I don't think I want to change tires & wheels twice a year and don't really have a place to store them. So assuming I'm stuck w/ one set of everything and have 17" rims, what do you experts recommend?

I had the 205/55/R17 Pirelli's that came with the car. We drive a mix of city and highway. Not concerned with high sports performance or looks and even the stiff ride and noise - just safety, economy and practicality.

Dealer is pushing Contipro Contact all seasons.

Appreciate your help, in advance. This is so not my area of expertise!

Lori

 

Any good all season tire will be fine. If you want to do some research, go to Tire Rack http://www.tirerack.com/ and read about different brands. Also, google tires by brand and they will often have comparative graphs showing noise, comfort, wear and etc. There's nothing special about putting rubber on a MINI, it's no different than putting it on any other vehicle. Tires is tires.

Guys that are looking for performance will get all hot and sweaty about their favorite brand and tread as well they should but don't fall for performance for a daily driver. High performance tires by definition get much less mileage than all seasons.

 

I will do some research now.

 

40k on a set of run flats is not bad at all. Just FYI, I only got 24k out of my Conti Pro Contact SSR's on my hardtop. I do drive aggressively however, so your mileage may vary.

 

What exactly does it mean to drive aggressively? Fast? Honk at people? I don't mean anything by this question - I just don't know what it means or if I do it.

I would be very upset to need another set of tires in only 25k. Don't any of them last longer?

 

To many, aggressive means taking the curves quite a bit faster than the neighbor's SUV ever dreamed of. One thing that will extend the life of tires on a MINI is rotating them on a regular basis, about every 5,000 miles. The built in negative camber wears the inside much faster. If you go with bi-directional tires, you can rotate them front to back straight back and back to front crossed.

 

That is right but I also do a lot of fast takeoffs(not burning rubber though) and sometimes hard braking.

 

If you want long lasting tires then look at a set of all seasons with a really high utQg rating or the tread wear rating. Higher the number longer they will last. With a quick search on tire rack this is the highest in 17" and they are warranting them for 6yrs 60k

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

 

Appreciate your advice, all. Very kind to take the time!
L.