I've been waiting and watching. Getting very close to owning my 1st mini. Plan on driving year round. What's best for Michigan winters? Seperate set for winter? If so, what do you recommend for a 2003 or 2004 MCS?

 

I got around alright on my all-season runflats for two Winters, then switched to separate snow tires for Winter and high performance tires for the other 3 months.

I chose the Nokian WR, but there are lots of Winter tires to pick from.

Have you checked out michiganmini.org yet?

 

We don't get as much snow down here (but we also don't have the same number of snow plows!) I drive on Blizzak REV0 1s in the winter. I just bought a set on 15" steel wheels from Tire Rack, and they work great. I put about 4500 miles on them between Jan and April. A big difference between a 15" dedicated snow tire and a 17" summer tire - it makes the car almost "cushy" with all that sidewall - especially in a non-runflat. Plus the plain black steel wheels w/ no hub caps gives the car that "too cool to care" look.

Wifey has a Subaru Forester if the snow is over 6". I found the MINI has pretty low ground clearance, and we don't get a lot of powder that you can blast through. We get more slush which is heavy and dense.

I had Nokian WRs on my old VW Golf Tdi... a great tire, too.

Yes - TONS of options... check out the Tire Rack. Owners post reviews and you can filter by geographical area and type of car.

 

^^Okay you made me want to post a pic of mine with the steelies! Yes the ride is softer...kinda nice in the winter.

 

Thanks for the feedback, I will check out michiganmini.org and Tire Rack.

 

tirerack doesn't carry Nokian tires, so also check for a local store that sells Nokians when you price shop.

I'm very happy with my Nokian Hakkapelitta tires. They're overkill if you don't regularly drive in stnading snow, but if you do, they're great!