My runflats are done and I want the Eagle F1's.
They only come in 205-40-17, versus the stock 205-45-17.
I realize it's the tire height that will be thinner, is annyone running with this setup?
Or should I look into something else with same specs.
Cheers

 

The cheaper $79 205/40-17 doesn't have enough load rating for the MINI for street use. It's rated at 80 which is 992 pounds.

Look for tires about 83 or higher for street use- they can take enough load for your MINI plus passengers and cargo.

There is a 205/40-17 with 84 load rating but it costs more.

Talk to or email alex@tirerack.com about
Goodyear eagle F1 GS-D3 for your MINI to fit 17x7 rims
Your options are:
205/40-17 22 pounds 23.4" outer tire diameter $130
215/40-17 19 pounds 23.8" outer tire diameter $152
215/45-17 22 pounds 24.6" outer tire diameter $132
225/45-17 24 pounds 24.9" outer tire diameter W speed rated $177
225/45-17 23 pounds 24.9" outer tire diameter Y speed rated $149

With stock suspension these sizes are possible. The 225/45-17 is a bit taller than stock. The 215/45-17 would be the best fit overall. 215/40-17 is smaller than stock and has a stiffer sidewall which is good for performance and a little harsher for street use. Same for the 205/40-17 but it's heavier and has slightly smaller tire diameter (increases wheel gap).

 

Wouldn't that be good for 3968 pounds total, then? If that's the case, that's enough to support a 2800lb MINI, four 200lb passengers, and almost 370 pounds of luggage.

I realize that you'll never get the total weight evenly distributed between all four tires, but that still seems like a healthy safety margin.

 

By simple math yes there "seems" to be enough but the load rating refers to maximum load rating given the best conditions for the tire given it's designed heat rating (H, W, Y, Z).

Load ratings are determined using an applied vertical force against a tire under laboratory conditions (usually 65 ambient degrees). Load index is how much weight you can put on "top" of your tires.

Many things affect your actual load rating for a given tire such as the temperature of the tire and g-forces on the tire during driving. As a result higher temperatures of tire operation will lower the load rating so any tire of less than stock load rating will possibly be insufficient for street use.

Otherwise you could use any tire that fits on any car you want. But load rating is one of those things that you must pay attention to and a load rating of 80 is just not enough for a street MINI of normal weight.

For more information talk to Alex@tirerack.com.

This topic has been discussed many times before. Stick to 83 or 84 as the lowest load rating for a MINI tire to be safe.

Here's another analogy. If you weigh 200 pounds and your shoes can carry a certain load each how much load do you think is needed to be safe for you to stand, walk, or run? With standing and not moving the rating doesn't have to be that high but with movement and especially on uneven terrain the gravitational forces are many times your body weight exterted on your shoe or shoes.

When I drive there is the weight of the car about 2850 pounds but during cornering at high speed how much weight is exerted with 0.9 G force on the outer edges of the outer tires? Alot, and it's probably approaching the load limit of the tires but only briefly. If the tires are not in perfect shape with enough tire pressure, I'm not going to do well. At autocross I spend alot of time with one wheel off the ground in sharp corners, will the load rating of 80 hold up using three wheels? Nope.

 

My local garage tells me a car won't pass yearly inspection if the tires
are rated below the specified load rating.

 

Yes, I've talked to Costco doing some shopping and they said they cannot sell any tire at less than the load rating of the original tire that they have on computer file.

Not sure if there is some law on that or just a basic safety rule.

Seems like a good thing.

 

i have goodyear f1 gsd in 215.45.17 and i am very happy with them.

 

How would you ratethe F1s? I have about 4,000 miles left on my Michellin Pilot Exalto PE2s. These are very grippy, especially in wet conditions, when rated against a Kumho 712 or Yoko ES100...they are also extremely quiet and comfortable and are not directional. But, steering response is borderline vague and slow.

I've been looking at the F1s, but I wonder about noise??? And, every directional tire I've owned became so noisy after 2/3rds wear I threw them out - the above two are examples

 

i am afraid i am not much help on advising the performance of the Goodyear F1s as i purchased them only last week !