So OE is 195/55R16 with that you could run 205/50R16, 205/55R15, and 215/50R16 with minimal change to the speedo/odo.

Wondering what people were running, and what their experiences have been with other sizes.

 

When my 16" runflats wore out I replaced them with 205/55-16, but I now wish that I had gone with 205/50-16 instead. Not because of any speedo/odo error, just over-all handling feel.

 

I replaced my original 16in X-lites which I believe had 195/55/16 runflats on them with some 17x7 aftermarket wheels. Later changed these to 16x7 SSRs with 205/45/16 tires.

 

I'm running 215/50/16s, I really like the way they look.

 

I LOVE the way those fill out the Wheel Well. I can' see your tread pattern, I know for most people that doesn't matter much, but for some reason I am always looking at the tire pattern. It makes a difference to me.
Can you post a pic. of your Tread Pattern so we can see how aggresive they look?? Thanks!!

 

I really don't, they aren't top of the line tires. By the way if you go low these will rub, 1.5" drop and you will be ok. However a more aggressive drop around 3" (as pictured here) and it will rub a bit. Here is my best try at showing tread (view at full size for any hope of seeing):

 

I got a set of the Goodyear F1-G3's from Tire Rack when the 205/50/16's were selling for $50 ea. Big difference over the Goodyear Excellence ROF's in handling and ride. I have 2 other sets of 17's one with ROF's and one set with non-ROF's. IMHO the Goodyear F-1's on the 16's are the best balance of ride and handling.

 

I've had several sets of those over the past 4 years, but they've stopped making them.

I'm wondering about 205/55/16s for the next set, they make the Eagles in that size, or maybe I could get something even better.

 

205/50/ZR16 BF Goodrich G-Force Sports

 

205/50ZR16 Goodrich Supersports.

Speedo is 5mph high per GPS.

They grab solid. Still good cold and wet for some hard turns. Lot better warm and dry.

 

I have been trying to decide on a tire size lately as well. So far I have found the options for non-run flat replacement tires in the OEM size to be quite limited. The only two tires I have found in 195/55-16 are Toyo T1-Rs and Falken Ziex ZE-912s. I have run the Toyo T1-Rs on my Elise previously and thought they were so-so for that car. They'd probably be more than adequate for the driving I do with the MINI though. Does anyone have experience with the Falken Ziex ZE-912s? It seems like they might be a little too comfort oriented for what I am looking for.

As for other sizes, I was considering the 205/55-16 since the speedo already reads 3 MPH too high with the OEM tires. Anyone have any favorite tires in this size?

 

I just replaced my Goodyear Runflats with Kumho Ecsta ASX in 205/50/16 a couple of weeks ago. I have been very impressed with them. You can tell that there is a bit more rubber on the road with the slightly wider tire, but they give quite a comfortable ride. Very sticky (for all-seasons). I highly recommend this size/tire combination!

 

I'm running 16x7 Rota Slipstream wheels. They weigh only 14 lbs, and cost $169 each. On them I have Pirelli PZero Nero M&S 205/55ZR16 (all season). Bought them because I wanted to reduce the road noise. They are OK, and noticeably quieter than the factory runflats, or Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 20545ZR17 that I have on a set of 17x7 wheels. However, the PE2 have better grip wet or dry.

205/50 tires are 0.4" smaller in dia. than the Dunlop SP Sport 01 DSST 205/45ZR17 runflats that came with my MCS. 205/55 tires are 0.4" oversize. I went with the 55s because they make the speedometer a little more accurate, rather than less accurate with 50's. Also, I was looking for a comfortable cruising tire, so the extra sidewall was a benefit.

If I were using them for AutoX, I'd probably consider 50's.

 

Creve- what rims are those and what size are they. I was considering 215 but was thinking they might be to wide for the s-winders.

