So I picked up my set of snows on alloys yesterday. They come in boxes, 4 of which will (just) fit in the back of a Clubman. You have to really scrunch the front seats forward and tip the seatbacks forward. I was able to drive the 15 miles home, but wouldn't want to have gone much farther. When I opened the boxes, I discovered the tires were much smaller than the boxes; anyone else following this route should consider taking the wheels out of the boxes at the dealership

The tires are the same size as the stock Clubman tires - 175/65 R15. They're directional. Mine did come mounted correctly; 2 left and 2 right. I haven't put them on the car yet, but I feel better that I'm ready for snow when it comes.

 

Thanks for the update and the box removal tip, too.

 

Rats! I was really hoping Formula Fun had aced this one. I agree, small diameter steel wheels with tall, skinny snow tires are the way to go—especially for slushy conditions. Arrghh... this TPMS thing is annoying... sometimes this saving us from ourselves goes too far.

 

This sounds like the weather we get here in Southern New England. Which is why I chose the studded Nokian Hakkas also. The 185/65-15 work great. I have them mounted on some take-off alloy 15" 7-holies from a 2002 R50.

You are absolutely correct about winter wheels being a minor investment. Just the cost of the wheels, really. The cost of the winter tire can be written off against the extended life of the summer tires.

On my 2002 MCS I went through two sets of tires in 37,000 miles. One set of original run-flats and a set of winter tires in three years. Not so bad.

 

It isn't cold yet...

 

Living in Vermont I run studded Nokian Hakkapellita 4's on the stock 16" rims that came with our Cooper S
We got our car in late October so I had the dealer credit the tires that came stock on the car and mount the snows

I've purchased a set of 17" MOMO's for the summer tires

 

I tried to get my dealer to credit me for the stock tires and put on snows, but they told me I wouldn't be able to afford it! I picked up my car in October, and wanted to follow GrnMtnMini's strategy. Oh, well, I figure I now have 8 identical wheels, so I should always be able to put together a rash free set of 4 for summer

 

My dealer had several tires to choose from the Hak's being the most expensive. I paid an extra $15 per tire. The others would have been an even swap

 

Just to recap, did you end up mounting snow tires on your original alloys, or sticking with the all-seasons? If the latter, have you had any substantial snowfall yet with which to check them out? Did you get to the bottom of why mounting snow tires on your original wheels can ruin the tires, or is that a MINI myth? I'm expecting my car to arrive before Christmas, and trying to figure out what to do. It's likely I'll just go buy some winter tires and mount them on the alloys.

 

I mounted the snows on my original 16" alloy wheels
I purchased 17" wheels and tires for the summer

Why would oem wheels ruin snow tires?

I've always run snows with separate rims on all my cars, usually using the oem rims for snows or in one case buying a set of steel wheels for the snows since the oem rims were real nice

 

Just been told that taking off the existing tires from my 15" alloy Clubman rims may end up ruining the tires.

I was referring to the above, which is talking about the oem tires, not snows.

 

raff888, I'm not 100% sure on the "ruining the tires" if I were to have the original all seasons removed from the original 15" alloys... I guess generally it's not the best to keep removing them and putting them back on?

I decided, after scaring myself by watching tirerack.com videos of tire tread and the whys and wherefores of why deeper treads are important for even slush... and my need to be able to use my MINI all the time in either rain, sleet, snow or dark of night, to buy the MINI package my dealership was offering, as outlined so kindly above by BRG Club. They'll be put on on Wednesday.

My past MINIs both had their own dedicated wheels with snows and were quite happy.

 

There's no arguing that removing and re-installing tires on a seasonal basis will over time damage the bead and the seal will be compromised
I'ts always recommendable to have separate wheels and tires for summer / winter

I'm not sure of the effect on run flats
I know they are A LOT harder to mount than convential tires

 

Thanks for the info, Otra. My former MCS had its own dedicated wheels with Blizzaks and was amazing in the snow. I was hoping against hope that I could just use the all-seasons on the Clubman for this winter, but that really doesn't make sense here in Utica. I'm going to buy some winter tires and mount them on the alloys this winter, then buy some wheels before next winter. We've had pretty tame winters up here for the past couple of years, but you never know.
BTW, I grew up riding the Dragon Coaster.

 

Wow, you grew up riding THE Dragon Coaster? And my husband went to Utica College - but got a Syracuse University diploma. Talk about 6 degrees of separation?

I'd say in Utica, you'd want to have snow tires on just about any car you were driving, though you say you've had tame winters? Never would have guessed that!

By the way, the last time I was on the Dragon Coaster was about 8 years ago...and I practically lost it I was so scared. I've never been big on those rides except their carousel and ferris wheel.

