I am looking to replace my runflat tires soon, and I have the 16" 5 spoke rims with 195/55 R16 Goodyear runflats...

What would you all suggest? Also, I don't know what size I should get... Should I stay with 195/55, or should I go differently? I saw one guy said he got 205/60's on the same rims, but I just don't know the first thing about choosing a good tire...

Thanks...

EDIT: Here are some of my choices... High Performance, high treadwear.

 

You can either stick with run flats in 195//55-16 or switch to conventional tires in 205/50-16.

Here's some stats on what conventional tires MINI2 members are running:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51591

 

I think you might ask yourself what are you going to use the tire for-
Street only.- all season, good on wet or dry roads, not noisy, good tread life
Commuting- low rolling resistance, better mpg, comfortable ride, not noisy
autocross- good cornering, lower profile like 50 series, firmer ride, sticky rubber
light track- same as autocross
driving school- same as autocross

195/55-16 is limited in what tires you can choose from.
205/50-16 offers a much better selection and should fit OK.
Talk to Alex@tirerack on the various brands, pros and cons. prices vary alot
Tirerack doesn't carry Falkens or Toyos which you can get from edgeracing.com or Rspeed.net

Read the tire test results at tirerack.com for more info and an evaluation of a given tire- I find those to be helpful.

 

Thanks for the reply minihune... Yeah, I'd like to think I'm going to be using them for something other than street use, but I'm really not. I basically want a good tire that will have a decent life, and will handle well on the streets. I do tend to drive the streets like a track, but not too bad.

Thanks for the replies...

 

I got over 15000 miles on my runflats and i'm ready to feel the non-runflat tires. Some people over at teamMINI are running them.

 

Hey Miniacs Got the run flats on my '04 as well and intend to rotate mine so they wear evenly. Reason being I probably will not replace with a run flat tire. I have read that our Mini handling will only improve with a softer sidewall tire. I have considered even going to the 215/50-60 tire on the R83 wheels. Our Mini has approx 3200 miles and the wife's daily driver. I get Tootles on the weekend and living in western Nc have plenty of twisties that she loves. I tend to drive her hard and enjoy the g forces haha

 

I'd guess that an ultra/max performance tire with good street characteristics and decent treadwear would be worth a look for you.

If you choose 205/50-16 it is a plus one size from the stock size.
This enhances performance and keeps the outer tire diameter near stock size. It's more performance oriented, gives a good selection of tire brands and models, doesn't weigh that much more or cost that much more.

A tirerack.com search in that size shows-

Bridgestone Potenza S-03 tread rating 220 AA A WR speed rated $152
Goodyear Eagle F-1 DS-G3 tread rating 280 AA A ZR speed rated $137
Yokohama AVS ES100 tread rating 280 AA A WR speed rated $80
Bridgestone Potenza RE750 tread rating 340 AA A WR speed rated $107
(good street tire)
BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW2 tread rating 300 AA A WR speed rated $115
(great grip but might be noisy)
BFGoodrich Traction T/A tread rating 440 AA A VR speed rated $94
(good long wear street tire, decent performance)
Pirelli P6000 tread rating 180 A A WR speed rated $106
(Good handling, less good noise/comfort)

Decisions, decisions.

 

>Goodyear Eagle F-1 DS-G3 tread rating 280 AA A ZR speed rated $137

I'm running these on my SSR's right now in 205/50/16 size. very nice
tires. Comfy and not too loud like my S03's. S03's have much faster
turn-in response, but with the mini's turn gear ratio I think the DS-G3's
soften it up a little and make the car less quriky (sp?) and easier to drive.

I wouldn't drive these in cold temps, but they are my summer set and
I made a good choice, thanks to Mjinor (Jim).


Edit: btw, no tramlining either even at 42mm offset (16x7.5")

 

do you have any info on your dash and engine mods?

 

I love how we stay on topic so much here

 

MINIHUNE,

Thanks for all the good info... Too many decisions indeed! Ok, so basically then, the higher the treadwear rating, the longer they will last right? Makes sense...

How come tires like those Yokohamas at 80.00 are so much cheaper? Also, how much does tread design actually matter much with choosing a tire for mostly street performance use?

EDIT: See main post for tire choices I'm considering

 

So far, of the choices above, I'm leaning toward the Falkens, mainly because of their treadwear... It's really high.

 

minihuni doesn't list Falkens... take tire suggestions from the experts.

 

Actually Kenchan, what Minihune lists is only what tirerack carries. Tirerack doesn't carry Falkens

 

Three of the tires you've listed are all-season tires ... the Kumho's are summer tires. The Toyo Proxes FZ4 are classified as High Performance while the other three are classified as Ultra High Performance. Looking at 1010tire surveys, Toyo Proxes 4 have the highest customer rating.

