I am with you there, they really disappear when in motion, which is neat but you can't see that when driving your own car unless you are next to someone with a clean, dark colored car.

I do have to question not going with a set of dedicated winter tires rather than the DWS's?? Not that DWS's aren't great in the winter, but if you are going through the effort to swap wheels, why not go full bore?

 

I just want a tire to ride on when the temps drop below 40 or if we have some light snow here in New England and keep the performance. Clubman is not my daily driver and for deep snow I have my truck.

 

Secretly your MINI is floating

 

2017 JCW ALL4 Clubman
Bridgestone Potenza's 225/40R18 92Y

Wrestling with replacing current tires (above) with flatable tires on my leased vehicle (turn in 3/2020). Wheels have Bembro brakes, so looking at additional $300 for spare kit plus adapter if I go with non-RFs. Husband has Michelins SST's on his BRZ and he thinks that's the way to go, but I'm not convinced to replace with something other than more RF's. The cost difference is ridiculous!

Would love other MINI owners to provide their experience and opinions to further weigh the PROS and CONS.

Thank you!!

 

I put together the spare and assorted tools needed for about $200. Best price at the time was from Detroit Tune for the tire/wheel combo. I found an aftermarket jack for cheap and keep a jack pad and breaker bar with a plastic coated socket for the lugs in the car at all times. Keep in mind with the Brembos your choices might be limited. If you are going to go the route of putting together the spare, ditch the RFs! I still have the RFs on my 2017 All4 S as I only have 14,000 miles on it, but when they get replaced the RFs are history.

 

So, as one who ditched the run flats on a Clubman S within the first months of my lease and has no regrets (I ordered my car with the factory spare so that part made the switchover easier to justify), I would remind you that at lease end, if you turn in the car it must have tires that are "equivalent" to what came from the factory, meaning run flats of equal or better quality, as determined by MINI. If your current factory run flats are good enough to pass the lease return inspection, then you can have them re-fitted at turn in time. If your current tires are worn beyond lease return standards, you will be buying a new set of run flats at lease end, or paying. The question I'd be asking myself is, where am I now and where will I be on the tire wear front 15 short months from now when my lease ends? Then the cost/benefit analysis becomes completely subjective.

 

Here is a spare tire kit with a tire! lol https://www.detroittuned.com/mini-co...f54-5-lug-kit/

 

Based on the last dealer service report, which was 3 weeks ago, tread depth was 7/32. I have no clue what's considered 'acceptable' turn in quality, do you? I guess I need to talk with my advisor about that aspect. From my perspective, I'm halfway through the lease and will probably turn in the vehicle, I might as well bite the bullet on another identical set of Bridgestone's and be done. I appreciate your comments!

 

minimum of 4/32.

 

I'm sad to report that, after over 12,000 very satisfying miles, the Vogues I had fitted onto my Clubman started getting louder, and louder, and louder. Now, with a little over 16,000 miles on the Vogues, they are singing to me at all speeds and on all road surfaces. VERY DISAPPOINTED.

The tread shows very little wear. I've had them rotated twice and the balance is good. Alignment was adjusted by the dealer and supposedly is within spec.The ride is great. Handling is good. But man, as enthusiastic as I was about these tires, I feel the need to report the noise.

I'd deal with it except we're coming to lease end so the run flat take-offs that have been sitting in my garage since December of 2016 are going back on soon and, should we get a 2020 Clubby, I think I'll try a different brand of tire next time.

 

I've got 26,000 out of the Michelin Pilot Super Sports on the Clubby and they are down to the wear bars on 3, and fully bald on the right front. I was going to wait until the fall to replace since we're not likely to see much, if any, more rain this season, but it probably won't make it that far, even on the rear. So, new Michelin Pilot Sport 4S on the way.

 

Love my Yokohama S Drive had them on both of my F56 and now on the F54 great in the rain and in the heat. I would not look at another Brand.

 

I put 4 wheels with tires in my F56 I be sure that 4 Semi Tires with wheels will fit just fine too.

 

You're old enough to know better than to drive a MINI with worn out rubber. Or maybe drifting is your thing???

 

Here we go again. It's adios run flat time for my 2020 Clubman S All4.

Won't do the Vogues again -- they were great for a few thousand miles and then they started singing opera arias at all speeds.

The Pirelli run-flats on the new 2020 seem a bit better than the ones that came on the 2017. Is it possible they have improved them over the past three years?

Still don't love them. At this point we are looking for smooth and quiet, calm ride..... I know, I know. It's a MINI not a 1979 Cadillac.

Our tire dealer recommended Cooper Evolution all-season Touring, V-rated in 225/50/R17 to replace the 225/45's that came with the car. At $90/tire plus mount and balance and tax, and a 45 day satisfaction guarantee, I'm willing to give these a try. No snow where I live, haven't seen rain in almost a year.

I'll report after they're on the car. Please don't laugh.

 

The Cooper tires don't look bad, but they certainly didn't perform well in the wet as compared to some of it competitors per the Tire Rack evaluation:


Since you don't see rain much, that may not be an issue. Hopefully they prove out well for your needs/expectations.

 

So, the groove pattern isn't too different from the OEM Pirellis. Definitely a bit smoother. Steering feels great. A bit quieter as far as overall road noise. Going to take a good long freeway run later this week and that will tell if just under $500 out the door was worth it or sheer folly. OEM run flats are stowed in the garage, with 500 miles on them. 35 psi cold fill all the way around. (Cold today in Southern California means 72 degrees -- not exactly like what the rest of the country is experiencing!!) As show in the photos below, the Cooper Evolutions with the 50 sidewall do fill out the wheel wells a bit more. I like the look, even though it's not exactly the hip low profile.

