I wanted to see if anyone is running the Nexen N5000 tires on their Mini. When I got my R53 it had the Nexen tires on it and they don't seem to have much grip. While getting on the interstate the other day, I had the opportunity to encounter an increasing radius where the tires seemed to squeal all the way through the turn. I didn't feel like I was pushing too hard so I was wondering if I should look for something else.

 

There is a local tire shop in my area that carries those Nexen tires. I went to take a look at them to see if they would be a good option the next time I need tires. The rubber seems pretty hard on them, and from the price they gave me....they are dirt cheap. I'm sure they are cheap for a reason.

If you want cheap tires that will probably last a long time, they should be fine. If you want some with lots of grip, there are much better options for not much more money.

 

In my area Nexen tires are simply "black, round and hold air"... It's what dealers install or shops install when only cost matters, and they don't want to put a odd named Chinese tire on the car....
Not saying they are bad, my neighbor has a set on their CRV...but Nexen tires IMO (regardless of what they decribe a partcular tire as) is the bottom rung of tires when a shop offers the 3 basic levels...good, better and best.....they usually have the Nexen (good), a mass market 2nd tier tire like a Yokohama, BRidgestone, for better, and a Michelin for best....
Just know what you are getting...
Bang for the buck products can be an OK deal if you understand what you are getting....I have gotten a few set of " general's " Continental's low priced brand and lots of Michelin's over years...depends if you want hamburger or steak....

 

Love this quote.

 

couple of data points

took a quick look at TireRack.com and they don't list a NEXEN tire in the factory 16 or 17 sizes .... what size tire is on your car?

Checking the Nexen website I see the N5000 is simply listed as a 'passenger car' tire, while the N7000 is their performance model. MINI OE tires are 'performance rated' tires . . as mentioned you'll get what you pay for!

 

Thanks for the feedback. So if I were looking for a strictly performance oriented tire since this a weekend only car and my primary concern is going around corners quickly, what would be recommend? From most everything I've read, folks like the Michelins and the Continentals.

 

there are many many choices

ask 3 people and you'll get 5 recommendations

starting point is you want a "performance" tire

I'd go to tirerack.com and just search for recommended tires for the make/model ..... that's as good a starting point as any ... and probably better than walking into a local tire store and asking . . .

 

Yeah, everyone has an opinion or two about tires, so I'll just say keep in mind a good performance tire will not last as long as a regular All Season tire regardless of how you drive, and what mileage you get will not compare to what someone else is getting because car 1- might be a DD, ( lot of easy highway miles ) and car 2- is a 3rd car weekend warrior ( what miles are driven are hard miles )

 

What size wheels/tires do you have now?
Will the car ever be driven on snow/ice/subfreezing temps?
This helps decide at least the size and whether to get summer tires vs.
all season vs. both summer and winter tires.

 

If you want good bang for the buck, Nexen tires are actually pretty good. I have Nexen snowtires and they are as good if not better than any of the namebrand snowtires I've used.

I remember seeing a MINI in their print advertising awhile back. However, if you want an high performance tire, I would choose a high performance tire. Their N5000 is probably more for ride comfort, long wear and low noise. My dad uses them on his Honda Accord and they work fine. I would not recommend the N5000 for MINIs if your driving is even somewhat spirited. They are much better for cruising around.

Nexen appears to be making a push to move upmarket and towards the mainstream a bit. In the past, they have been just another offbrand low cost tire. My tire supplier described them as a Michelin OEM. They often buy outdated equipment from the big brands and make tires that are actually very good, but probably 2 or 3 years behind in technology. Pretty good if your car is 2 or 3 hears old anyways. I believe Nexen is Korean and they supply tires for some of the Korean new cars (Hyundai/Kia).

