So, I was coming back from work the other day and this most excellent driver in the other lane decides he wants to be in my lane , so to avoid him I had to swerve right and in doing so, I hit my right front tire on the curb and pffff, the sidewall was cracked open .

Nisha's an 02 Cooper with the OEM optional tires, Dunlop SP Sport 3000A DSST, 195/55 R16.

I got her used this year with 15K miles on the clock :smile:.

I'm having trouble deciding what kind of tire to go with now. The run-flats were great, it allowed me to come back home with the damaged tire. I live in the Chicago area, and the ride wasn't too uncomfortable. I also have a spare tire that came with the car.

I've been reading here and seeing many people switching to sportier tires after their run-flats go out. I thought since I have a spare, that would be a good option, but I can't seem to find much on tirerack.com for 195/55 16. I only seem to be getting runflats and winter tires.

I haven't started auto-x'ing her yet, as I've been obsessed with my bike (just came back from a 4300 mile trip to Canada). So, I think all-seasons are what I want, but not run-flat, as non-run flats should have more grip, right?

Is my only option to go with run-flats with this wheel size? Is there another tire size that I can fit safely on these rims?

Thanx in advance for the help.

 

Plenty of non-runflats in 205/50/16.

 

Another question, are all-seasons enough for Chicago winters?

Last winter I was on a 325i (RWD) and had to put snow tires to keep the back-end in check. The MC is my first FWD car so I presume it handles better in the snow.

 

There are also a number of folks that buy a set of "take off" 15" wheels and put their snow tires on them. I put some blizzak tires on mine and find that they do quite nicely here in Colorado.

 

what I did on mine when the tires wore out was to trade it in on an '06 MCS with nice new runflats. Now have to wear another set out ...... again.

 

That's a nice idea, get a new car everytime the tires wear out