Top tire is the new 225/50/R17Cooper, bottom is the Pirelli 225/45 take off:

 

Did they offer you a Nitrogen fill?

 

Nitrogen was indeed offered. I eschewed the offer this time in favor of regular compressed polluted Southern California smoggy air, figuring that having the same toxic atmosphere inside the tires as outside would maintain the correct balance of the universe and, due to the law of compensating errors wherein bad air inside would cancel out the bad air outside, I feel it was the wiser choice.

Besides, there aren't a lot of locations to get the nitrogen fill so it was a PITA last time around to top off the tires with nitrogen, requiring a trip out to the tire store instead of just using my own garage compressor (wimpy compressor compared to the Gearhead Garage Find model, but at least the lights don't go dim when I fire mine up ).

Sad thing is I don't get to have the cool chrome with emerald green insert valve stem caps. Might have to spring for MINI caps, which cost a lot and will, no doubt, become souvenirs for the local kids.

Who knew MINI stewardship would be so complicated???

BTW, SWMBO loves the ride with the new tires. Without my asking, she noticed the improvement immediately. She said quieter and smoother and more refined. They know these things. I reminded her that balloon tires make for smooth rides, to which she replied, "You callin' me fat???" Another complication, I guess.

 

2017All4 - did you get to use your original sensors or did you get new ones? How dies the taller tire work fir you as compared to the original sized RF tire as far as handling go?Thanks!

 

The original valve stems remained on the wheels. I did the reset and it didn't take long at all for the pressure readings to show up. The tires were filled to 35 psi all around and that's what all 4 corners showed on the screen so, as far as I know, it's all working fine.

The ride quality on these new tires is excellent. Had the car on the freeway today and it was the smoothest, quietest ride I've ever experienced in any MINI. I think it handles better than with the OEM tires, but "better" is so subjective. Might not be as tight or have quite the firm steering feedback as the Pirellis. But the car goes where I point it. It almost feels a little less taught while still being right there. More relaxed I'd say. But easy to feel where the car is. Smooth but on point. We no longer feel sharp impact on every road seam -- still feel the road, but it's more subtle. Feels more like the old 5 series BMW we had before the days of run flats; more well-mannered but still firm.

I went through a couple of tight turns at a good clip on a long onramp. Did NOT take it to the limits.

Steering felt solid, car tracked well, no squeal or loss of bite. Also, there is more rubber contacting the road.

The other thing is the speedo is closer to accurate as the slightly larger tire diameter means a few less revolutions per mile. Since the factory settings for the speedo are about 3 mph fast, I have to remember that when the speedo reads the spend limit now, it may be about at that limit. Hope to do a GPS test to see what's actually happening.

In summary, way too soon to draw final conclusions (remember, I really liked the Vogues when first fitted, but they disappointed in the end). These Coopers are definitely better than the Vogues, and, for what I require, light years ahead of the OEM Pirelli RFTs.

I gave the Vogues back to the tire dealer and we took a close look at them. All 4 tires had moderate cupping on the outer edges, which would explain the high noise and it suggests under-inflation. I remember that the rears on the 2017 were kept at 32psi, per the door sticker. The 2020 sticker says 35psi on all 4 corners, so that might make a difference on edge wear.

The Cooper Evolutions were just under $90/tire plus mount/balance/tax. Tire Rack wanted $112/tire, with local installation extra, but that includes their hazard warranty. I didn't pay the extra $13/tire for the warranty my local tire store offers. I think I'm getting more than I paid for. We shall see. Especially if it ever rains here in California.

 

Thank you so much! Good things to think about. My OE runflats still have 1-2years if warranty on them (yes, I freaked out on the RFs when I got the car and got the dealer warranty on them ... and actually got 2 tires replaced for only $50 deductible each) so I’m considering either stepping up to 18 inch wheels or stay with the 17s. But the tires are what I’m really interested in, and the step up in tire sidewall that you selected really intrigued me. I’ll be keeping an eye out for more updates!

 

When you work out the numbers on the tire diameter, it is only 1/2" total or 1/4" taller radius wise. Not significant. Curious if the computer is smart enough to figure out the difference in diameter and compensate or if it actually affects the real speedo reading.

 

Cooper 225/50/R17 is 25.9" diameter = 800 revolutions/mile
Pirelli 225/45/R17 is 25.0" diameter = 835 revolutions/mile

Both tires weigh in at about 23 pounds.

About 4% fewer revs/mile with the Coopers.

When the speedo shows 65MPH, with the OEM tires, the car is actually going about 62MPH, so there's slightly less than a 5% speedo error factor.

If the brain inside the MINI computer doesn't adjust, then a speedo reading of 65 should be actual 64ish because the tires are, theoretically, covering about 4% more ground with each revolution.

But there are many variables, including inflation, load... the calculations go way beyond my pay grade.

Easiest solution is to just drive 100 miles per hour all the time and hope for the best. Right??

 

I put the Conti DWS-06 on my 2020 JCW Clubman. I have had these tires on my last three cars.


On previous cars:

I had the Mich AS3+ and these tires had 3/32 after 19000 miles. Mich purchased them back.

I have also tried the Brid Pole positions and Yok advan sports.

All of these tires have +'s and -'s ... in short ... the Conti's and Yok's .... I feel did the best in cold and snow/wet conditions. The Mich and Brid did better in dry/warmer conditions ...That's not to say that the Conti's and Yok's don't do well in dry warm conditions. But simply I feel the Mich and Brid did a little better ...