--I just came from MOH and Darrel had told me that the performance run flats were quieter and more comfortable than the all season tires. Is that true? I asked about wet weather traction and he said that the DSC would give it all the traction it needs and that most Minis in hawaii run with the high performance instead of the All Season. Is that true?

What does everyone here have on their Minis? Just wondering. I believe Darrel, I just wanted first hand input from Hawaii Mini owners. Thanks one and all.

--pyratio

 

When I had my MCS, I yanked the 16" runflats and put on 18" Yokohama Parada Spec2s. Great tire with awesome grip. Quiet and rode better than the runflats. IMHO, any UHP/MP tire will be superior to runflats in grip, and ride quality. For noise considerations, you should check reviews at TireRack.

As for performance rfs v.s. all season rfs, the performance will always get the nod. The all seasons need to have a different tread pattern to evacuate the water/snow/slush from the contact patch. This in itself will give you more noise.

 

--thanks Beastmaster, I'll keep that tire suggestion in mind when I have to replace the runflats. Yeah I'd actually prefer a more easily serviced tire and hollow to boot rather than a runflat, but we can't choose them that way out of the factory. We should write to Mini about that huh? My co-worker told me the same thing because his run flats destroyed themselves prematurely and he went to standard radials instead of going back to run flats.

--pyratio

 

Most MINI owners keep the tires that came with the car.
So 16" and 17" tires tend to be runflats, people try to wear them out before considering switching to non runflats.

I think more runflat owners have performance runflats rather than all season runflats.

If you live in a really wet area of Hawaii and want to have tires that handle wet roads better then the all Seasons are worth a look. Maybe try talking to Alex@tirerack.com about the differences since tirerack sells both types of runflats.

With my own MINI I felt that non runflat performance tires gave me quite good performance, ride quality, and comfort with moderate noise which is expected with a performance tire. The downside is high prices and lower tread ratings.

 

I read in Car and Driver an interview with Goodyear engineers who flatly stated that compromises made in order to improve snow performance invariably worsened performance in the wet. They managed at last to get the GT+4 to work as well as... their second cheapest performance tire while costing the same as the most expensive one. Unless there has been some revolution only in all-season tire technology (without a corresponding advance in max performance tires), I'd expect the summer-only tires to provide better performance in both the dry and wet but worse in mud. Tirerack seems to be a bit inconsistent on this--see the last post here: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=916797

As for comfort: the all-seasons may well have been engineered to provide very low rolling resistance and thus ride as badly as the performance tires, so only a test drive will answer that. And highly directional tires such as the 9000 tend to start quiet but get very noisy with age.

 

--I was thinking of going to BF Goodrich or Yokohama non-run flats with my second set of tires. Does anyone know if you can go a little bigger on the sidewall depths without problems? I've never had 45 before. It just sounds sooo well... close to the ground. Eeek! any suggestions? Thanks everyone.

--pyratio

 

The 45 only describes the ratio of width to height, while it is absolute height that determines closeness to the ground. That is, the sidewall is 45% as tall as the tire is wide. So a 205mm wide tire has a sidewall height of 92mm or ~3 5/8"

Not too low since that is the same as 185/50 or 265/35 would provide, and Hawaii roads are really not so bad.

If you change the overall height the speedometer/odometer will be off and effective gearing would change. So it would be best to combine taller sidewalls with shorter wheels, as the factory does.

 

--The MOH manager also mentioned that some people treat their non-run flats with a certain internal spray to make them less susceptible to punctures. Has anyone heard of this? I'd like to put that on my clunker now. My new Kuhmo's have picked up 3 nails in 6 months. Of course I do work out in Sand Island so... Thanks everyone.

--pyratio

 

I think you're talking about that Green Slime that they sell at Daiei.

 

--Hey there Beastmaster, actually I know that Green Slime is for repairing punctures, but I think Darrel was talking about a PRE-Treatment. To make the tires less susceptible to punctures. If no one knows what he was talking about then s'okay. I don't either. S'why I was asking if anyone knew of something cool like that.

In theory if someone could make something like that it would act like human skin and muscle. It would lie on the inside of the tread dry on the exposed part but slightly liquid underneath. When a puncture comes through the tire the more liquid part moves towards the puncture and starts to fill the gap between the nail or other foreign object and the tire. Effectively making a regular tire a self healing tire. Sealing it so you can limp to a gas station to get a regular patch.

I know I read too much science fiction, but if someone can make this by all means steal my idea.

--pyratio

 

Some people coat their tires with Green Slime for added insurance against punctures. And there are other products people use to pre-treat their tires, but I just can't remember what it is. If you go to Yajima's Service Station on King/Keeaumoku, they used to put some sealant in tires for this exact purpose. However, I think it was labor intensive as they dismount the tires and then coat the inside of the tire.