I'm particularily interested in the wet grip properties of the tires on the market, although hydroplaning resistance is also important, but secondary.

The tires will never be used on snow, so that is not a consideration.

Thanks in advance!

Zeede

 

i would go with 205/50/16.


_________________
03MCS IB/Blk: 123, Aerokit, R90 17x7, Anthr + Leather, TK5 16x7, 6CDMP3, etc.

 

Tire compound is going to be more important than a 10mm diff...
Tire Rack shows 5 tires choices in 215/50...
They show 32 tires in 205/50

 

Sorry that I was unclear. I'm actually interested in what kind of tire (Goodyear F1, BFGoodrich g-force, etc), not the difference between the two tire sizes. Those just happen to be the two sizes of tires that I will consider.

 

Without a doubt, Bridgestone Pole Position S-03s. I am going to use them as rain tires for this years Solo 2 season.

 

>>Without a doubt, Bridgestone Pole Position S-03s. I am going to use them as rain tires for this years Solo 2 season.

I concur
205/50

Alex

 

plus the s03's are wide tires so if you were going for the look, you get
both traction and a wide tire. :smile:

 

Alex, what about the Goodyear F1 DGS3's? They get great user reports on your website (205/50 16), and they recently received high marks from Consumer Reports. I know that you are eternally backlogged on this tire and size, but for the price versus the S-03's (~$100 versus $140+), the Goodyears looked attactive enough that I ordered them from you. Is the steering response just not as good as the S-03's?

 

Hey Zeede,

For more info on tires and wheels too, you can look at the thread by Alex of TireRack, which is maybe the third thread or so on this Tires, Wheels, & Brakes Forum. It will provide pictures and more info for all the tires listed. It also includes results from an on-line tire survey, which lists the S-03 as 8.8 on wet traction, and 8.6 for hydro resistance (out of 10 max), so this is super good. To me, this tire is one of the best looking tires, maybe the best.

For the 205/50/16 size, at 24 lbs, the S-03 weighs a little more though than some others, though. However, it may be worth that weight penalty for its performance. Another good tire to consider is the Yokohama AVS ES100 at 20.4 lbs, which gets 8.1 on wet traction and 8.1 for hydro resistance, very good marks, too. If you have the MC instead of the MCS then the weight is more of a factor to consider. Both of these tires are very popular for the MINI.

Part (or most) of the extra weight for the S-03s would be due to their being wider as Kenchan has said, though.

Thanks Kenchan for the heads up on the extra width for the S-03s, as I really like them too but was concerned about their extra weight (for my MC), but may consider them now. (but not for awhile as my current tires are new -- stock 15" all seasons -- ughh, but I can wait awhile) I wonder if they come in 15's?

 

Thanks for the heads up on that thread, jazmini, I'd totally forgotten about it! The only problem is that, for me, the on-line tire survey results only indicate a trend and are not useful for ranking tire performance. Why? Because there is no point of reference to the ratings various people have given their tires. In addition, a lot of the surveys were filled out with less than 1k miles on the tires, which isn't a lot of time.

By contrast, TireRack has done controlled tests on various tires, so from a scientific point of view, their opinion on tires is a lot more thorough and objective.

Alex, what would you consider to be second to the Bridgestone Pole Position S-03's? They're a bit pricier than I'd like to spend on a 220 tread wear rating tire.

 

You're all recommending S03's which are Max Performance Summer for best tires in the wet?? Why are they classified as Summer tires then? I'm confused...

 

It doesn't snow in the summer. There is a huge difference between wet and snow/ice.

 

>>By contrast, TireRack has done controlled tests on various tires, so from a >>scientific point of view, their opinion on tires is a lot more thorough and objective.

Check out the test data - we have run S-03 and GS-D3 head to head.

>>Alex, what would you consider to be second to the Bridgestone Pole Position S-03's? They're a bit pricier than I'd like to spend on a 220 tread wear rating tire.

The D3 is the 1st tire to shake the ground S-03 walks on. It was excelent in water, but I give S-03 the edge over time in water due to Unity AQII.

I also like the feel of S-03 in transition better than D3.
Bear in mind I made the D3 go just as fast on the track,

the 03 just "felt" more "planted" in slalom

ALex

 

>>You're all recommending S03's which are Max Performance Summer for best tires in the wet?? Why are they classified as Summer tires then? I'm confused...

Max perfomace tirers focus on excelent Dry and Wet handeling,
those are the only 2 sets of conditions they are intended for use in.

The compounds used in MAX performace summer tires will not bend ,
flex or adhere (what gives traction) As well in temps below 50 Degrees F, a
s the do above that. Snow is even colder!

Alex

 

Thanks a bunch, as always, Alex :smile: