My wife drives a 2006 s. automatic. I replaced the original run flat tires/wheels (Dunlap 195 55 16 sport 5000 tires) with mini 15 inch rims and Falken 195 60 15 ZE912 tires.

It is now time for tires again (have about 50,000 miles of car)

Should I stay with the 15 inch wheels and Falken tires. They have worked well or should I put some other tires on the original Mini 16 inch wheels.

She is not a hot rodder, just loves her mini. Want something good for wet and dry braking. We live in the south so snow is pretty much out of the picture.

Originally went away from the run flats because of the hard ride, and cost of replacements. We carry slime and air compressor in car.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Richard

 

the smaller rim means a larger sidewall on the tire, which helps smooth the ride out some. Your tire ride isn't going to get much smoother then that setup. I only mention that because you already ditched the 16" w/ run flats.

If you live in the south and snow isn't a problem, you're looking for a good wet/dry tire. mabye the Conti DW? (they have been getting good reviews).

i would say keep the rims and get some new rubber.

b.

 

The conti dw look good, but they don't come in 15 inch

 

You could get new tires for either the 16" or the 15" wheels. From your first sentence it looks like she has an S ("s.")? If so, running a 15" wheel is a bit unusual, but if she likes it that way, there's not much reason to change. The 16" tire size seems to offer a wider selection of tires, however.

The 195/60/15 tires may be just a little bit on the wide side for a 5.5" wide wheel (tire diameter is fine), but the OE tire size of 175/65/15 is very restrictive in terms of tire choices, so fitting slightly wider 15" tires seems to be fairly common.

I'm not familiar with the Falken ZE912 tire, but Discount Tire shows it to be a very long lasting (65k mile warranty) A/S tire at a bargain price ($73). If she's been happy with them, the easiest thing to do is to replace those with new ones. If she wants to try something different, however, the research and decision-making would be more time-consuming.

MINI owners here swear by a lot of different tires for different applications, so it's important to know what an owner's preferences are for compromises among handling, ride comfort, long wear, and price. Even if your wife wants to sick with all-seasons, there are still compromises to be made between tire categories (Grand Touring A/S versus various levels of High Performance A/S, for example).

You can research the options at www.tirerack.com, and even contact Tire Rack for assistance.

 

If she would like the safety of runflats again and a good ride - see the tires in my sig...