Hey Guys,

So its come time for new tires on my 2004 Cooper S. Currently I have Yoko S Drives mounted to the stock S lights. Now obviously I would have no problem just slapping another set of S Drives on it but I thought I would ask for second opinions. Does anyone have suggestions for a pretty sporty tire? The Falken Azenis didnt seem too bad, but I wasnt sure how they would fair in the rain.

Nick

 

Assuming you intend to stick with the OE tire size and the Ultra High Performance Sumer category, you might consider Bridgestone RE760 Sport ($108 at Tire Rack).

The Hankook V12 evo ($92) in the Maximum Performance Summer category seems to be very popular with MINIs. The Michelin Pilot Super Sport is tops in that category, but at a cost of $209 per.

Compare them all at Tire Rack and choose your favorite compromise.

 

Go back to the S-Drives!

As soon as you heat them up they're great, very predictable break away as well, other tires I have ran squeal too much and break away in a lot less predictable manner. (which can get scary)

Great tire, I absolutely love them, was going to get the Hankooks V12's myself and ended up spending a few extra bucks on the Yokohama's.

Great in wet weather, and supposedly can handle light snow!
We'll see I'm taking the MINI up to the snow this winter, and can't afford a set of winter only tires, so it should be an experience.

 

or if you go with a slightly wider 215/45/17 tire you can get the Michelins at $169 a tire.

 

I like my Michelin Pilot Sport AS Plus all seasons (really 3 seasons here in Chi town) a lot.

 

I've had the Potenza RE760's(205/45/17),
Michelin Pilot Super Sports(215/45/17) and now the
Continental ExtremeContact DW (215/45/17)


The PSS's were awesome, but I had some bad wear problems from a bad alignment and only got 10k miles on them, so i tried the continental tires as they were cheaper. They are really great tires, but the PSS's are a different league it seems. I'll be going back to them when it's time for new tires.

the RE760's weren't anything special :-/
I purchased them because I had previously had them on my old mustang gt(275/35/18) and they seemed to do better with more contact patch in that situation...

 

Having tried both the Yoko S.Drives and the Hankook V12's within 2 weeks of each other on the Dragon (both sets new), I can tell you that Car and Driver's results were right, the V12's are absolutely better than the Yokos in every way but turn in, where the Yokos were much sharper. The V12's had noticibly more grip though. For a summer tire though I would suggest you consider the Continental DW as well, as they too are better than the Yoko.

 

Bump up to 215/45-17 and get the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec. I have them on my R53 at the moment (205/55-16) and would give them a 10/10.

They are incredible for track days, or spirited driving if you never see the track. They get up to temp in very little time, and also do great in the rain. The only downside is their tread life...