 

When our 09 clubman was on order, I called Alex, the MINI specialist at tirerack to see if the 15" steelies/ blizzak revo1's I ran on our 2006 MC would fit the new clubbie. he checked and said they would.
I drove clubbie home 130 mi. from albany NY on Nov 24, thru rain sleet freezing rain, and accumulated snow on i-88. (new control setup, performance all-seasons and whiteout spray from all the freight haulers, dangling wing plows on all the salt trucks- a real white knuckle drive for sure) 2 driving days later, i swapped off the stock wheels for my steel mounted snows.
they fit, nothing felt odd when I tightened the lugs.
since my wheels fit, what is the 12mm vs 14mm change going to affect?

does it involve the taper of the bolt/wheel hole bevel match?
perhaps this changeover occurred before aug 2006 builds and therefore does not affect me?
...or am i driving on improperly attached snows? (shiver)

I did run up against the TPMS gotcha... but I can buy them for $50 ea. to fit my steelies. gonna drive with the inflation fault light on till the revos are ready for replacement rather than pull them off the rims for an early install if my current mount situation is safe.
I recall Alex said my Revos were an interim model intended for the japanese market but were sold in the US due to loss of capacity as result of a fire at the blizzak factory. guess the current preferred blizzaks for MINIs are the ws-60s. if you wanna get to the ski slopes in NY/VT, I would not hazard a trip on the stock all seasons.

 

I was told one needed a conversion stud kit in order to use my 2nd Generation's steel wheels...but maybe there was a change in the later builds? Why not call your MINI's Parts Dept. and ask them?

 

I just put on my winter tire and rim package from discount tire. What a difference in the snow. I went with Yokohama 205/55/16 w.drive. I got new rims and tires installed from $740 from Discount tire.

 

I picked up my Clubman in during a showstorm (feb 22). It handled great with the traction control, etc.

I do like to put winter tires on my car, though. You definitely get better snow performance.

 

Although my wife thought it was wasted $, 1.5 wks. ago I ordered Michelin X-Ice (Xi2) tires on Enkei wheels. My OEM was the Continental 195/55R16's, and the snows are 205/50R16. The Tire Rack was great in helping, and I received them last Thursday.

My wife had the car Friday and promptly got stuck in our driveway entrance - we received about 6" of snow. Yep, I couldn't resist mentioning to her the irony... I installed the snows Sat. morning and went looking for un-touched snowy surfaces to play in. Found an area and was quite impressed! The bottom line: The initial investment is significant, however it will make a difference, no question about it.

 

Good for you, Jeff - and for your wife, too. I'm the snow tire person in my family.

Glad to see you're online and apparently were not hit by the big ice storm, or at least have not lost your power!

 

No lost power, just my mind!

 

Ah, the old "lost my mind" issue. Very common at this time of year, not to worry.

 

To all those doubters out there. Winter Tires (Snow/Ice) not All Seasons are the way to go.

Little story.

Last Thursday just after lunch i finally go the the tire and rims mounted. I went to a local place after receiving my wheels/tires combos from Tire Rack and had them rebalance and mounted on my clubman. The shop also did an alignment (i still need to contact the dealer about a little problem with that as well).

Thursday night/ Friday morning we had a bad Ice Storm. My car was not in its normal spot. I had asked the neighbor if i could park in her driveway for the night fearing the tree over our drive might lose some limbs and damage my clubman. Well lucky for me i did that as there was a large (10" diameter) limb sitting where my car would normaly have been.

Wealso had the top 15 to 20 feer of all the trees in my back yard snap off and end up on the ground. Luckily ther was no damage to the house.

Friday morning at 6 am i was on the phone with Home Depot purchasing a generator as we had lost power at 2 am and from the looks of the street it might be days before power was restored. (as of this writing we still have no power at the house, and i am at work) My Mini Clubman with it snow tires went everywhere i needed it to go in the ICE that was on the roads in my neighborhood. Many ohter cars were trying to get somewhere but were not moving. Although it did take over 3 hours to traverse the 27 miles to and from Home Depot I arrived back at 10:30 am and had the genrerator on line and heat back on by 11 am.

This coudl not and would not have happend if i had used All Season Tires.

Thanks to Dunlop for making the Winter Sport 3D Snow and Ice tires. I love them. I now know that this years skiing trips will be easy to get to.

Another point for those purchasing form Tire Rack. If you local installer feels the tires needed to be rebalanced you can have that money refunded by the tire rack. You need to send them a copy of the receipt for your wheels/tires and the receipt for the rebalancing.

 

Schatzy, so glad to hear your house (not to mention its inhabitants!) and your MINI are all AOK. Sorry to hear about the continued loss of power. I know there are 1000s in your situation, and worse.

Glad to read you had your snow tires on before the deluge, and that you were actually able to buy a generator when you needed it!

Interesting note about tire rack and the reimbursement.

Hang in there!