tires

 

If you do a site search in the Tires / Wheels area, you will find a number of threads discussing this very subject. And yes, most claim the ride is improved.

 

Not Big, just mild improvement on my CM. I got similar results on my F56 by going to Bridgestone Driveguard RF's. Best bet is find someone with similar car and Non RF's fitted.

I think you get more ride improvement with better shocks/struts. The CM is a heavy beast.

 

thought it probably would. I can just get portable tire repair kit if I switch over..
the other issued is the scarce size 205/55r17. was thinking of switching to 215/55r17's. A lot more options in that size and easier to find the same tires as a replacement if I do get a flat.
the diff in width, which i'm more concerned about because it doesn't seem like there is much room between the inside of the tire and the strut/wheel well..is 8.07 to 8.46
the sidewall is 4.44 to .4.66 and circumference is 81.3 to 82.66 in. but there seems to be a descent enough room around the tires I have now and the fender
I know Tire ack suggested 225/50r17 to keep the circum and sidewall the same, but theyre like 3/4 of an inch wider than what I have
any thoughts or suggestions?

 

Minnie the Moocher,
I just looked on auto zone website and put my veh info in......front was $75 for OE type strut and over $400 I guess for the next step up per side...Rear was $66 and 0ver $250
does that seem right or am I missing something?

 

I went with 225 50 17 non runflat tires and they have been great. I figured that in almost 40 years of driving I have only had one flat so the risks are probably low. I also use CAA so if I do get a flat I will just get the car towed to the nearest garage.

 

yes, big improvement in ride and traction on every bmw & mini I've bought that came with the terrible things

 

Hey Denis...I've been lucky as far as flats also..but I never ran on 55 or 50 sidewalls before ...I live in new jersey so a lot of crappy roads and pot holes,and my concern is blowouts or sidewall failures
I know with the 225/50's the sidewalls are the same measurement as the 205/55, but width wise you were ok with inside clearance?
I figured with the 215/55's its just a hair bigger on top and with wise

 

I have no clearance issues whatsoever. I went with 225 50 17 snow tires as well. Potholes are pretty common here in Nova Scotia and I have hit a few. No damage yet.

 

I am at nearly 50k miles on a set of standard Falkens all weathers. They are 19’s so ride improvement wasn’t much but compared to recommended by Mini tires that is 2x the life.

 

I put some 225 50 17 Continental Extreme Contact DWS on our Countryman about 20K miles ago. The ride was drastically improved (comfort and performance). Gas mileage did not really suffer from the larger contact patch. The width is bigger, but there is no rubbing. You want to step down to a 50 from a 55 since the sidewall number is a ratio of the sidewall height/tire width. so a 50 in a 225 width will be roughly the same as a 55 on a 205.

keep a can of fix-a-flat in your boot and you're good to go. I've never looked back.

We do live in a new neighborhood, and with all the construction, we get a ton of nails and screws in our tires. Those usually stick in there and cause a slow leak (because they plug the leak for the most part). It's slow enough to fill the tire and drive to Discount Tire to get them to repair the tire.

 

I slapped on 245/45-17 Firestone FireHawk Indy 500 tires. Definitely a huge improvements on overall ride, as many others have mentioned here. it also depends on the size of your wheels and tire wall. For example, 19s with a small wall will tend to ride stiffer in general. For the most part, just about anything other than runflats will feel better as far as being connected to the road goes.

I went from 18" OE wheels to lightweight 17" wheels, more side wall and also stayed just under the stock tire height by .3 inches. You can check out my setup and thread HERE

For reference, here's a pic of the setup before the new alignment.

 

if I go from run-flats to regular tires do I have to get new TPMS or can they just program/update the ones I have?

 

I'm new at this so I was wondering the R55 R56 R57 R60 represent or stand for?

 

All you're changing is tires, maybe just have the TPMS set to read whatever PSI the new tires require, but any tire shop will do that for you. If you decided to get new wheels, then you could transfer your TPMS over to them.

Each one a chassis code. R56 is the 2008+ hatchback, the R60 is the Countryman. The other chassis codes are other variations in the MINI lineup. The newer models are now the "F" series.

 

Thanx AWD, for the clarification on the R-series...now I will kinda know what they are talking about I have 2015 countryman s all4..is that a R60?

 

My 2014 CM has factory 19s and the ride quality is not so good. Likewise, my 2014 535i M Sport also has factory 19. Over the weekend, I swapped those out to 20s with non runflats and the ride is much improved. 19" runflats to non runflats would be a great improvement. I had an R53 MCS with 16" runflats and went to 18" non runflats and had the same improvement in ride quality.

 

debating whether or not to drop down to 16" wheels with 205/60r16 to get a smidge more sidewall to reduce the chance of a blowout, better ride and still pretty good performance as long as I get H or V rated tires
or...stay with the 17" wheels and switch over to 225/50r17..better performance than the 60's, but still a better ride than the run flats, and more of a chance of a blowout or sidewall failure

 

How are your roads? On my 02 MCS I went with 18" non runflat over the stock 16" runflat. The car handled and rode much better. Steering response was faster and crisper. The CM with stock 19s has very fast and crisp steering inputs, almost too fast, due to the low profile tires. I would say the steering input is much faster than my recently totaled 2010 MCS with stock 16" runflats. That steering difference takes a bit to get used to.

 

I run the regular 17" Pirelli run-flats on my car in the warm weather and then a set of Nokian non run-flat winter tires in the cold months. Ride is much improved on the Nokians.

 

the roads aret pretty crappy...especially this time of year with all the potholes and cracking. I live in central Jersey

 

did you get another set of wheels and tires to do that or did you just get an extra tires and have them put on the same wheels when the seasons change?

 

Thats correct! Have fun modding.

 

Bought a set of BMW wheels and mounted the Nokians on them. Here's a photo of the wheels with my original set of Michelin X-Ice tires.

 

obviously the ideal scrub radius is 0..but when changing tire size, or wheel and tire size what would be in the acceptable parameters? anything less than 10mm? with 5mm?