Happy summer!

Found some closeout tires so did this now. Got a complete set of 18” wheels from tirerack.com that clear the JCW calipers.

18” Borbet type W in anthracite color
225/45-18 tire size. Stock is 225/40-18 which has a lot less options. Funny thing is it actually makes the speedometer more accurate. Some eBay JCW center caps fit perfect.
i had tire rack install pressure sensors.

 

Those look great! Love that color. What's the offset for those wheels? [edit - appears to be +40 from what I find on tire rack]

Ditto on the speed - I went a similar route and recently switched to 235/40-18.

 

Nice find.

 

You guys notice any change in the way the Clubman handles with 225/45R18 or 235/40R18? I've been considering making a change to either of those alternate sizes to offset the harsh ride on some pavement/potholes, but didn't want to change the handling characteristics. I see that @mstnggt66 is running winter Yokos, so no doubt softer than UHP. But @BendersMINI what tires did you choose in 235mm?
Thanks for the info.

 

The height difference between 40 and 45 aspect is negligible. I doubt you improve ride quality via that.

If you're trying to get better ride quality, I've read the following helps:My stock 19s came with non-run flats which was my main reason to get 19s.

 

Thanks, but I replaced the standard Bridgestone runflats with Conti DWS Plus a couple of years ago in the factory size 225/40R18. I also have Adaptive suspension so I think coil overs are a no-go for me. FWIW,The Conti's made a big difference but still suffer from abrupt impacts with some road faults.

 

Well I can't really give you a straight and simple answer. I have the OEM dynamic dampers, but the springs are swapped out for H&R sport springs. Plus I run spacers. So with that in mind...

I have Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires. As far as ride quality, it's a huge improvement over the factory Pirelli runflats (of course). While runflats may have become better and better over the years, I found the Pirelli's to be really unimpressive. The ride on the H&R springs/Pirelli Cinturatos was feeling so harsh that I was considering ditching those springs and the DDC and getting KW coilovers. However, I also really really hate how Pirelli tires have a narrow tread width relative to competitors in the same size category. I don't like the stretched tire look and I think most, maybe all, 225 width tires look bad on an 8" wide rim. Just personal opinion of course. [ I kinda wonder if MINI realized that's not ideal which is why the 19x8 factory tire is 235 width. ] Anyway, I decided to try wider tires before making more suspension mods. Result? The harshness of potholes is gone. Sure, it's not completely masked, but we aren't driving SUVs on air suspension. Considering that I'm on lowering springs, I really couldn't ask for a much better ride. It almost feels as good as stock springs.

I won't say too much about handling because this is impacted as much or more by the spacers. I was running 11mm spacers before, then switched down to 5mm front spacers when going to these 235 tires. In the current configuration, the car handles better than I can ever remember. The steering is fast and response. Turns and curves can be taken with more speed and the tires don't squeal anymore. I'll skip my long story about understeer and tire scrub with the old tire/spacer combo. Maybe I can report back with more info on that subject after I switch back to 11mm spacers in a few weeks and experiment with how the car drives in that config.

By the way, these tires handled fantastically this evening in a heavy rain that came through. Felt very sure-footed.

 

thank you for the detailed response. I think I'll try to move to 235/40R18 to start. And if they fix the speedo error, all the better. 😁

 

I'll chime in about the tires and width and a few other things. Here are my thoughts:

• The difference in width won't make much of a difference in handling. In my opinion, spacers while maybe improving the stance (in your mind, not mine), does nothing for the handling. As a matter of fact, I believe it might be detrimental. You will need to figure out the proper wheel alignment settings to compensate for the change in suspension geometry. Unless you're an automotive engineer with the tools to figure this out, it's hit or miss.
• Ditching the run-flats will likely give you the best improvement in ride quality.
• Want to improve handling on a clubman? I think adding a thicker rear sway bar is a better option. I am using the NM 25mm bar with the solid end links along with Chassis Bones Braces and it helps the car rotate immensely better. Double speed+ on entrance/exit ramps, clover leafs is the norm....
• Tire pressures! Keep them adjusted. Check weekly. I run 35psi in front and 32psi in the back. Makes a big difference for consistent balanced handling.
• Snow tires. Wider is not your friend. A wide tire will plow vs. a narrower tire will cut through heavy or deep snow. Consequently, keeping you going. Look at the tires used on rallies. They are skinny and tall relative to the street tires they use.
• Like @BendersMINI I have the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires. I bought them when they 1st came out and now have 20,000 miles on them. Fantastic wet traction when new. Not so much now in standing water with the mileage I have due to the reduced tread depth. Dry traction is still excellent as well as the ride. I will likely replace them with the same tire in the fall as I won't get the snow traction at the reduce tread depth. Not that we get much snow in the area I live, but want to be prepared if we do. Besides, I don't like rain to slow me down, so want the best traction where possible.
• I only use Sport mode. BTW, I have the Dinan tune on my 4S and it's a blast. I regularly hit 3 digits on the speedo. On acceleration onto the highway, it's nothing to hit 100 or 120mph......seen 130mph a few times, but don't want to be locked up...

 

FWIW, 235/40R18 give a little more sidewall compared to 225, so that may help with a better ride. @gearhead60 what width of Pilots are you running? 225? or 235?
I have also consider a thicker rollbar. Had other expenses to deal with though. :-)

 

Yeah, totally agree when we're just talking about a 10mm difference like this.

To this part, I disagree. Because...

... I agree with this part!! The 11mm spacers on the front made a noticeable and not entirely "good" change to the handling. See this article on scrub radius.
This is one of the reasons I want to (temporarily?) put the 11mm spacers back on - to try and get a feel for how much the change in driving feel was due to tires (not width, just quality) or due to the downsizing to 5mm spacers. I say this because doing some ~intro-to-autocross a few months ago was a ginormous oversteer and squeal festival with the OEM Pirelli's and 11mm spacers. I had noticed this tendency a little in hard and wet corners on city streets, but on the autocross circuit it was hugely annoying. Yes, the front end plowed, but it always felt like the outside front tire was just skipping across the surface. So more experimentation is required! (Condensed version of the implied comments from above, ha!) I'm interested to hear if others with 10+mm front spacers noticed any similar tendencies.

If you go to 235 width tires don't forget to consider the lower tolerance to the inside suspension due to the slightly wider tire. There may be a reason MINI spec'd only 225 tires with the DDC and 235 tires were not available with DDC.

I'm glad @gearhead60 brought this back to a discussion about snow tires, because we have strayed so far of course!

 

225/45-17 stock size....