2004 R53. Looking all-season tires. Have 16" OE and 17" aftermarket wheels. Prefer Costco. Prefer Michelin. Are run-flats out of favor? Few options.

 

A big NO for runflats.
Michelin seem to be favored.
I opted for Continental DWS 06 (205, 45 R17) all seasons due to my budget constraint$.
Love the cushy firm handling ride and performance. The noise can drive me crazy sometines.

 

On my MC40 I just installed a set of Hankook Ventus V2 concept 2 in 215x45r17. Bought at Discount Tire and I love 'em -- really quiet with great grip. $600 all in.

 

Would've liked to have gone with the Ventus.
It doesn't appear to be an all season though.
I always enjoyed my performance (summer) tires since my car was new (ditched those runflats after 3 years in), but moved to a state 13years later to a state that sometimes gets snow.

 

As outlined in my (sig) topic, I'm running Mich PS4S Summer tires (+1 215/45R17) which I like very much. My R53 is driven in "fair weather" only, otherwise would likely have chosen Mich's PS AS-4 (likewise non-runflat) tires. Even so being summer tires, I park mine on thick rubber stall mats WRT occasional single digit overnight temps (despite being kept inside warmer semi-insulated garage). Mine isn't driven enough annually to factor cost vs maximum tire wear, however I'm delighted with my choice.

BTW, this is my preferred tire/tyre reviewer: Tyre Reviews

 

Continental DWS is my go-to all season tire. Great bang for the buck.
If you have two sets of rims why not put summer tires on one and winter tires on the other?

 

215/45/17 Firehawk Indy 500’s for summer
then run blizzacks on the 16’s for winter.

 

Another vote for Conti DWS06 plus. Great ride, wear and grip. I have these on multiple vehicles and they have been super.

I believe they're on sale now through end of June too.

 

Ive got michelin PS4's on my car on 17 inch OEM wheels. I love them, especially in summer. They can tolerate down to 25 degrees F, but they're not great at those temps. If I had it to do over, I'd put them on 16 inch wheels just for weight, but c'est la vie. I did have a set of michelin PS AS 3+ or whatever the older version of the all season pilot sport tire was and it was honestly pretty good. Like all all season tires, it's a compromise, but I used it on several track days and drove it in snow a few times and it did all that reasonably well, though it was not as good as a dedicated summer tire on track, nor did it come close to a snow tire on snow.

If you have to have 1 tire to do it all and occasionally have to deal with snow then I'd go with the all season pilot sports, though I really like my set up of summer tires on one set of wheels and snow tires on another set of cheap factory wheels that I can swap out in 15 mins.

 

Love The Hankook rs4

 

I had the old ventus on my e46, switched to dws, quieter slightly stiffer with higher rolling resistance. Went with dws06 on the f31, they were heaps quieter than the old runflats.


both are much softer sidewall than the Bridgestones I’ve had in the past. The dws06 have a bit of squirm before taking a set and Hankook were always squirmy, but much cushier then dws06. I’ll probably go with DWS06 again on the JCW because they seem very balanced between ride comfort, wet and dry grip.

and less expensive than comparable Michelin and easier to find a replacement tire for in a timely manner should so,e thing unexpected happen.

 

I've had a variety of quality tires over the years with no complaints or favorites. To get the maximum performance from any, rotate 'em every 5,000 miles.

 

Nope. My current life situation does not afford me the luxury of having or storing an additional set of tires and rims (summer/winter). Nor do I want to.
The area/city I live may only get 1"-2" per season. Yet sport tires (even conventional touring tires) will leave you stranded as it had historically done here with many driver's in the past.
I do like the Continentals and agree they are a good value. I maybe mistaken; but I think Continental also has a DW version (?). I'm way off from needing new tires but will research anyway for future consideration.

 

Oddly enough, the manual says not to rotate them. Not sure why, maybe it’s a run flat thing. I’m sure most do either way.

 

I think dw no longer exist, neither do dws, nor even dws06…Now they are dws06 plus.

https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tir...6-plus/p/32032

 

I have a set of Indy 500's on the GP, as well as on my S2000, and they're good mid range summer tires - significantly cheaper than the Michelins. I recently changed the Pilot Sports on the F80 M3 to Michelin MP4S and there was a measurable improvement - especially straight-line grip and wet traction. I did lose a little steering feel. There is a big difference between them and the Indy 500's. Not sure if it's worth it to you, but I think when my 500's wear out, I'll be get the Michelins for the GP and S2K.

