The original tires are ready to be replaced on Max. I've decided to ditch the run flats but beyond that I have no clue about tires. I've checked out the tirerack website and it's all great and everything, but 1) there seems to be some tire handling lingo that I haven't learned, and 2) my husband HATES the highly rated tires he bought on tirerack. So- how do you sort through all these choices and all this information to get the product that you really want?

I'm in the great state of Oregon- so something that can handle rain is necessary, but I also want a tire that matches that go cart handling so I can fly up these curvy hilly roads with ease and confidence.

Any ideas of how to make sense of tire options?

 

There certainly are numerous options out there. Do you just need the tire to handle rain, or will it also need to handle winter (<40 degrees, snow) conditions. If you need one tire to handle all seasons, then the Pilot Sport A/S is an excellent all season tire that offers nearly summer tire level of grip to keep that go kart handling. Other popular allseason choices are Conti Extreme Contact DWS which offer a little softer ride with slightly less grip and Bridgestone G 019 Grid which splits the difference. If winter isn't an issue and you want to go with a summer tire for more grip, then the best value is between the Hankook Ventus V12 Evo K110 and Yokohama S.Drives. Conti Extreme Contact DW is relatively new but getting great reviews and is reasonably priced. Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 seem to get great reviews and Bridgestone Potenza RE760s get favorable reviews and are pretty popular.

You didn't mention rim/tire size so all of the above may not be available in the size you need. This forum is probably the best place to read reviews for how each tire performs on the MINI. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the above choices, so perhaps searching this forum for the ones you are interested in and reading the reviews would help narrow it down a bit.

 

I'm out here in Colorado visiting MTTS and MITM and looking under every Mini I could find.

I've narrowed my choices to the Yoko Avid Envigor and the Continental DWS. I'd put Michelin AS+ on in a minute, but they are SO expensive and to my eye, not very attractive on the car.

I've talked pretty extensively with the folks who have all three and I find that those who have DWS are a bit less anxious to say they are wonderful than are the folks with the Yokos. The first thing out of folks with the AS+ is that they are great, but expensive.

Its getting down to decision time for me and if I had to buy today, it would probably be the Yokos based on price and the fact that there is a $40 rebate for a set of four right now at TR.

I'm still hung on what size. I had thought I'd do 205/45/17s on new wheels till this past week, but I find many who changed to 17s are rethinking their decision based on ride qualities. I have 16s now, and I'm on the fence about 205/50s or 205/55s. I have a Justa, so the slightly lower gear that results from the 50s is appealing.

So.... Yokos, DWSs or AS+s seem to be the winners among the folks who drive their cars daily. Those who "race" well.... They run the gamut.

Good luck in your search.

 

The Yokohama Avid Envigors are another good option for an all-season, and they have a great tread wear rating. Keep in mind that depending on how aggressively you drive, all seasons do give up a good bit of grip vs. a summer tire. In general, the higher the treadwear rating, the less grip. But on the street a performance oriented all season gives more than enough grip to have fun through the twisties and will probably last 2-3 times as long.

 

From all the reading I've been doing on this forum, I'd say you would be best served by the 205/50/16. The gearing is a definite benefit on a Justa, and sticking with the 16, you'll keep a decent sidewall (and probably lower weight) for ride comfort.

I have a JCW, so I'm forced to stick with 17s, but the ride quality is definitely not as good as with 16s. Non-runflats and lightweight wheels definitely help, but the same on 16s is more comfortable.

 

Thank you for the ideas so far. I've got 17 inchers on Max. I had Yokohamas on my BMW 2002 back in the day and remember those tires with fond memories.

We get VERY little snow/ice and when we do the entire Portland/metro area shuts down because people are so unfamiliar with it. I spent some time in Boston so driving in the snow doesn't worry me so much. It's how OTHER people react that keeps me off the roads when it snows around here. Oh, the stories I could tell...

Keep the ideas coming! This is very helpful.

 

Hey Morris08...MSMOLY is sporting 195/55-16 Bridgestone Potenza G019 Grids. I put those on last October and if you remember that Winter, it was one where the City was Gridlocked for over 6hrs. when Molly and I made it home in 1hr. 20min. on those Tires!! I wouldn't hesitate to put them on again in 50,000mi. as that is the Tread Life of these tires. No Track Days until Next Thursday the 26th, Rasmussen MINI is sponsoring a Track Day @ PIR...are you going?? I have done one PDX MINI Club run and drove Very Spirited on these tires as well, they cornered great and had little or no traction problems at all!!

 

Thanks for the hint about the Potenza's. Will definitely add that to my list of tires to research.

That storm is exactly what I'm talking about! The conditions weren't really that horrible but everyone freaks out like their brains cracked open from the cold.

I totally missed it! I wanted to go so I could check out all the tires. And drool over everyone's mods.

I know I'm being slow in this decision- but right now the cars in our house have decided to band together and require expensive things so I've been dragging my feet a little.