 

I know that. :smile:

 

I have the toyo proxie 4's and have been happy with their performance and wear. I have about 20k on them so far. Very good with road noise. The only possible downside is a little too soft sidewall making the feel like there coming off the rim on hard cornering.

 

Yokohamas are cheaper because they are very popular and the company wants to sell alot of them most likely. They are a good tire for performance on the street. They don't last as long.

The tire tread rating number is not the whole story. Although you see the numbers being higher or lower you need to take those numbers with a grain of salt and view them in relative terms. If you buy a comfortable family touring tire with rating of 680 and you don't rotate it and do alignment or a road hazzard cuts a chunk out of it long before the tread is worn then you don't get the 680 worth of tire life out of it.

I used to buy tires based on long tread life but I find that after about 4 years the rubber gets hard and worn and the performance is not as good, they may be rough riding and noisy. The reviews you see are often based on owners that have had the tires only a few thousand miles and the new performance is quite good.

Now I consider how the tires will do in new state, mid life after a year or two and as they get older and I buy tires more in the 280-400 range for my sports sedans. The time to buy tires that are higher rated for tread wear would be for long commuting like driving 24,000+ per year on highways.

So if you like the Falkens and Toyos you will find them cheaper and available at Edgeracing.com and Rspeed.net. Tirerack cannot carry all tires, they have so many already. I think the following are competitive and worth a look but they do cost more-

Bridgestone Potenza RE750 tread rating 340 AA A WR speed rated $107
BFGoodrich Traction T/A tread rating 440 AA A VR speed rated $94
You can always talk to Alex. He cannot compare them to Falkens and Toyos because he does not carry those brands but he can compare these to other tires he does carry.
Tirerack does extensive performance testing for their tires- they are very thorough.

If I had to choose from the tires you list at the top I would consider the Toyo Proxes 4 but don't expect as good performance as the better performance tires. It is a good all around performer for a reasonable price.

Lagunacat,
I will send you PM about my MINI.

 

I have the stock Goodyear Eagle 205/45R17 run flats. What sort of life should I expect from these for the car which is 100% for street?

 

if you want an all around performer ... PROXES 4 ... had them for a month and could not be happier.

super sticky and surprisingly super quiet ... after runflats ... you just will not believe it.

 

25k if well rotated!

Alex

 

Thanks for all your good info Minihune. I totally agree with what you are saying. It's funny that you mention the long commutes with 24K+ miles/year, because that's basically me. I drive right about 22K - 24K or more per year.

Right now my top choices are still the Toyo Proxes 4's and the Falkens. The price is right and they seem like a good all around tire.

I really appreciate all your input, thanks :smile:

 

I got about 19,000 miles on my original 16" runflats, and this was without rotation. My rears actually still had a lot of life left, the fronts were nearly bald. I might have had a few thousand more left.

I just got the Yokohama AVS ES100's from Tirerack and overall I like them very much. Some people have said there is a lot of roadnoise, but I don't notice any more noise than when I had my runflats. I've heard the tread pattern changed recently to alleviate the noise. Not sure though.

I drive mostly street, and like many people, I drive hard. Although with my new set of tires, I'm going to rotate every 3,000 miles as Minihune has suggested. However, I just got my tires less than 2 weeks ago, and already I've put 1,000 miles on them! Going to have to rotate in the next month at this rate!

Driving is so much nicer now, although I have mentioned that I suffer from tramlining more than I did with my runflats. But I guess I'm getting used to it. But definitely on smooth roads, it rocks. The ride improvement wasn't as dramatic as I had hoped though. It's definitely better, but the best analogy I can think of is think of a saw. Looking at the teeth, that's how runflats feel when going over bumps. Now dull those teeth, by rounding the tips, and thats how the Yoko's feel. You still feel the jolts and the bumps, but they just aren't as harsh.

I love my MINI, and I've just begun to realize, 9 months later that tires are as much a consumable as gas! Heh heh, ok, maybe not that much, but you pay for the fun, every mile you drive, but it's absolutely worth it!

Just my 2cents.

 

Since this thread is stickied I'll add a few links for those interested in info on upgrading their tires.

For 15" wheels
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=27486
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=27365

For 16" wheels
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?p=352512

For 17" wheels
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=27293

For 18" wheels
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=27429

16" vs 17" wheels
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=26637

 

Thanks Minihune... those links helped out a lot... good reading.

I'm still debating between the Toyo Proxes 4 and the Falken Ziex Ze-512.