So the all-season Continentals on my 07 Cooper are ready to be put out to pasture. I got a quote from my SA for a set of new OEM tires + alignment for $850, but I know there are much better deals out there. To that end, I have a few questions...

1) My dealer recommended an alignment with new tires ($200 of the $850); is that necessary? I've noticed that my steering wheel is slightly (very slightly) off-center when driving in a straight line...would an alignment help that?

2) What do you recommend for tires? It snows here in PA, so I wanted to stick with an all-season. I'll probably be sticking with the 15" star spokes...I'd love to upgrade, but I've got a grad student budget to keep in mind.

Thanks!

 

There are MUCH cheaper all seasons out there, and 200 bucks for an alignment is WAYYYY too high!! I only have 17,000 miles on my Continentals and they're almost gone. I'm probably just going to get winter tires (Buffalo, NY) on them for this year and get a new set of rims and tires for next year.

Check tirerack.com, they usually have some good deals on tires.

 

Check out tires at TireRack.com. Put in your car year and model, and it will show you what is available. Dealers usually send your car out to a tire place and then take a profit for doing nothing.

There is a lot of discussion on tire choices in NAM's Tires, Wheels, & Brakes forum.

 

PA Winters = Dedicated Snows for the Mini, I dont think you want to use an all season,

 

If you want to go local try Discount Tires - I think you will save BIG!

Four wheel alignments are about $125 in my town.

 

if you put new tires on definately have and alighnment done. it will save your new tires.

as for winter tires definately go with a set of "Real Snow Tires" they make a world of difference. I drive int he snows of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine all the time with "Snow Tires" and consistanlty out run and climb the hills that 4 wheel drive trucks and SUV's can't get up. It is amazing how well these car do with "Real Snow Tires". I even drove right thru the snow plow pile of greater than 14" at the end of my driveway with no problem.

All Seaosns with be better than summer tires but only slightly but "Snow Tires" will make the car perform very very well.

Get the theme here "Snow Tires" for winter driving. They work.

 

Yea about those stock tires. Mine are bald and ready for snow drifting!

 

I agree about getting snows if you're in certain areas but c'mon, all seasons are a lot better in the stuff compared to summers than just "slightly"! The summers that came on mine had pretty much nothing to to speak of for grip compared to my all seasons. If I was using this as a dd I'd get snows, but for just going out now and then in the stuff, all seasons are fine (and much better than summers).

 

I currently have Performance Summer Tires on Molly, we made it through last winter, but just barely. She did not want to get up our relatviely steep driveway one weekend day, so I learned my lesson. With 20,000+ on her, I'm replacing my Goodyear Runsmacks with the Bridgestone Potenza G019 Grid All-Seasons. I don't need an all out Winter Tire up here in the PNW, if we were driving up Mt. Hood for Ski Season they'd I'd difintely put those on but just tooling around town the All-Seasons will do just fine.

And TireRack is where I'm getting them!!

 

+1 to all of this.

Just to add a point - - -

Dedicated "winter" tires have a different rubber compound than all-season or summer tires. It's designed to stay flexible in very low temperatures, when all-seasons etc. would freeze hard as cement and have little to no traction. This isn't just hype, if you've compared a good all-season to a decent winter tire you will know the difference immediately. Here in Eastern Ontario, Canada, winter tires are the only way to go from around November 'til March or so.

The downside to this is that the winter tire's rubber compound will rapidly degrade when the temperature rises in the springtime. It's designed to work best in cold weather; warmer temps will quickly overheat and wear out a winter tire. So you need to change back to your all-seasons or summers in the spring as`soon as the snow is gone, or else you will quickly destroy your winter tires. So, around here - - - April 'til October, all-seasons or summers are the right option.

It's like everything else: all about trade-offs.


ps. My '08 MINI was just awesome in the below zero temps and deep snow here last winter with its dedicated winter tires on 15" steel rims. All those electronic traction doo-dads really work well in those harsh conditions.






_______________________________________________

 

So I checked tirerack.com, and it looks like the Continentals are the best all-around option. I don't have to drive in the snow enough in central PA to warrant a set of snow tires, but I also don't want to go with summer tires and be SOL if I do get caught out.

Does anyone know if an alignment would help my slightly off-center wheel?

Thanks for all the help!

 

Yes.

They'll center your steering wheel before they line up your wheels.

An alignment is a good idea when buying new tires to protect them from future premature wear and damage. Some people don't bother with it, but I always do.

Some shops used to offer a 2-wheel or front wheel alignment, much cheaper than a full 4 wheel alignment. If that option is available - just in case you're tempted - don't do it! All 4 wheels need to be aligned or you're wasting your time and money.



__________________________________________________ ___

 

There are not a lot of options for the base Cooper 15" tire. I have the all seasons, have 15,000 on them and they still look new. Tire rack is about 75 bucks IIRC. The all season Continental is about the best thing out there, I've been pleased with how they handle. 200 bucks to align is highway robbery. Don't buy tires at the dealer. Mine wanted 89 bucks to balance and rotate, a job I usually get on my other cars around town for 29 bucks, sometimes 19 on sale.

 

For the members that already need new tires, did you ever rotate the tires? I find it strange that rotations are not part of the maintenence schedule. 17,000 miles seems far too soon to need new tires.

 

I replaced my OEM tires with all-season Bridgestone Potenzas in a slightly larger 195/60 size. I couldn't be happier with them.

 

He is right. Get the 4 wheel alignment and it will fix your crooked steering wheel and save make your new tires last longer. Good money well spent.

 

Miranda came with Pirelli P3000 stock 15's. I replaced the first set at 25,000. Oh yeah... I kept them rotated, balanced and checked the air pressure. I'm on the 2nd, and we'll see how far they go. I'll try the Continentals next. But I've heard that MINI's go threw tires. Why? I had a Honda Civic front-wheel drive.. it didnt eat tires like Miranda does. Or is it the way I drive?

 

I rotate tires every 5k miles. On a front wheel drive car the front wheels do all the work, so they usually wear out much more quickly than the rears. I do a front-to-back, same side rotation, although you could also do one of the cross-pattern rotations as long as you don't have unidirectional tread. The usual cross pattern is rears to the front, same side, then fronts crossed to the rear.

 

I too rotate mine at 5K. At the same time I clean the wheels really well and wax them inside and out. The brake dust comes off much easier this way. I finally bought a set of floor jacks for it's a much easier proposition now. I rotate using the cross pattern. I see zero wears on our tires thus far. 9400 and 11000 miles.