow tire, or small off road light truck tire next winter.

With that said, driving slow and getting through the thicker stuff is possible with these tires.

 

Did you have it in traction mode? They are all season tires, thats pretty much what there supposed to do.. get you through. "Good not great" is what an all season should be. So I say your review is spot on. Just can't be aggresive and they are fine is my experience.

I also notice in your above post your tire pressure is at 45? You bet you are going to slip and slide, might as well run bologna skins. Set them at 35psi...