While hard on the wallet, it is of course exciting to buy new tires for your car. I get to (likely) ditch the run flats and choose the tires that fit my desires.

I am not changing from my OEM wheels, I simply cannot afford to. So I am limited to the OEM size (205/55/17) or the sizes that will fit my wheels which luckily gives me more choices as The OEM tire size has limited options for ultra high performance all season tires.

I have read a ton of threads on here and see folks are happy with a variety of approaches in terms of size which is very encouraging. I am looking at either 215/55/17 or 225/55/17 but am happy to get advice on any size tire that fits the OEM wheel.

I will be buying an Ultra High Performance All Season tire and will likely avoid run flats. Continental DWS06, Michelin A/S3, Cooper RS3-A, Goodyear F1 and tires of that ilk are what I am considering.

Thanks for your input and advice!

Frank

 

I always enjoy getting new tires. I like doing the research, choosing which to get and then, of course, driving on them. Good luck with your decision.

 

I've been running Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetrics's for a little over 2 years now, solid tires. 99% of my daily driving they've kept up extremely well. If I had anything bad to say about them it would be that I had them replaced at 20k miles under their warranty but honestly probably could have gotten 25-28k out of em , the shop measured wrong and there was 2-3mm of tread depth left. I put on 25k miles per year, 70/30 split between freeway and backroads/spirited driving. I'm moving to a set of Michelin A/S 3+'s on Sunday to try something different, I can post back with my thoughts if interested but be forewarned I'm also comparing two different sizes 205/55/16 vs 215/45/17.

 

The Conti DSW06 is sold under the "SureContact RX" description/name at some tire stores and you may be able to get them cheaper than the DWS06 variant. As I understand, the only difference is the name and tread pattern.

https://www.continentaltire.com/prod...-20545zr17-88w


I picked some up at the local NTB for a reasonable price.

 

I am an amateur here with either a stupid question or brilliant insight. You say your options are: 205/55/17 215/55/17 or 225/55/17. Wouldn't you need to reduce the ratio to have the same total diameter with something like: 205/55/17 215/50/17 or 225/45/17?

 

Why avoid run flats? My 2019 Mini came with run flats and they feel great. Their prices are also not much different than regular tires.

 

Yes this is true for the most part. And getting new tires and/or wheels combo is one of my favorite, albeit sometime expensive hobby ! On our R53, I ended up staying with stock size 205. However, I opted to go with BFGoodrich G-force A/S, the one with the wider shoulder tread- excellent 40K miles tires. We have this exact tires on one of our daily Juke AWD for 20K or so and love it! Would have gotten the same on the F60 too had they offer the sizing I am after but didn't so ended up with Continental- not a bad tire, just different dynamic and more luxury/comfort for daily commute over sport handling pe se.

Tires are not create equal from one manufacture to another so the absolute size and size wall dimensions can ultimately varies...Try a couple of tire calc below to get an idea. General rule of thumb is to stay within the 3% overall OEM circumference vs the new plus sizing that you thinking about- this keep the speedo from being too much off and messing up the AWD components etc...2WD you can go staggered with no problems.

An example: Our F60, even though we stay at the 18 diameter size, I chose to take it up to 3% delta in aspect ratio and tire width combo...as you can see, it is just about perfect- raised overall vehicle height by 10mm while filling out the fender gap better- more side wall to protect the new wheels, while at the same time, brought the speedo back to US standard- when I am going 60mph...the speedo is pretty spot on! I read somewhere that MINI and German cars in general have their speedo calibrate to Euro standard ie 100 km/h = 62 mph US. ymmv.

https://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Tire...&ismetric=true

http://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp

 

For our diameter/width, I tried hard to find a decent tire at a decent price that was run flat. The options are limited.

But then you open it up to non-runflats and you have tons of options.

Mine ran fine with runflats too (17 inch wheels), but since I don't really ever get flats...

 

What is the size and brand/model of the tires?

 

Pirelli - Cinturato P7 All Season Run Flat

• Size: 195/55R16

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...RatingsReviews

 

I see. I had a loaner car(2019 cooper s) from my dealer recently and it had the same tires but in 17 inch size. The car only had 2500K on it, so pretty much new. These tires were softer than my Hankook ventus v2 concept 2(non run flat), which I liked, but I heard that when ran flat tires get worn a bit, they start making more noise. Basically if these P7s will be good and not noisy then I can upgrade to them when I will need new tires.

 

I replaced my well worn Pirelli Cinturato P7's run flats earlier this year with a set of Bridgestone Drive-Guards. While not technically a run flat they are effectively run flats. So far, i really like them.

 

How did your old worn P7s sound at the end of their life?
Was the ride much stiffer and noisier in comparison when tires were new?

 

Yes. The Pirellis were a bit noisier and felt the potholes much more near the end of their life but i did get about 7 yrs of use from them. That said, i did use them only from April to Nov (had dedicated winter tires) so i probably put about 55 - 60k on them. The Bridgestone Drive Guards have a better / quieter ride than the Pirellis did..

 

Thank you. Great advice.

 

I have been influenced by a lot of reviews and comments on this and other forums in regards to run flats. Stiff ride, loud etc. One of the only quirks about this car I have a hard time loving is the cabin noise. If non run-flats even reduce it 5% I'm in.

I have the Pirelli's now. They are unequivocally a solid tire. 60k of hard driving in varying conditions and just now are on the edge of needing replacement.

 

I'm and amateur too. Honestly, the tire size wizards say there are a handful of tire sizes that can be mounted on the OEM wheel size. There were not as many tire choices in the OEM size, so I think I'm considering the "closest" to OEM in overall performance expectations but getting a wider set of tires to choose from.

 

Continental Extreme Contact DWS06 in 215/55/17. Installed next week. Look forward to posting pics!

Thanks for the conversation and advice everyone.

 

They are on! In only 20 miles the main thing I can confirm is that they are SO MUCH quieter than the run flats.

In theory these are "Ultra High Performance" and designed to excel in Dry, Wet and Snow conditions (hence the DWS in the name).

They will be tested! We will see how they do.

 

Tires look nice with the rims! I thought of getting 215/45/17 instead of 205, but looks like you went with 55. I wonder how different is the speed shown in the speedometer

 

According to a few tire size speedometers the difference is 1.1 MPH. 65 is 66.1.

 

That is not bad. I was thinking about 215/45/17, where as OEM size is 205/45/17, but somewhere here on this forum, there was an interesting test/explanation. So I read that it might make steering a bit slower, acceleration too and tiny bit MPG hit as well.

 

Looking good. I’m on track to getting these as well. I read some reviews that these feel mushy on high speeds. Especially during cornering. What’s your experience?

Thanks!

 

With a total of 100 miles, mostly on side roads with excellent curves, my sample size is small.

All I can say is that it feels like a new car. Quiet and excellent ride. Great in the corners, it was raining hard and they just plowed through.

I thought the Pirellis handled great.....and these are easily on par.

 

I drive a lot for work and we live 10 miles from shopping, so lots of miles. I read some of those reviews as well, and every tire is a compromise of some kind. I wanted all weather, especially rain, high performance. These tires offered all weather performance and quiet. For my situation a compromise on the extreme end of cornering I was ok with.

If I lived in Arizona I'd likely have different rubber.....