Does anyone have these tires on their car? All of the comments on tirerack.com were very positive. I am going from the stock conti's mounted on the 7 holes. I am concerned about this tire not quite having the grip that I am looking for, but it seems like a good balance of performance and quiet/smoothness. I would get these in 205/55's so cornering would improve just becasue of the tire size compared to stock, but I wanted to make sure that they were not going ot slide out from under me like the conti's. Currently with H&R springs and rear anti-sway the tires are the limiting factor on the car. Thanks for any help.

 

Otter215,
I don't know of any MINI owners that have this tire (sizes are too tall). Most are interested in a more performance tire like the Yokohama AVS ES100 in various sizes. The Avid V4 is an All season High performance tire ($72) more suited for a sports luxury sedan. Strengths are long tread wear of 500 and smoother ride and weakness is wet traction. See test-
http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=EZ3&...Model=Avid+V4S
BF Goodrich Traction T/A (all season High perf) 195/55 and 205/55-15
440 treadwear rating V speed rated ($78-79 each)
If I had to choose between these I'd talk to Alex@tirerack about the Traction T/As in either size. The 195/55-15 definitely won't rub with your lowered MINI! The 205/55-15 is a half inch wider and taller! You might still be OK though.

If you don't have much snow then-
For Ultra High Performance Summer tires for the stock 15x5.5" rims-
Bridgestone Potenza RE-750 in:
195/50-15 W speed rated $81 82 load rating (low!) 340 tread, 22.7" diam
205/50-15 W speed rated $95 340 wear, 22.8" diam
205/55-15 W speed rated $91 340 wear, 23.9" diam
Avon Tech M500 in:
195/55-15 W speed rated $72 280 wear rating 23.4" outer diameter
205/50-15 W speed rated $77 280 wear rating 23" outer diameter
Tirerack test results Avon M500 vs Yoko ES100 vs RE750
http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=EZ3&...odel=Tech+M500
M500- good street/road tire, comfortable and quiet, good dry/very good wet traction.

 

On tirerack's, and discount tire's, site they say that this tire comes in a 205/55/15. I am leaning towards the g-force sports, and I also really like the Bridgestone RE950's. I had these on a car once and thought they were a great tire. Thanks for your help also. I just want to get the best tire for the money. I don't know much about Avon, but I have heard good things.

 

G force sport (Ultra High performance summer) avail in :
195/55-15 85 load rating, V speed rated, 340 wear 23.4" diam $67 each
205/50-15 86 load rating, V speed rated, 340 wear 23.1" diam $75 each
205/55-15 88 load rating, V speed rated, 340 wear 23.9" diam $71 each
AA traction and good value but lower wear rating. Not for snow/ice.
http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=EZ3&...=g-Force+Sport

I have Bridgestone RE950s on my Maxima in 60 series size and they work great with a 400 treadwear rating, moderately quiet ride, comfortable and very good wet traction.

RE950s are High Performance All Season tires available in:
185/65-15 86 load rating, H speed rated, 400 wear, 24.4" diam $73 each
195/60-15 87 load rating, H speed rated, 400 wear, 24.2" diam $79 each
195/65-15 89 load rating, H speed rated, 400 wear, 25" diam $79 each
205/60-15 90 load rating, H speed rated, 400 wear, 24.7" diam $83 each
(note the H speed rated- not as good as W or V rated, A traction)

Avon M550 A/S are in the same class as RE950s but don't come in 15" sizes. They do have 215/45-17 for the S-lyte rims.