Greetings! I have a 2008 (R56) 2-door Mini Cooper S, and for years I have been happy with the Michelin-Pilot Sport A/S 3 tires year-round. I live in Virginia, and my driving is a mix of in-town, highway, and rural back roads (including winding mountain roads, which are very fun!). My tire priorities are (starting with most important):

1. All Season: Realistically, I'm not going to switch out my tires for different seasons (and the difference in seasons is not that extreme where I live in Virginia).
2. Dry traction, especially for tight turns.
3. Wet traction, especially for tight turns.
4. Some snow traction (no tight turns, LOL).

I have been happy with the A/S 3 snow performance I've had in past years, so ideally I'd like that same level going forward. I grew up driving in the snow, so I'm very comfortable and I know what I can and cannot attempt. And I'm really only driving in light (ie, not deep) snow anyway, given that I don't have much clearance. But it does get below freezing, especially overnight, during the winter months (in case that matters).

Basically, I prioritize reliable, tight handling (dry and wet) over comfort or road noise (though I'm not a fan of road noise, of course). I want to be able to trust my tires to hold the road well, which the A/S 3 historically have.

I am writing for input because I need new tires (and Michelin's are on sale again at Costco, where I usually get my tires) and have discovered that A/S 3 have been replaced by the A/S 3+, and also that there is now a Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 and also a Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4S. So I am particularly interested in the difference between these three, and which folks think would be best in my case. But I am also open to other suggestions (including non-Michelin) if you think something else would be significantly better.

Thanks in advance for any input!

 

2009 mcs 6mt with 170K miles here:

Currently using Toyo Proxes Sport A/S which I'd highly recommend. It has an asymetric tread with great dry and wet performance. However, I've not had the opportunity to test in snow yet.

 

Doing brief research:
- The A/S 3+ supersede the A/S 3, and the Pilot All Season 4 probably is the newest generation of A/S tires.
- I don't think there's an All Season 4S, I know there's the Pilot Sport 4S which is the summer tire.

My advice is to get the newest generation as I presume they've made each gen slightly better in all categories. But if you have a budget, I don't think you can go wrong with the 3+ either.
I have Continental ExtremeContact Sport which competes with the Pilot Sport 4S but I know the A/S version of it is quite good as well, the DWS06+.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience and recommendation!

 

Thanks for all this! Yeah, I was confused about the 4S because one site said it was an A/S, which was confusing. But I think you're right that the 4S is the summer tire, and thus not what I'm interested in.

 

Hmm, now that I'm digging deeper it looks like maybe I can't even get the Pilot Sport A/S 4 in my size ( 195/55R16 87V ). The Costco site lists the Michelin - Premier A/S instead, which I need to research to see how it compares to the Pilot Sport A/S 3 and 4...

 

Does anyone know how the Michelin Premier A/S compares to Micheline Pilot Sport A/S 4? I've had difficulty finding any direct comparison data online. At this point it looks like the Pilot Sport A/S 4 is unfortunately not an option for me (it does not seem to come in my size), but I'd like to at least know if I'm going down, up, or similar quality in the variables that matter to me (eg, cornering grip in dry and wet conditions).
https://www.michelinman.com/auto/tir...in-premier-a-s

https://www.michelinman.com/auto/tir...t-all-season-4

 

I just switched from Continental DWS in 215/45-17's to Michelen Pilot Sport AS 4's and the Continientals had better turn in response and I think they looked better. The Michelins do have better ride and are quieter. Don't overlook the Contenentals though.

 

If the below are the Continental's, they sadly do not come in my size:
https://continentaltire.com/tires/ex...act-dws06-plus

Have you had the Michelin Premier A/S, and if so, how do well do they hold in cornering?

The below seem to be the options in my size, and after filtering for V speed rating, non-runflat and A/S I only have 17 options:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?filtering=true&width=195%2F& ratio=55&diameter=16&autoMake=MINI&autoYear=2008&a utoModel=Cooper%20S&autoModClar=Hardtop&sortCode=4 4605&tireIndex=0#allTitle

 

What size are you looking for? If you're running 16", you shouldn't be worried about cornering, Upgrade to 17" and it will corner much better.

 

Michelin Crossclimate 2

 

Fair enough point. I am running 195/55R16 87V and Micheline Pilot Sport A/S 3 (which are due to be replaced) and the cornering with these tires for my level of driving has been great for me -- so I'm really just looking to switch to a tire that will give me as good of an experience as I've had thus far. I'm only switching because the Pilot Sport A/S no longer comes in 16", so I'm probably going to end up with the Micheline Premier A/S (because it is one of the few I can get in my size, and Costco has a Micheline sale right now), which will hopefully be just as good at cornering in 16" as my old Pilot Sport A/S 3's.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/michelin-premier-a-s

 

Thanks! Sadly I cannot get these in my size ( 195/55R16 87V ).

