Mini Dealerships are are selling a snow tire package for close to $1900.- Ouch
Tire Rack - has a bunch of packages but here is where the confusion set in..
MINI says because of the larger Calibers that 15" willnot clear them so you have go with 16" or 17".

Why is TireRack selling 15" for the Clubman S?

ALSO- The Rims that MINI recommends are 16" x 6.5" & TireRack is selling 16 x 7.5"s with a few 16" x 7"s...

My Question is Will a 16" x 7.5 or 7" Rim fit the Clubman S- MINI has no answer (odd)...?

What is a good tire you would recommend as well?
Thanks!

 

Ouch is right

Yes that is correct teh CLubman S will not take a 15" and even some 16" will not fit becuase of their design.

Actually they are not at least when i tried looking them up they told me the 15's would not fit.

Yes they will all fit My car came with 17x7 rims so there is definatley not a problem with the 7" and many ohters are running 17x7.5 or 17x8 and not ahving a problem as long as the ofset is correct.

I personaly like Dunlop's but any of the Name Brand tires are good. Read the comments left by others on the tires you are looking for to see what other people have said about them. Thay can realy help you out with your selection.

BTW 195/55 tires are recommend to go on rims from 5.5" to 7" width. So fitting the Mini recommended size tire will be just fine on the 7" wide rims.

Good Luck

 

I don't know for sure, but I'd be shocked if 15" wheels didn't fit. The S has the same rotors/brakes as the standard cooper, right? And the standard cooper has OEM 15" rims. I'd call Tire Rack... those guys often know more about what fits than the dealers do.

Also for snow tires you want a thin rim/tire with a big sidewall, so try to fit the smallest rim and thinnest tire you can. 15"x6" rims and 185 width tires would work great in snow, for example, while a 17"x8" rim with 225's would have a much tougher time digging into the snow/ice for traction. As a bonus, your rims and wheels will also be a lot cheaper!

As far as tire brand, people swear by Bridgestone Blizzaks, although the outer compound wears out quick if you do a lot of driving on regular asphalt. I got the yokohama Ice guards for driving up mountain passes in a miata of all things, and they gripped even on sheet ice.

 

I swear by my Dunlop Wintersport M3's, but I'm hearing they're running out... Hankook Icebears are also a good alternative, and I've had only good experiences with al the Michelin snows I've had.

Stay away from anything "studdable", they tend to be squirmy and loud. I'm not a super Blizzak fan, but my winter driving is slushy, wet, occasional packed snow, rain... not as much ice and deep snow. Blizzaks tend to wear quick and be squirmy IMHO, but give excellent ice traction (my Dad had 'em, and I've driven several back-to-back in winter driver training events). Snow traction is about equal to the others. They're good, and the newer ones are supposed to be more stable.

BTW, kudos for driving the mini in winter!

 

Thanks for the feedback- I love driving my Mini in the winter...it tracks better with 4 snows than my old SUV. This is my 2nd Mini....

 

Thanks for the advice... unfortunately- my order went thru with Tire Rack before I could put it on hold... so I am getting 16x 7.5 rims with Goodyear GTW Ultra Grip Performance Snows... Tire Rack assured me they would be great and I probably won't notice any difference from my last mini's winter tires on 16 x 7 with Dunlop SP Winter Sport M3s...

The 7" rims and the 6.5" rims were slim pickins on their site plus they get a lot more expensive. SO I will just live with the 7.5" rims.

 

they'll be fine - and easily upgradeable later when you wear out the snows and need track/autocross tires...

 

S's have larger brakes on the front so 15's will NOT fit. And if yougo to a JCW they brakes are even larger. I am not sure if there is a 16 made that will fit on those.

 

If Tire Rack says they have 15 inch wheels that fit the S I believe them. They test fit all of there packages & know what will fit & what won't fit. Call Alex at TR & ask him, he knows what works.

 

might be slightly OT, but have any of you used cables on the front tires of your clubman?

i just picked up my 09 clubbie and plan on taking it from LA to mammoth, california at least once a month, more like 3 times every 2 months in the winter ski season.

i know there isn't a lot of clearance for chains but it looks to me like a low-profile z-cable type of system would work just fine. anyone tried it? any suggestions where i could buy online?

 

See your Mini Dealer they sell chains for the Mini's

 

The FACT is that if you look up the wheels for an S they DO NOT show any 15's ONLY 16's and above.

Also if you look at the the wheels only you will find some 16's that will not fit the S because of their design. Theu do not have enough room inside the for the larger brakes.

 

I sold a set of Blizzaks on 15" rims to another NAM member. He put them on his Clubman. The only issue I know of was the Tire Pressure sensor.
I hate the Bridgestone corporation, with a passion, but that's another story. But the blizzaks are awesome in the snow.

 

15's will fit a non-S but not on a S version the brakes are to big on the front