I'm thinking of replacing the stock runflats on my 07 MCS, it has almost 20,000 miles on it and they are the original Continental all-season 17" runflats. They actually have a good amount of tread left, but it rides like a log with these tires. This is my main car, and I commute back and forth from one side of the city to the other each day and occasional out of town trips as well.

I want the best bang for my buck and have found a good deal on Kumha AST tires in the 205/45-17 size.

Will these help my ride out a bit? I understand that handling may not be as good as before, but I am more than willing to give that up a bit for a better overall ride.

 

On the contrary, your handling will improve dramatically. You'll kick yourself for keeping the runflats on for 20k!

 

I think glhboy was referring to the loss in sidewall stiffness and initial slow-response feel when using non-runflats. Because the sidewall on runflats are pretty stiff, they turn in more quickly than non-runflats. However when it comes to actual handling veggivet is right that most non-runflats will provide you with better handling and are significantly lighter that runflats.

 

I had runflats on my 03 MCS....I liked the go-kart feel and the ride didn't seem bad to me at all.....and I had a Jaguar X-Type before.

I now have Non RF's, Pirelli All season High performance tires on 18" OEM rims (tire size 215/40/ZR18 ).... The ride now is more like a bigger car, and much smoother over bumps - less harsh. More of a k-thud now instead of a "BANG" when travelling over unavoidable pot holes.

I also ran a set of 16x7 Enkei's with 195/55/16 Bridgestone G019 Grids for 5 months too.

In comparison, that 16 inch rim/tire set up had quicker handling but had a way more harsher ride than my 18" set up with the Pirelli's.....Not sure if it was the tire compound or the rim composition.

I guess when it comes to these MINI's you have to dial in the right combo tire/rim for what your needs. And there will be lots of posts on this topic from those whom may disagree with me, but this is what worked in my case.....

 

I just changed wheels/tires and it is night and day for the handling and the ride. Wish I would have done it earlier.

 

I don't even have my Mini yet and have rims/non-runflats sitting in my garage waiting for the swap.

 

I switched to Pilot Exalto PE2 last week.

The ride is improved, but the handling is better.

The biggest difference I feel is when I shift. You can feel the lighter setup and I'm finding I have to be smoother when getting back on the throttle.

 

I switched from Crown Spoke 17" wheels (about 23 lbs) with factory supplied Dunlop SP Sport 01 DSST 205/45ZR17 runflats to 16 lb. 17" wheels with Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 205/45ZR17 non-runflat tires. I noticed an improvement in ride comfort. There was also a reduction in road noise. It is difficult to know how much of the ride improvement was from the tires, and how much from the reduction in unsprung weight. I suspect most was from the tires.

I later bought a set of 14 lb. 16x7" Rota Slipstream wheels and Pirelli PZero Nero M&S 205/55ZR16 non-runflat tires. This set made a significant improvement in ride comfort over the 17" Michelin PE2, while maintianing the same tread width. The increase in tire sidewall height is a big factor in ride comfort.

However, these Pirelli Nero all-season tires have poorer handling characteristics than the PE2 Ultra High Performance Summer tire. I think the best balance between ride comfort and handling would be putting PE2 tires on the Rota 16x7" wheels. That's probably what I will do when I need new tires.

 

Handling will be a direct function of the quality of tire you buy. Something you'd put on a 4dr Civic? not

I went from a set of RFT Continentals that came with the car to a set of Nitto NeoGen 215/35/18's UltraHighPerf All Season and the difference was fantastic. Better Grip, better lateral movement feel, better road feel in general. A set of RFT's would have run me double the cost of the Nitto's and not perform anywhere near as well

 

Any vibrations with the non runflat tires?

I'm on a budget as well which is why the Kumho are attractive pricewise. Also, my wife has them on her Scion tC and they seem fine on that.

 

Nope. At least not on the Neo Gen's. I'd guesstimate 20% less vibration between RFT's and the Nitto's I have. Suspect the same on any UHP tire

From my research and what I've read the Kumho's are OK. They probably won't last you as long as some of the tires mentioned by the others in this thread. As they say you get what you pay for.

Do the Kumho's suck?, certainly not.

If you are OK with the responsivness and ride on the wife's ride, why not?

You will find out real quick that there are as many opinions about tires and wheels as there are stars in the sky

 

^ Yeah, I understand I get what I pay for.

If anyone can recommend another all-season performance tire that is similar in price or a little more that is better, I'm open to suggestions...


I would also like to find another set of stock 17" wheels, my Crown Spokes have some curb marks all around from the previous owner.

 

MINI thinks very highly of their OEM wheels and charge accordingly

Finding a set used on the NAM Marketplace or Ebay or? would be a option

You could have the road rash refinished, that'll cost you roughly $150 per wheel.

Or spend 100's of hours pouring over all the wheels that are available! You'll spend anywhere from $75 per to the GNP of a third world country. But... you get to make a individual statement on your MINI that is trully unique. Worth it? I like to think so......