I just found out that you can not get the 18 inch wheel option and all season tires. This is disappointing considering I do want the 18 inch wheels and in my climate I must have all season tires. So now I will have to spend another $600 for additional tires and find someone to buy the performance tires that come with the car.

 

or buy a set of cheap smaller diameter wheels and run winter tires ... thats what i did ... the winters are much better than allseasons and so are the summers

my summers are 225/50R18 michelin pss
my winters are 205/70R16 dunlop grandtrek sj6

 

Actually that's what I do now but was hoping I could get away from changing wheels out twice a year and having to store the set I'm not using. I have considered this option again.

 

Or, just buy a set of aftermarket wheels and choose your own tires. We even have a massive catalog of BMW OEM wheels to choose from now...

 

Changing from winter to summer tires and vice versa twice a year is barely any more
work than rotating tires twice a year. Main difference is the storing and carrying tires
in and out of the house or garage to the car and back.

 

18"s on a mini with all season tires are not going to be very good in the winter, especially if you are used to Winter tires. Having more side wall in the Winter time makes a big difference IMO.

 

I opted for the summer tires (17" wheels though) since I have not had such great luck with all seasons this past season. I will feel much more comfortable having true winter tires than all seasons come winter.

 

Cristo. Don't agree. These are runflats which are a pig to get off and on compared to normal tires.
Izzle I agree... 18" tires in winter are not that great. I'm in Canada. 16" or 17" with aftermarket rims is the way to go. I run black in winter and silver in summer changes the look quite a bit. I ran AS for a while but after I had the car tuned it was way to much of a compromise from a handling point of view with over 230hp.

 

I didn't mean to suggest swapping winter/summer tires on the same rims.
That's not worth doing even with non-runflats.
I'm a firm advocate of a set of winter tire/rims and a set of summer tire/rims.
That's very easy to swap, only a little more time and effort than rotating tire/rims.
I did forget that you also have to clean the rims when you put them away for the season,
(well, you don't have to) but that can be thought of as a plus.
Sorry I wasn't clearer in the first post.

 

Winter roads tend to be rather rough and full of potholes from the salt and plowing, as well as frost heaving. 18" tires are pretty low profile, and many a member here has damaged or destroyed a wheel after hitting a pothole during the winter. Smaller wheels with taller tires are always a better option. Plus, if you go with a 16" or 17" wheel for the winter, you can run narrower tires which are better in the snow. Also mentioned by several members is the fact that all season tires are never a substitute for a good set of dedicated snow tires.