Currently, I am running Yokohama Avid Envigors as my 3 season tire and Nexen winter tires for the winter. I had the Nexen high performance summer tire at one time. They had better dry grip than my Yokohamas but the Yoko's are a high performance "all-season" tire. However, when they wore down, the Nexens had an odd rear wheel wear pattern that I thought somewhat disconcerting. Possibly this is a result of our MINIs having negative camber at the rear wheels. The Yokos are a much higher quality tire, though also more expensive. When mounted on the first time, the tires were perfectly balanced, no additional weights required. Not so with the Nexens.

So those are my thoughts. I hate shopping for tires because every tire, even within same brand, will cause your car to handle differently. Also, everybody in any forum will have a different subjective opinion on how the tire works for their car. Good luck in deciding.

 

+1 on going through the tire decision guide on TireRack.

If you'll see cold temps (below 40), you'll want a performance all-season. If you're runing primarily in summer (above 40), a summer tire will do nicely. Or (best choice) get a summer tire and dedicated winter tires on their own wheels if you'll be driving in snow.

If you go summer tire, what's more important: Ultimate dry grip, dry/wet grip, long-lasting, quiet? A few that make the grade on great dry grip, superior wet grip, and comfortable include the RE-11a (a favorite of mine, super predictable and reasonably comfortable while being super grippy and decent in the wet), also the Michelin Super Sport, and Conti DW. Very refined tires, all. There are some other "fan favorites", again, TireRack is your friend here.

Ultimate dry grip tires are generally noisy, and include the RE-71R, various Hankooks, etc. I haven't looked much into them as I need an all-rounder.

There are a few rather good all-season performance tires, but don't expect much from them in the snow as compared to winter tires - NO all-season can hold a candle to a winter tire in the snow. But in the wet/dry they're ok - but nearly all will squeal faster than a summer tire. I run the Conti DWS as a 3-season "mileage" tire, it's quiet, looks good, and lasts a long time - but it'll squeal pretty fast compared to the RE-11a or Michelin (yes, I have 3+ sets of tires - don't judge me).

Hope that helps... true that if you ask 5 car guys about tires you'll get 7+ opinions, but all recommendations should start with a simple question - how do you drive?

 

even if you are not a fan of buying tires via the web

the TireRack site has a lot of decent info ..... gives you a starting point for hitting your local suppliers

or

you can also find there a list of 'recommended installers' and often can have the tires shipped directly to them for installation . . . I've done this several times and never had a problem.

*************
Footnote, my current daily driver comes standard with a high performance summer tire. No optional tire was offered when I bought. The owner's manual has a special warning area about the tires mentioning that they were chosen for maximum warm weather performance and use in COLD weather was strongly discouraged . . .

what tire rack says about the tire:
Not intended to be driven in snow or on ice, these technologically advanced ultra low profile, high speed tires combine computer developed designs, and unique materials with precision manufacturing techniques to provide an unsurpassed blend of dry and wet traction and handling.

EAGLE F1 ASYMMETRIC 2 if wondering .... I'm not recommending these, just saying this is what 'max performance summer tire' means . . .

 

Thanks for all the feedback. I finally made a decision on tire and ended up with the Hankook Ventus V12 EVO2's and am very happy. The size is 205/45/17 an I just maintained the factory size. I read plenty about going to the 215/45/17 but I like having the ability to wash the wheel wells out when I wash the car and didn't think I would have the room with the bigger tire.

There was a good article several years ago in Car and Driver called "Monsters of Grip" that listed the top 9 tires and how they performed. The Ventus ranked 2nd just behind the Michelin SuperSport and was significantly cheaper than the Michelin so I decided to give it a try. I drove the car to Raleigh and back yesterday with the new shoes and was very impressed. They are quiet, soak up bumps very well and stick like glue. I hear that their life is not very long, around 15K, but since its a third car, I'm good with it.

Now I have to figure out whats next... rear sway bar, 15% pulley, window tint, etc. I love this little car!

 

I run 215/45/17 tires.....no problem washing inside wheel wells. They are around 1/2" wider than the 205's .....but just a hair larger diameter.....i think under 1/8" or so larger diameter. Not enough to really even tell if you are looking at them.

 

Good to know since I will probably go with the bigger size on the next set. Thanks.