What kind of tires should I order assuming I get no snow, but it does get down to the 20's in the winter. I'm not willing to change tires for the seasons, it's all or nothing.

I would prefer to have summer tire performance, but I've heard summer tires are slick when the temperature drops under 40 degree F.

 

The mini I just picked up has summer (performance) tires. I looked up the brand on Tirerack.com and they don't even have a rating for them under freezing or snowy conditions. I couldn't get all season with the rims I chose (rotator spoke) so I might have to look into all seasons as the weather gets worse. We can get some bad weather here in Ohio. Also you should check out the tire/wheel forum. There are lots of good answers there.

 

from your location (NC) I can tell you that summer only tires are fine. I have run summer only tires on all my cars here in NC for the last 8 years with no problems. They only get slick when the temp drops REAL low (20 degrees or less). How often does that happen here? Almost never. And even then, its not like they are THAT slick, they are just a bit harder than normal, still plenty safe to drive on though. Summer only tires suck in snow, b/c they don't have a lot of sipes, but how often does it snow here? Again, almost never. They do fine with the kind of weather we see, no reason to take the performance hit for such a rare occurence IMO.

 

The General Exclaim UHP is listed as a summer tire, but its reviews [by customers as well as Tire Rack]. say that it is a minimal M+S tire, too. I'd say that if you are looking for an all year tire that has occasional cold weather capabilities, too, that this will fill your bill. It doesn't hurt, either, that it is top-rated in its class and is a real bargain, cost-wise.

 

Most pure "summer" tires will turn into bricks (i.e. rock hard) below 40 degrees or so. That being said, there is a grey area for some tires as welshmenwillnotyield stated.

I live in the Washington DC area and we get very little snow, but we always get some. Even so, I choose to run summer tires for 8-9 months of the year, and I put snow tires on for the winter. They perform SO MUCH better than my summer tires do when the temperature drops into the 30s or below, even if there is no snow at all on the ground.

 

Does anyone know what kind of 15" summer tires MINI is putting on new MC's? If I knew I could do some research.

 

Regarding the General Exclaim UHP, I have a friend in Knoxville who runs the General Exclaim UHP throughout the year, except when she tracks her car. She told me it is a "tire for ALL seasons", even though technically it is listed as a summer tire. Now, I know that Knoxville gets some wintertime snow and is beastly hot in the summertime, so this is the basis for my opinion on this subject.

I thought really hard about getting the Exclaims, but ended up getting the Kumho ASX all seasons for my car...mostly because we DO get snow and ice where I live, and the temps fall near zero. On the otherhand, in the summertime, we are usually in the mid-90s. I like the tires I bought for my MCS...so much that I just ordered the same for my MC. When I take the MCS to the track, I just switch out to my Azenis.

 

I've never had any problem with traction with summer tires in winter around here. Sure, they aren't quite as grippy as they are in the summer, but more than serviceable. I wouldn't consider them a safety issue until the temp gets WAY colder than it ever does here in NC. Perhaps it might be an issue with ST cheater tires (Azenis, RS2, Ecsta MX) or some super grippy summer compound, but I've run "normal" summer only tires (AVS ES100, Parada spec2, Dunlop FM901, BFG G-force sport, Khumo Ecsta 712, just to name a few) and had no issues whatsoever. They gripped a lot better (even in the cold) than the only all season tire I've ever run around here (Eagle RS-A). I wasn't autocrossing in <40 degree weather or anything, but there was plenty of grip to still be safe.

Quit worrying so much about it, this is an issue only for people who see "real" winter, not the kind of stuff we get in NC. You'll be fine.

 

I found that GS-D3's do fine in colder months... like below 30F's.
they don't stick as well as in the summer time, but not slippery like S03's
under 45F.

i now run SumitomoHTR+'s on my MCS. the ride is very quiet, comfy,
sticks very well for an all season tire, ZR rated, and very cheap to
buy... readily available anywhere.

 

The information in this thread is pretty consistent and good advice. I'd like to ask why winter/summer tire/wheel switching isn't an option? I got some all season original equipment for the Cooper tires/wheels from the dealer at a discount (I guess he got stuck with a bunch over time from people who wanted different wheels and tires from what were shipped with the car). For less than the cost of four Exclaims I purchased 4 all season tires and wheels.

That said, I'm not sure the smaller all seasons will do better than the larger DS-G3 Goodyear summer tires at 20 degrees on dry pavement. I am sure they do better in snow, but you won't find me trying to test that theory by using the Goodyears in snow.

What I do know is I immediately drive less agressively with the smaller all-season tires on the car. They aren't unsafe since I don't drive them any closer to their limit than I drive the summer tires. I just know what I have and drive within their slower sphere. It would be the same with summer tires at 20 degrees. Drive slower, no closer to their limit and although you will be driving more slowly than you might if it were 80 degrees, you aren't less safe. Same goes for driving all seasons all year around. You will be driving them more slowly at 80 degrees than you would summer tires, being equally close to their limit.

