Scrolled through the past couple of years of threads and didn't see what I was looking for, so.....

A recent road trip to Vegas turned my odometer to 33K miles, and a look at my tire tread afterward suggested that it probably won't be too much longer before I need tires. Interestingly, the tread wear looks about even front/back. I'm not sure if the tires were ever rotated before I got it (22K miles), and I have not done so at either of my oil changes so far.

My top 3 priorities for new tires are:
- low rolling resistance
- tread wear
- cost

I'm not all stuck on performance; Little Roadie is a daily driver for a 20+ mile (each way) commute over the poorly maintained roads of the Bay Area.

After some research, my last 2 tire purchases, first for my Civic Hybrid and then for my MINI Coupe were Michelin Primacy. They got good reviews, were long-lasting and reasonably priced. And in both cases, my mileage went down by a couple of MPG after I installed them. And here I thought low rolling resistance was support to support better MPG.

So what suggestions does the hive mind have for 2017 tires that will support my gas-sipping driving habits, won't cost an arm and a leg, and will last a long time (I'd prefer a warranty that's at least 60K miles), considering the driving that I do (around town, commute, and occasional road trips), and that will work best on my 17-inch wheels??

 

Michelin tires are always great, but costly.

I've been using the BFG sport Comp 2s and that A/S on customer cars and they have been great. And they last.

 

Thanks for the tip. Did a little research. From what I understand, 340 is a good treadwear number. Any idea what they will do to my gas mileage number? I'm currently doing around 29 MPG, and would love to get it up over 30.

$95 (at Tirerack) looks like a damn good price for a tire with these characteristics as well. Anyone put these on MINIs 17" wheels (especially the conical spoke)?

 

Go with Falken ZIEX ZE950 A/S. You will not be disappointed. Depending on the shop where you buy, you will have free rotation every 3K.

In my opinion, this is the best performance tire I found for my JCW Coupe.

Michelin, Conti, Pirelli are overpriced and not worth the money. You can also look at Hankook.

 

33,000 miles is stellar from a set of tires on a Roadster! Plus, even wear across the tread. You're doing something right.

There are a lot of fairly reasonably priced tires that will do commute duty ok. The Cooper Zeon RS3-G1 is not a low priced tire, but seems like it would be a good candidate for the R59. I still have a lot of tread left the Continentals that came on our Roadster, but I will do a lot of research before new tire buying time comes.

The Coopers are a candidate. As are the Dunlop Signature HP, Pirelli Citurato P7 all season (quite soft and quiet running), and the bunch of Michelins that are available in either the conventional 205/45 17 or in the slightly wider 215/45 17.

I'm not super rough on tires, appreciate a slightly softer feel due the less than smooth conditions that Maine secondary roads often present. Don't think I want a Run-Flat tire.

TireRack, Discounttiredirect and many other sites offer reviews and some offer comparisons. Don't go to a super cheap tire. You drive one of the most fun cars around, so you don't want to compromise performance too much by getting a tire with a too soft squishy (or weak) sidewall. Driving as gently as you do, you probably won't see a huge difference between a Low Rolling Resistance tire and a conventional tire if you keep them optimally inflated. I learned that a stiffer sidewall can usually roll easier than a tire with a soft sidewall, but watch that comfort level. Good luck, and tell us which tire you decide on.

 

Thanks for the recommendations. Looked through TireRack and identified more than a dozen that I wanted to investigate further.

The BFGoodrich Comp-2 A/S gets some good test results and a very good rating, but it seems as if the gas mileage lags. ($95)

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ gets both a good review and a very high rating. But they are at the high end of the price range as well ($140)

What really intrigues me is this new tire, the Sumitomo A/S P02. It is well reviewed and gets decent ratings, but the price pops out at me: $67 per.

One other one that seemed to stand out: General Altimax RT43 ($91)

 

Price and tire performance relationships can be pretty strange. I've bought some expensive tires that I never liked and some that were very reasonably price and turned out to be excellent. The opposite has also been true. Too bad there's no way to demo.

 

My mechanic recommended the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3. I'm very tempted to go up a notch to the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ (not sure what the difference is), or take a chance on the Sumitomo A/S P02. Right now, I think I've narrowed it down to
1. Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3
2. Sumitomo A/S P02
3. Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+

Thoughts?

And after some more research (including discussions here) I'm adding the Michelin Premier A/S to the list, probably slotting in between 1 & 2.

 

And one more. After seeing a good review of the tire in that thread over there, and after seeing good reviews of it on TireRack (including one from a MINI owner), I'm thinking I should add the Bridgestone DriveGuard into the consideration mix.....

 

I bought 4 of these about 4 months ago and haven't noticed any lag in gas mileage (and I do check with each fill-up).

They ride great, aren't too noisy, and seem to have a pretty good grip. But they replaced run-flats so anything else would feel like paradise anyway.

 

Continental DWS06, 50k mile warranty! These tires are an amazing all rounder. You cannot beat these tires at their price, get them in the 215/45/17 size, as that is the most common spec for 17 inch FWD performance cars.

 

So after all the research and discussion and recommendations, I ended up going with my mechanic's recommendation, which was...none of the above!

I went with Hankook Ventus S1 tires. I was told that their customers were very happy with these tires on a variety of cars, including sports cars, and they are good value as well.

So far, without anything close to a Top Gear-level of knowledge and experience about how tires should handle, I can still say that I'm happy so far after just a week. A couple of things I've noticed:

• There were a couple of spots on my regular commute where I was having consistent issues, one a construction area where there are a lot of grooves and pavement patches where I was experiencing a lot of skittishness and grab, and one a high-speed freeway-to-freeway ramp with a couple of joints that had a drop where I'd skootch over when I hit them, and in both spots I'm not getting a straight, smooth ride.
• Performance in heavy rain seems to be very nice.

From watching the odometer since I filled the tank, I don't seem to see the mileage drop I was expecting with a new set of tires. The proof in the pudding will come with my first full fillup tomorrow. But so far, I'm happy.

(And just for the record, for all 4 tires, plus mounting and balancing, plus an alignment, plus brake pads and rotors on all 4 wheels, while the total (with tax) set me back north of $1700, that's still probably half of what I would have had to pay had I had the work done at the dealer.)

 

Hopefully not too flexy in the sidewalls. You can adjust that a little by increasing or decreasing tire pressure to preference. Let us know how they settle in.

 

Here's fuel economy data, calculated by the Fuelly app:

Fillup, MPG
1/6, 29.9
1/19, 29.9
1/26, 29.3
2/1, 28.8
2/10, 31.0
2/21, 27.5
2/28, 28.2
3/7, 29.0
3/14, new tires
3/15, 28.0
3/23, 31.1
3/27, 30.9
4/5, 29.8
4/12, 31.0
4/19, 31.2
4/26, 31.1

I'm seeing a pleasantly consistent improvement in this area, as well as (as best I can determine) ride and handling.

 

I imagine the new set of tires are all settled in pretty well by now. Do you have any comments on their performance? Good turn in response, linear highway behavior, noise? What pressure levels did you settle on? MPG numbers look pretty good!

 

Installed these tires last year. They're great. Did a 30 minute lapping session in the rain at 3°C (37F) this past Sunday and the grip was impressive. I love these tires so far.

 

+1 bfg

 

For 205/45-17

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surve...earDiameter=17

Tirerack review
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=200

For cost being competitive
BFG Comp-2 A/S is a solid choice