4xAAA- no way your 5 mph off thats probably the inacuarcy of the GPS, with 205/50R16 your only like 1.5% off from stock (or your doing 59.1mph when your speedo says 60)

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

It is possible that the speedo is off by 5 MPH when running 205/50-16 because it's already off by 3 MPH with the stock 195/55-16s. I think I am going to go with 205/55-16 to try to get closer to reality on the speedo.

 

Already off by 3mph, I never heard that before, why?

GPS's are offten a bit innacurate thats what my thinking was.

 

In truth it is hard to say what tire size is used to calibrate the speedo. If you go to one of the tire size calculators (Miata, 1010, etc.) and compute circumference for the various stock MINI tire sizes (175/65-15, 195/55-16, 205/45-17, 215/35-18) you will find variation and resulting speedo discrepancy.

 

My speedo is off by 3mph too.

 

I'm pretty sure no one's speedo is off by a set number of MPH. As far as I can tell the speedo is off by a percentage, plus a set number of MPH.

If you have a OBD-II reader and get it to read what the ECU thinks the speed is, its off by some %age. For our MINIs with 205/50-16 tires that's 5%. I assume this changes with tire size.

If you then look at what the Speedo is telling you, its 2MPH above what the ECU is telling you. The speed measured is optimisitic, presumably, so it never reads low, then the speedo lies to you (by 2mph).

Edit: Make that /50 tires.

 

That would be 100% correct, un less the gauge was misaligned and showed 3mph when stopped. But that would have nothing to do with tires.

Back to the subject those with 205/50 or 215/50, how is the ride, I'm worried the smaller sidewall would mean an even bumpier ride, although I don think it can get much harsher than the RFTs, even with a smaller side wall.

I'm also a bit concerned about bubbles, one reason I kept the RFTs to begin with was I knew its almost impossible to get bubbles (I live in NYC, so pot holes are my life). Still concerned with the relatively small size of the minis wheel that without a very strong sidewall, bubbles have to be a concern>

 

I have been running 205/50/16 for a few years now. They work just fine. This size is a big improvement over what I had.

You get a slightly higher side wall then with 205/45/17, which my car came with, so a bit better ride and you also get a slightly shorter diameter, so noticibly better acceleration.

The 16s were lighter than the 17s and this made a noticable difference too. Starts are so much better.


The affect on the speedo is not noticible and is within the specs. Minis come with many different tire and wheel sizes. There isn't any one correct size as far as the speedo goes, so this is a non issue, but for some reason always comes up and gets a lot of discussion.

205/55/16 will work, but this size will slow acceleration and will mean more clutch work on starts and I don't see any advantage.

215/50/16 will also work but you will increase diameter and slow the car down and probably not notice the slightly wider tread.

As far as filling the wheel well, I'm more concerend with having good clearance on our bumpy California roads and don't pay any attention to wheel well looks.

 

I think the speedo jumps very quickly from 1 to 4mph. I was trying to see what the offset was and the speedo didn't seem to want to show 2 or 3 mph. The ECU was happily putting out small speeds, but the speedo didn't show them. (The ECU seems to output whole km/h, so it may do 1km/h = 1mph, and 2km/h = 4 mph and then carry on with +2mph).

 

My GPS shows that I'm going 75 when my speedo reads 80. That's over 6% error.

 

My GPS reads a few mph lower than the speedometer on the highway as well ('05 Cooper). I can put the same GPS in our Tribute or F-150 and it is a very close match. It also reads a few mph lower in the Clubman. The wife's GPS does the same. I'm thinking of 205/55/16 when the 195/55/16 run flats wear out for this reason. Still haven't decided what to get though. I don't plan to lower the car, it already scrapes the end of the driveway if not careful.

 

My speedo was 4 mph off when I picked it up, guaranteed.
Double checked with two GPS units.

Now running 205/55R16's and it's only off by 2 mph.
I have the Firestone Firehawk GT for my winter tire and ran them on the track this weekend. Likely going with the S-Drives for my new summer/track combo.