Greetings!

Just joined the club and need some advice on tires!
I have a Convertible S in Brazil and I had a lot of problems with my wheels... Basicly they weren't doing any maintenance on a highway near my house, and I had to take it everyday... Fell into a couple of potholes, and had to fix at least 2 times my wheels, plus one more today.
I have a picture here of one of the times they were damaged.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/24674112@N07/6962564293/http://www.flickr.com/photos/24674112@N07/6962564293/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/24674112@N07/, on Flickr


The stock tires on the Mini here are the Bridgestone Potenza 205/45 R17, they wore out at 23.000 km (14.000 miles) and I'm changing them. The ride was always quite bumpy with them, but the grip on dry was very good.

I have two choices, either the Pirelli Euphori@ 205/45 or the P7 205/50. Now, I'm seriously considering to put the 205/50, the car will become smoother and more comfortable, and hopefully my wheels will be safer also.
What are the consequences of changing the size? I know the correct conversion rate say you can change the diameter by 3%, I'm changing it by 3,3% here, it's a bit more, but the potholes are getting on my nerves.
Any advices?

Appreciate any help!

 

I'm running 205-50-17 for my winter tire and I like the fact it gets my speedo closest to being accurate, go for it

 

Using stock suspension you will likely be OK with 205/50-17 tires. The taller sidewall will help a little but you still have to be careful about hitting potholes at speed. Otherwise change to 16" tires so you can run 205/55-16 tires for a taller sidewall.

205/50-17 is taller than stock tire diameter at 25.2" almost 1" taller. So you will have less clearance when loaded with four people or anything heavy or when driving over uneven roads with dips. You can get some rubbing on the rear inner wheel arches at times, just slow down if it happens.

Any speedo error is not a big issue. Handling and ride quality will be OK.

 

Thanks for the help!

I've read lots of topics and I'm 99% sure that i'll go with 215/45 non run flat tires to see what happens, I'm doing some paintwork at my car right now and will get the new tires in 2˜3 weeks, I'll let you know the changes i feel in the car.

cheers

 

I've got a set of 205 55 R17s... was going to try them on my R53. Anyone have experience with that size?

 

205/55-17 will fit the MINI 17x7" wheel but is not going to fit an R53 MINI with stock or lowered suspension. The tire diameter of 25.9" is about 1.5" too tall.

205/55-16 will fit a 16x7" wheel with the R53 and give you a tall sidewall.

 

any changes to the ride?

 

If you have OEM runflat tires in either 16", 18" or 18" the ride comfort and noise using any non runflat will be improved, less harsh, and more comfortable.

Moving from 205/45-17 to 215/45-17 by itself doesn't really make that much different for ride comfort, it will depend more on which tire you choose in those sizes since some tires only come in one of the two sizes.

Some tires are known for great handling while others for a smoother ride.
No tire is perfect but some are better than others for any budget.