 

Iirc Indy 500 are actually an older Bridgestone potenza re design, re750/760, iirc. But they seem to have slightly different compound rubber for higher tread wear from what you describe… I was tempted by them myself.

 

I'm in the market for some street / mostly summer/ some rain tires. I think I have settled on one of these ultra High Performance All Season tires.

Hankook Ventus V2 Concept2
Goodyear Exhilarate
Continental ExtremeContact DWS06

Any other recommendations or opinions??
I'm leaning towards the Goodyears... (I can get a good deal on them right now which puts them in the price range of the Hankooks)

 

I use all season high performance tires. I have tried using Bridgestones and Goodyear performance tires, but both cracked after a few years due to cold winters and not blocking the car up. I am a big fan of the Kumho Ecsta's (PA51) - I run (OMFG!) 205 60R 17's. They fill up the wheel wells just that little bit better. The grip is WAY better than it should be for an all-season tire, and I would say it equals or surpasses the BS Potenzas I had after trying a set on recommendations in here somewhere. They are inexpensive, grip extremely well in the dry and pretty good in the wet. IME, all non-snow tires suck on a Mini - these are no exception to that rule.

Absolutely no rubbing with the 60's in 17" size. The added smoothing to the ride is totally worth it, IMO.

 

I have Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ (P205/45/17) on my car for the past 3-4 years. In my climate, I am pretty sure I could have summer tires on my car all year as winter morning temperatures here rarely get below 35 degrees for my morning commute. They had replaced a few sets of BF Goodrich g-Force Sport Comp-2 tires. Compared to those, the Michelins were absolutely plush on the drive home after having them installed. Admittedly, those BFG's were long overdue for replacement.

For the type of driving I do, these tires are adequate though I like to image putting a set a Pilot Super Sports on my R53.

 

I know this guy has been recommended a few times... He's good.
I found this video to be pretty interesting...even though I probably couldn't tell the difference between the top 5 and everyone has their own perspective on what makes a good tire.

 

This is a timely discussion. The 2003 MCS with 36.5K miles I recently acquired still has the original run flat tires. Amazingly they aren't down to the wear bars and the side walls are clean & shiny without a sign of any cranking. Needles to say, it' well over due for a new rubber. I have no base line feel for sport cars/tires ect.as I have never had a sports car. Being 70 years I'm pretty sure I won't be pushing the Mini much in the So California hills and not sure if I should get get Summer tires or all-season. Don't know if I will feel the difference with old man driving habits. I won't be putting on more that 2-3K miles/yr of general driving in So. Cal. There are presently some rebate sales going that look attractive and considering the following.(out the door- installed - no 10% tax) I haven't seen any talk on the Cont. Sport - any reason not to go that route ? Would appreciate your thoughts - Sales ends this week.


Continental Extreme contact Sport .$606 $160 discount

Continental Extreme contact DWS06 $511 $175 off

Continental Extreme contact Plus $610 $160 off

Kumho PS31 $552 $110 off

 

Wow, that's an incredibly low mileage for a 20 year old car.

Treat it to some nice tires. If you're intending to drive it mellow, I'd say go with the Conti DWS06. I don't know if you have 16 or 17 inch rims, but if you do have 17 in. rims, I'd say go with the plus sizing of 215/45-17 to get a little more width and grip. It's approximately 1.5% larger so speedo won't be affected too much.

Go drive and enjoy that R53!

 

To Zsm's point.
I wish I would have gone with the 215' s for my DWS06.
Not only were they actually cheaper (@ 4/ $575), than the 205's, but I later happened to see them on another 04 R53 - Just that little bit more width really made the car look so much sportier.

 

I do have the light 17" wheels and will look into the 215 rather than the 205's. Does the Continental Sport get any respect around here ? I'd hate to sell the Mini short by hindering it's shoes. At the number of annual miles it will be on the road I will have them for several years. Sure would like to make the correct decision the first time around.