It's technical, and we've probably jacked the thread enough already, but the centering ring isn't completely necessary - the wheel is essentially held on by the evenly-torqued-tight lugs creating a lot of static friction on the surface between the wheel and hub. Tapered lugs properly tight will center the wheel. While the ring is good for centering the wheel, it isn't a huge part of the equation once the lugs are cinched down.

Oh - nylon centering rings can melt - which gives an indication of their usefulness at speed...

 

Good point

Back on topic....

We're getting hammered with ice and sleet and more snow today - I parked my MINI in the garage last night in anticipation of some rough stuff. My gf's Jetta is already scratched up enough, a little more abuse won't hurt! We'll be using my car to go out soon though...poor thing.

Any ideas on whether Blizzak Revo 1's are better/worse than my current Blizzak WS-15's? I've got a set locally on steelies for dirt cheap, if they're better I may sway to those and take these WS-15's and put them on my gf's car, leaving me with the iX 15's to refinish for track duty in the spring...

 

I've got Revo's on my son's Civic in a MINI size 185/65/15. So far my son hasn't gotten stuck or scared himself. That says a lot about the tires ability.

The WS15's are the first style of Blizzak avalible here IIRC. The Revo's are a much newer design & my guess would be that the Revo's will be superior to the WS15's by a large margin.

 

Blizzaks can be squirmy in the wet and dry, wear quickly, but are very good ice tires. I have exchanged several PMs on those vs. other tires. The Michelin X-Ices and Pilots, and especially the Dunlop M3s are very stable. The M3s, well, can't say enough about those. Fantastic winter tires. Have had 3 sets on 2 different cars, 2 sets on my Mini. Love 'em. Perhaps only 90% of the Blizzak's performance on ice, as good in snow and amazing in wet/dry (for winter tires). Very stable and quiet.

 

you guys should see the dump we got last night, started late afternoon and it still going! i spent 45 minutes plowing my short townhouse driveway! and took me 30 minutes to drive to, and from the nearby fast food place where i got my lunch

cursed all-seasons on the audi! (mini's in the garage, i am driving the Audi just because its got more ground clearance)

and in about 1.5 km, i got stuck..... twice!

 

Yes Blizzak's are a bit squirmy on dry pavement. It's a trade off you make for superior ice & snow handling. I've been through 2 sets of them, on my Forester & my wifes Audi. We ran them from Thanksgiving to early April & they lasted 4 years on the Forester & 6 years on the Audi.

I've made the switch to Nokian Hakka tires. The reason I did was once the Blizzaks wear through 60% of their tread they aren't worth a darn as a snow tire.

The reason my sons Civic got Blizzak Revo 1's came down to price. $228 for 4 with a $50 rebate. $178 for 4 Blizzak's amazing deal.

I have no experience with the Michelin Ice x, but have heard from many owners that they are good.

 

X-Ices are stable, a little whine in the wet and a little rumble in the dry, bit quite live-able. Very stable. I've had 'em on our Odyssey for 2.5 seasons now, and had the previous generation (Arctic Alpins) on my Passat and Nissan Quest. Great tires. The AAs definitely had a whine in the wet, though!

 

Illustration of what happens when you go from 15x8.5 down to 15x5.5

 

Pretty cool Rally. Transforms just like old Speed's Mach V.

 

some pics from yesterday's snow fall





and my reindeer:

 

The Blizzaks seem excellent in the heavy stuff (Thursday's storm) but got a little squirmy today in the slushy stuff - especially changing lanes on the highway and hitting those strips of snow/slush! Never lost control, nor did it feel like I was going to, but definitely got squirmy. Then again, most tires are going to act differently when changing from one type of terrain to another and back again quickly, so I can't fully blame the Blizzaks.

Got the tires locally for $100 - can't go wrong with that, though there's that set of Revo's on MINI steel wheels for only a little more than that...I never got a chance to try out the Nokian Hakkas - I had the older style that was almost like an ATV tire with big ***** on it, and studded fronts. I liked the studded fronts even though they never saw ice - sound cool driving along, like a cop car (they usually have studded rears.)

Maybe I'll buy the set and try them out - looks like we'll get enough snow this winter to make an even comparison!

 

I purchased my first MINI this summer (2004 Cooper S Monte Carlo 40th Anniversary Edition) and living in Colorado it was going to be painfully important to me that my new car live up to the winter driving conditions here. As soon as the first snow fell I bit the bullet and ordered my full winter dream setup. I ended up with 16" OZ Supertourismo WRC's painted white for that Rally Sweden effect and threw 195/55-16 Dunlop Wintersport M3 run-flats. (Figured I'd hold out for my first sitting on the side of the road calling for help moment for spring when I replace the summer oem run-flats.) Almost simultaneously, I headed down to Webb Motorsports for a 15% reduction supercharger pulley so I was presented with more power and less grip all at the same time.

So far things have been amazing. I've taken two trips to ski last week, once Steamboat and another to Beaver Creek, and I've got lots more on the horizon. By the end of January I'll surely add Crested Butte, Telluride, Alta, Solitude, Vail and cat-skiing in Steamboat to the list and the MINI will take me to all of it.

I've been most impressed with the grip under braking with the new setup but the Dunlops are shining under almost all circumstances. As mentioned elsewhere in the forums, I've picked up some strong vibrations when ice collects in the wheels spokes but all in all the ride is better than with the summer tires.

Its a setup I'd recommend to anyone hoping to turn their MINI into a serious ski vehicle.

 

Yeah, snow-pack in the wheel spokes is a good argument for minimally-spoked winter wheels (I use the Mini 5 spokers now). They're easier to punch the snow/ice out of because you can reach it. I make sure to give 'em a good coat of wax before winter - sounds **** but every little bit helps.

vdubdoug, I like your reindeer.