 

If you size up to 205/55R16 then you have alot more options including the Michelin Pilot AS4
The speedo will be a little off due to the 1-2% change in tire size but might be worth it for the better options

 

Pardon my ignorance, but I assume that I would need new wheels (ie, rims) to size up to that, correct? Using my existing rims would be ideal, but yeah, I am feeling the pinch of limited options at my current size...

Oh, out of curiosity do you know which way it might effect the speedo (eg, if real speed is 70mph, would the switching to that size tire make the speedo show ~72 or ~68 {just making up numbers here})?

 

I've been doing my research on my questions! Sounds like that with my stock wheels (current tires are 195/55R16 87V) I should be able to do either 205/55R16 or 205/50R16. 205/50R16 has almost no options at Coscto (and tires like the Micheline Pilot Sport A/S 4 are not available in that size). 205/55R16 does indeed have many more options, including the Pilot Sport A/S 4 (and at Costco!).

I see mixed comments throughout the forum regarding some people having rubbing issues with 205/55R16 and some not. I have a 2008 Mini Cooper S, with the stock 16" wheels and no aftermarket modifications to the suspension (or anything else for that matter). Most of the time it is just myself in the car, but sometimes I'll have a full car load of passengers. The majority of the time I am driving on normal paved roads (city streets, highway, and tight winding mountain roads), but every now and then I'll be navigating a very bumpy gravel or dirt road on my way to a hike.

If I want to stick with Costco (which I would prefer) and with Micheline (because I can get $150 savings currently at Costco) then it seems I can either stay with 195/55R16 and do the Michelin Premiere A/S, or take my chances on the rubbing issue and go with 205/55R16 and the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4 (which I imagine would be better performance for my purposes than the Premiere and in line with my prior Pilot Sport A/S 3).

 

I would also suggest going with 205/55-16 tires.

I have used 205/55-16 snow tires on my Clubman. Lowered on coil overs with 8mm spacers, and I had zero rubbing issues.

 

Thanks much for that info and those pics! I don't know for certain what "Lowered on coil overs with 8mm spacers" means technically, but I'm guessing/interpreting that it is some sort of lowering of the car and so if you've been able to lower it some and still use that size tire fine without rubbing, then hopefully I should be fine too.

 

A little tire 101:
205/55R16
205 = nominal tire tread width in millimeters. The tire tread is 205 millimeters wide
55 = sidewall height as a percentage of the tire tread width. The tire sidewall height is 55% of the tire tread width of 205 millimeters which is equal to 112.75 millimeters (0.55*205 = 112.75).
16 = diameter of wheel in inches.

Overall diameter of tire is equal to the diameter of the wheel (16 inches) + two times the sidewall height (2*112.75 millimeters = 225.5 millimeters = 8.9 inches (round that to 9 inches)). Overall diameter is 16 + 9 = 25 inches. The overall diameter is what affects your speedo.

 

Thanks for the 101 -- very informative!!

And an update for those that are curious (and other MINI owners in the future with similar questions/dilemmas to my own): It turns out that Costco has a policy of normally only installing tires matching the original factory size. BUT, the tire department supervisor can approve an exception, so long as the new tire is within 3% (I'm fuzzy on what the 3% refers to, because I honestly was just glad to be granted an exception so I could buy the tires I wanted, but I think it probably means that the new tires cannot be larger than 3% of the factory size, or more than 3% larger...something like that). So I chatted with a very helpful supervisor, explaining that Costco has hardly any tires in my factory size, and that the ones I wanted could work (based on my research with MINI enthusiasts!) even though they are slightly larger. So he looked them up, did some number crunching and informed me that the new tires were within their required 3% range and so he approved the change (though he stipulated that if they rub inside the wheel well in any way then he'll have to reject them, which is reasonable).

So I was able to order the Micheline Pilot Sport A/S 4 in 205/55R16 for a total cost (after $150 discount, and after fees/taxes) of $661.17. I'll get them installed in a week or two after they come in. I'm excited!

Many, many thanks to all who have chimed in with your thoughts, recommendations, etc -- you've all be very helpful!!

 

Could be 3% in overall diameter, as that would affect the speedometer. Could also be 3% change in any diameter or width.

 

It is probably more like the later (diameter or width) -- they seemed more concerned about rubbing/fit than the speedometer (which was not mentioned).