My new summer tires are on the way from Tire Rack. I decided on 205/50ZR-16 BFG g-Force Sport COMP-2 for my MCS. Now just hoping for some better weather here in Massachusetts. I can't wait to ditch the runflats so I may be temped to put them on a little early! Anyone have experience withe these BFGs?

 

RI here, I hear ya about this weather!!!!! I just got these little babies delivered last week and can't wait to get them on.

 

No experience, but I always heard that they are a bit noisy.

 

Had these pirelli's on my Porsche Boxster and they were exceptional....like driving on rails.

 

I have driven on g-Force Sport Comp-2 on another import with stock suspension and it was OK.

It's good on handling in dry or wet but not as good on comfort and noise. Overall a good UHP tire. 340 treadwear, value priced.

For MCS owners I prefer the better handling/ride comfort of the Continental ExtremeContact DW Max Summer tires, 340 treadwear. Still well priced with better balance between ride comfort with low noise and good handling in dry or wet.

 

Too bad the DW doesn't come in 205/50/16 anymore.
It's still available in 205/55/16, but I'd like the shorter
sidewall especially in a tire that has fairly soft sidewalls
to begin with.

 

The difference between the two sidewall profiles would be practically indistinguishable to anyone other than Stig.
There are far more tire choices (at lower prices!) in 205/55 size than 205/50 since the former happens to be popular with many other vehicles.

I would not think twice about ordering 205/55-16 tires if the price/performance of the tire was in your sweat spot.

a

 

I have a new '15 Roadster S spec'd with non-sport suspension & the 17" black star wheels. Arrived with the ContiSportContact 205-45-17 RF tires which are too abusive for us (not a surprise but as you know, MINI doesn't offer o.e. non-RF tire options).

I know I will want separate mounted dedicated snows here in Iowa next winter so
my dilemma:

Option 1: Buy 17" non-RF Summers and mount on o.e. black stars. Get separate 16" wheels (-1 sizing) and mounted snows for next winter. This would be the least cost, near term option.

Option 2: Buy 16" non-RF Summers now on new wheels. Get separate 17" snows to mount on black stars next winter.

I realize 17" non-RF Summers will be an improvement in ride quality over the 17" RFs I have now; question is do you find 17" non-RF tires acceptable or would you recommend going to 16" non-RF summer to further improve ride quality. IOW, how's the balance/tradeoff between 17" >16" Summer performance vs ride quality in your opinion?

TIA. Rick

P.S. Non-RF Summers I'm looking at are the Michelin Super Sports, Conti DW or Bridgestone S-O4s. Current incentives rebate cards on the Michelin and Bridgestones.

 

I've never heard of "summer" tires. Are these the same as "touring" tires? It's getting hard to find anything other than "all-weather" tires anymore.

Bobby D.

 

Yeah in climates where we get a significant amount snow and cold temps...we generally opt for two sets of tires/rims...one dedicated to snows the other dedicated to summer...different compounds in the tires for temperatures and grip. All weather is useless where I live and tbh not sure they actually are useful anywhere other than mild climates! My winters are 16" dunlop winter sport M3 and summers 18" pirelli P Zero summer performance.

 

Bobby D., check out TireRack.com.

 

I have these tires on my Mini in a 205/55/16 size, fantastic grip right up until track day during which I just about melted them. Oh well, they are a little slick now around town but they are very smooth rolling at 32-34psi.

I do not, and have never, noticed any road noise. My race slicks, yes, they are noisy as a train. I also have these same BFG Comp2 tires on my '69 Jag XJ and they handle just great on the heavier car.

 

You have a new 2015 base Cooper on order so you can check the exact tires that come with your MINI.

Basically tires come Summer or All Season, it's common to see All Season tires on the base Cooper and the sidewall of the tire will show M+S if it is All Season.

Within All Season tires there are some which offer more performance like Ultra High Performance All Seasons or for your Cooper you can also consider High Performance All Season tires. If comfort and long treadlife is more important to you then consider Grand Touring All Season tires which are among the best riding "touring tires" but they compromise crisp handling for lower noise and a smoother ride.

If you get lots of wet weather then you need to check if the exact tire you are considering has good wet performance- see tirerack test results.

Remember than even a base Cooper is a very capable car and will benefit from using higher performance and good quality tires. Given that there are some good budget value tires within Ultra High Perf All Season and Grand Touring All season tire classes.

Summer tires are for those that don't see temperatures less than 40 degrees year round or have winter tires that they rotate to in the Fall. Although in general summer tires offer good dry and wet grip, it can vary between classes. Max Summer tires are better for a Cooper S, while Ultra High Perf Summer tires are OK for the Cooper. If you are looking at UHP Summer tires, it's good to check out the UHP All Season tires as prices and handling will overlap depending on your budget.

MINIs often come with runflat tires which has a stiffer sidewall and come in both summer and All season tire classes.