Bang for your buck would push me toward the GS D3's since they are on sale at the Tire Rack for $88 ea.
However, I have heard great things about the KDW's also. If they are worth the $129 price tag, I could go with them as well.
The other issue I am having is deciding between the 205/45/17 and the 215/45/17. I have heard the ride quality of the 215 is excellent but some say the cornering is more 'squishy' or 'spongy'.
Any advice from those of you that have experience with these issues would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers, Doug.

 

I am very pleased with the KDW2s that have been on car about a month. They seem to give and give grip. Although I cannot speak for the other tires since I have not tried them. I have them in 205/45/17 on my MINI R99 wheels.

 

The KDW 2s I have put on my car twice now. I'm looking to purchase some R-Compounds because I found out the KDWs don't last on 3 consecutive 95-100 degree autoX days, imagine that. I think they also give and give with grip. The only thing some people don't like is when they are new, they are somewhat noisy. Imo they are better than the GS-D3s, I have driven both, and the KDWs seem to be better in the dry, and in cornering, especially since you can get them in the stock width.

Mikey

 

Go For The Bfg. I Love Mine. Went For The 215/45/17. Top Rated And Stick Like Glue. Met A Guy From Bfg The Other Day, He Was Admiring My Tires In A Restaurant Parking Lot, And He Said That The Kdw2 Are Made In Michilen Molds. I Know Of 2 Othehs Who Like Them Also And They Went With The 40 Profile,

 

They grip great but are loud, but most ultra summer tires are like that as well

 

The dealer that sold them to you should have mentioned that they require a shorter time frame between rotations. Takes care of the noise issue. Learned that trick from Alex at the Tire Rack.

 

I had the KDW-2's (215-40-17) and will never have them again. They feel and look great for about 5k then things went bad. They are extremely load even rotating them regularly. They also break loose without much warning. As they wear, they wear square giving the tire an ugly look.

I now have Kumho MX's and really, really like them. I switched to 215-45-17 and will never go back to the 40's.

LongBoard

 

Thanks for ALL the input guys!
I guess I will need to do some more research. Although, it sounds like the size of 215/45/17 wins this round.

 

I think $88 each for GS-D3's is hard to pass up on. On top of that, TireRack also shows that Goodyear is currently giving away a $40 cash (debit) card for purchase of 4 tires, so you'd be down to $78 each!

 

I have the KDW-2s and I'm happy with them. They were a slight step back in the wet relative to the Bridgestone S-03s I was used to but still very good. They don't seem loud to me after about 10K miles. I can't compare them to the Goodyears since I haven't tried them yet.

As far as the "squishy" or "spongy" affect of the width, it depends largely on the width of the wheels you're putting them on. In other words, if you're using stock width wheels, 205s will probably be a better match than 215s. I had 215-45-17 S-03s on my 7.5" wide SSR Competitions and the tires were NOT stretched at all. When I chucked the SSRs (too easy to damage) and switched to some 17x7s I just swapped the 215s onto the 7s and they're still a pretty good fit, but I definitely wouldn't put them on 6.5" wheels. I also agree with LongBoard re the aspect ratio; go with 45s vice 40s.

 

I have run 215/35/18, 205/40/17 and 215/45/17, with the latter being GS-D3's and I absolutely love them. Probably the best traction in the rain, pretty good grip dry, but noisy on the track....

 

My KDW2s were very noisey for about the first 500 miles and have since become very quiet. But for those first 500 miles I thought I had made the worst decision on tires simply because of tire noise. Since then the tires have lived up to their claims in wet and dry.

 

The Tire Rack does a lot of tire testing and surveys. The F1 GS D3 is the 3rd highest rated tire in the Max performance (summer) Tire category and the BFG, KDW2 is the 4th best, in the Ultra high performance (summer) Tire category, the next category down from max. Every tire, in the Max tire category should be a better overall than even the best tire in the Ultra High category, so there is NO comparison in the two tires overall. The BFG's have, historically been known to be loud, not that loud ever stoped me from buying a tire and maybe they have some individual strenght that corresponds to some individual weakness of the GY but I'll leave you to determine that. If looks are what's important to you and you think the BFG looks better, get it, but don't expect the two to be close in overall performance.

 

Once again, thought I knew what I wanted until I talked to Dallas at the Tire Rack. He talked me into the Bridgestone RE750's. Considering all factors - handling, noise, wear, ride quality - his feedback from customers has been nothing but positive.
I also ordered the Koni FSD dampers. Now my MINI will ride like a Mercedes and handle like a (real) gocart!
Thanks to all of you that responded. I really appreciate the input and advice.
Cheers, Doug.

 

Has anyone inquired about when this sale on GS D3s is scheduled to end? Alex?

Though I'm a few months away from really needing tires, and, consequently, I haven't bothered to save that money yet, I don't think I can pass up this deal. It's hard to justify shopping locally when TireRack does this!

Thanks,
Jeff

 

The KDW2 are the noisiest tires I have ever had on a car. This is not subtle noisy. I absolutely hate them. Maybe the camber I am running accentuates the noise, but people who ride in my car can't believe how they howl. I don't care how well they stick – around town who cares anyhow – highway driving is unbearable. Never again.

 

I'm running the HSport springs as well and do notice that when I am decelerating the noise is worse. Highway isn't unbearable. But thats up to the noise I can stand.

 

215/45/17 Goodyears @ $88 ea are limited time, were clearing out the Chinese version - they have been discontinued and wont be comming back.

Alex

 

Alex, a quick question that somewhat relates to the topic at hand. Whenever I bought my tires from y'all, Adrian said I can ONLY get 205/45/17in tires on my car.(underline, caps, and bold added for the emphasis which he told me with.) Originally I wanted 215s but he said "We can't do that." What is the deal? Can I get 215s for my car?

Mikey

 

GSD3's for 88? I've been having an extremely great time with these tires. Good luck.

mb

 

Dont get either. The DS3 aint that good, and the KDW2 are overpriced.

Get Yokos, cheaper than both and BETTER! Either ES100 or Parada spec2, they both rock.

NEVER get 215/45R17 for your MINI, the handling goes to crap.

215/40R17 for traction.
205/45/17 for responsiveness.

Your call.

 

I have 215/45/17 Avon 550's and I've enjoyed them quite a bit w/o "handling going to crap"

and I would not suggest the ES100, it probably has the lowest tread life of any street performance tire. 18th on the tirerack surveys, it was a good tire, but technology has passed it by

 

I can imagine 215/45-17s might cause poor handling with an inferior tire though.....no problem for the S-03s.....