Well I searched to see if anyone had done it before but either no one has done it or I'm a crappy searcher

Anyhow, here's how Michelin snow tires sized 245/40/18 looks on an H&R lowered Countryman. The wheels are BMW Performance replicas, sized 18x8 ET40. No rubbing so far and it actually rides better (IMO) compared to 17 inch stockers. I just need to get some big friends, squeeze them in the back seat and go for a pothole test to see how's the rubbing I think Also, I didn't get the alignment done yet. Hopefully if I can get some camber on the rears, I can bypass any rubbing issue..

Ege

Before: 17" stock wheels on 205/55/17 tires



After: with BMW replica 18s:

 

generally, you go skinnyer for winter tires

i went from 225/50R18 to 205/70R16 for my winters ... the /70 sidewall gives great protection to the wheels from potholes ... 3 winters and no wheel dings

 

Agree on using narrower tires but I had these lying around from my TT-S. Didn't want to go ahead and buy new tires and wanted to see how the fitment is.. On a side note, we only get about 2-3 snow storms here in istanbul and mostly they're mild. Nothing like I used to get back in Boston.


PS: I was riding on 22" Conti all seasons with 285/35 tires on an FX35 back then

 

what suspension does your car have? standard or lowered?
MY wife has a countryman S with 19" JCW and recommended tire size and it all looks skinny in the wheel well.
Tires also have too little sidewall to be comfortable.
I'd love hers to have the stance yours has in the pictures. nice and full

 

205/70R16 winter tires on mini euro oem 16x6.5 et 46 alloys on my 12 all4 with factory sport suspension (10 mm lower than standard suspension)

the 205/70R16s are 1.4 inches taller than the stock 225/45R18s but fit with no interference ir rubbing

 

I was lowered on H&R springs and stock non-sport dampers on that setup. I believe your 19s are on 225/40/19 tires. Unfortunately, if you plan on lowering, other tire options on stock JCW wheels are not a good fit. You can go with 235/40/19 tires which will give you 3.70" vs 3.52" sidewall height you have now but your wheels are a little too narrow (7.5" vs 8.0" required). Plus, if you lower, you'll be 0.67" (17mm) closer to the suspension. In my setup, there's very little space left to the suspension components. In yours, there's a good chance you'll rub suspension with a 235/40 tire.

I say, if your main concern is looks, lower the car on coilovers (or lowering springs) and those narrow sidewalls will look better with the wheel well space reduced. I'd prefer coilovers over springs if you have money. On Countryman, almost all springs are uncomfortable esp on the rear. Plus, you can adjust camber in most coilovers to negate that rubbing issue.

If your main concern is comfort, do not lower and go for 235/40/19 tires. Buy some used tires to test out wheel fitment if you'd like. I'm not very comfortable with 235 tires on 7.5" wide wheels.

Final and better advice for comfort would to go with 18" wheels with 8" width and 38-40 offset. Then you can lower if you want and use wider tires with more sidewall if you want. It won't look as good as 19s though.

 

Here's how mine looked lowered:



Here's how it looks like now:


(back to stock springs):

 

for summer i run 225/50R18 michelin pilot super sports non-runflats on stock 18x7.5 et52 wheels ... the OD is 1 inch larger than the oem size 225/45R18 and the ride is great, almost 5 years on shitty chicago area streets and no dented wheels

the PSS tires of course have excellent grip even with the /50 sidewall

interesting that the /50s were $75 per tire cgeaper than the /45s ... i got the 4 PSS for total price of $600 including mounting, taxes, balancing etc

my all4 has the factory sport suspension and sits 10 mm lower than standard suspension (i think it is lower than 10 mm but that is the advertised drop)