Hi all. Anyone else having problems with Continentals on their MCS? The now second set of front tires are going bad in under 20k miles! the first set did the same thing. It is my daily driver. I did one mountain trip (spirited) and a couple auto crosses only. Any thoughts?

 

What model of Conti?

Are you rotating these tires? It seems odd that only the fronts would go bad?

When was the last time the car was aligned?

How many miles does this car have?

 

All I can do is swap right for left. The rears are wider. I had it aligned right when I bought them last November. Car has 120K.

 

How did they go "bad"...
That's kinda important in determining the issue....

 

Why do you run wider tires on the rear

 

They pretty much just wore down. evenly on the left and perhaps the alignment went out a bit on the right one as it's more worn on the inside 1/3.

 

It was a recommendation from my "former" mechanic 205 in the front and 215 in the rear. Camber in back and straight and true in the front. The term "former" is for a reason. He wasn't very good. Now have a good mechanic!

 

They're still under warranty, but I'm not liking them. Any suggestions on a different brand?

 

I'm no mechanic, but I'd recommend using the same size tires on all wheels so you can rotate them front to back

 

+1
And on a fwd drive car...wider on the rear...
IMO boarding on moronic...but guess the line "former mechanic" explains most of it...
On a rwd car, I understand.... But a fwd?! Purely looks, but lots of drawbacks...beyond rotating them..
Sticky tires wear out fast....softer rubber, and most start out with LESS to improve feel...
So 20,000-30,000 miles is about right...especially if not rotated...fronts only..less...
If you go with a touring tire...you might get closer to 50k but, I doubt you will like the change in handling...
Me..I'd buy 4 tires and rotate every other oilchange.....
Yes..I did run a cheaper set of tires on a spare set of rims for commuting for 2 years...worked, but not nearly as much fun on ramps, etc...

 

Conti runflats, or a non-RF model?
I used the OEM Conti runflats on my '04 Cooper S for quite a while, and never had great luck with them (25,000 miles per set roughly). I've switched to Bridgestone Driveguard now and while they are certainly not a performance tire, I'm happier with them on this car than when it wore Continentals.

 

I have a '06 R50 and I thought I read somewhere that mini does not recommend rotating the tires. Is that incorrect?

 

BMW has a history of waffling on tire rotation. The fronts wear so much faster on the MINI that not rotating them front to rear is problematic.

 

I'd say that if you are getting 20,000 miles out of a set of tires, you are doing pretty good. Like others have asked...what model of Continental tire? Those summer performance tires are sticky, but don't last long at all. My last two sets of tires were shot at 15,000 miles....and I do mostly highway driving, and rotate ever 5,000 miles.

 

Some Continental Tires are directional. Rotating the fronts with each other could cause the tires to fail more quickly. Still not sure which ones he has.