Well, I know what I mean but his reads kind of hard, eh? The road must be too cool for my summer logic this morning.

 

you've never been through a NC winter. Choosing a time to actually switch would be damn near impossible, as its never really "winter" per se. Snow tires wouldn't make any sense at all, we only see snow once, MAYBE twice a year, and it can often actually get quite warm in winter, so they'd burn up super quick. Maybe switching to all seasons for winter months would make sense, but its hardly a big benefit and I really wouldn't know when to make the switch.

 

I tend to agree with you. . . summer tires should be fine. Know when the road is cold and drive accordingly. Sort of like knowing when your tire pressure is set for cruising and commuting and not driving at high speed until you air up.

I actually have three sets of tires (I got the same deal from the dealer on some summer Mini Cooper tires/wheels for the cost of three Exclaim UHPs). I use the smaller summer tires for commuting (by smaller I mean Cooper dimensions instead of S dimensions and mostly I mean lighter). I get better gas mileage and I'm not using up the expensive rubber while cruising at 55-65 in traffic with police radar everywhere (I drive through a few Indian Pueblos on my way to work). I used the all-seasons for those commuting purposes in the past with no significant noticable difference since there is no limit I'm approaching during my commute.

 

Dunlop Sport 01's on mine.

 

DC is quite similar for winter... which is why I didn't buy Bridgestone Blizzaks for my snow tires - they are considered to be some of the best snow tires available, but they perform TERRIBLY on dry pavement, and the rubber is too soft, so they get eaten alive on dry pavement.

There are other snow tires that won't burn up so fast when there isn't any white stuff around, and actually peform quite well in the dry as well. Take a look at the Pirelli SnowSports - they even have a RunFlat model, if you prefer (which, incidentally, I do).

I personally think that the SnowSports are the perfect overall winter tire for the DC area... and quite likely the same would apply to NC.

Take a look at the reviews on the Tire Rack site for them (both the RFT & non-RFT versions), you'll see what I mean.

 

If its "all or nothing", then this comes down to your personal preference. Do you really need "performance tires"? Your the only one who can answer that.

All-season tires are a compromise. They do best between 20 - 50 degrees. Above that, performance tires are much better. If your on snow (doubtful in NC) then snows are, of course, better.

Performance tires can be terrible at low temperatures. I tried driving with PS2 when temps were around 30 degrees (not a MINI) and never again. They are simply not worth the risk of using in cold weather.

 

+1 ^

I came close to writing off my Miata last winter. Dry road 20 degrees out. The tires Yokoblama ES100's had turned into hockey pucks. I was astounded at the lack of grip. IMO if you are going to drive in under 40 degree temps get some all seasons. I put 4 Nokian Hakka 2 snows on the MINI & it goes like a little tractor in the snow.

 

You have an MC ordered with what size wheels?

If you truely have no snow then you can use Summer tires. Generally I would recommend All Season tires.

For an MC you don't need the highest levels of performance out of your tires although it's still fine to get good tires. You do compromise long treadlife and some comfort with more performance.

All Season tires will tend to offer good value and longer treadlife with good comfort but the particulars will vary.

 

15" wheels

 

A good place to start with 15" wheels would be

205/55-15

but you can also consider other sizes that will fit 15x5.5" rims and have tire diameter of near 24.3" or smaller.

 

Can anyone tell me what brand(s) of All season tires that Mini is placing on the 17" rims? I can't find any difinative answers. Is there more than one brand that Mini is using?

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...=Y&RunFlat=All

 

Boy, I hated those Dunlops all seasons (and it looks like I wasn't alone). Tell the dealer you expect him to mount the tires you choose and to eat the OE.

 

Actually, I LIKED my Dunlop runflats a heckuva lot more than those crappy, rounded cement-block Good Years. The Dunlops had a MUCH softer ride, but just wore too quickly on the MCS. I had an extra set of Dunlops that I was gonna use on my Cooper, but an interested buyer came in and bought them last week or the Dunlops would be on my Cooper right now, as I just junked the Good Years.

Now, BOTH MINIs are riding on Kumho ASX all seasons.

 

Hi Duffer,
I stayed with A/S tires after wearing out the OEM Conti's 175/65-15's. I changed size to 195/55-15, less than 3% diff on the speedo and lowers the car about a 1/4" closer to the ground, which I like.
I have stayed with All Season tires do to trips to NC to see family. Only needed the extra traction once in four years, during a snow/sleet storm, but was glad I had them at that point.
Have been thru 3 sets of Falken Ziex 512's. Liked them a lot. I understand the new 912's are even better.
Am now on Khumo ASX's, just to try something diff. Seem to be equal to the 512's.