For most of it's life, my 03 MCS rode in the winter on 15" holies with Pirelli Winter 190 Snowcontrol tires - which were fantastic. Great in the snow, good on dry roads, and had excellent tread life. I still owe Alex from TireRack thanks for reccommending that as a snow tire. I can honestly say it's the best overall snow tire I've used in my 25+ years of driving.

However, the holies are moving over to my wife's Cooper now, and I picked up a set of 16" X-lites.

I should have looked into this first - I assumed I could just get the Pirelli's in a 16" size from TireRack - but it looks like I can't do that.

AND, Playing around with a tire size comparison tool, I can't seem to find a good size for 16" that's a little narrower than stock.

So now I'm thinking I made a big mistake in buying these X-lites. I should have just bought another set of 15" holies.

Help me out Alex - what can we put on 16" rims for the winter. Something in the price range of the 190 Snowcontrol would be nice - a tad narrower than stock would also be nice. Sticking with Pirelli would be cool too. Browsing the TR web siter I couldn't come up with what I'm looking for...

(Please, do not suggest Bizzak's - I'm all too familiar with how poorly they last)

 

Besides the very popular Hakka's, you can also try Dunlops Wintersport M2 / M3 / 3Ds.

I just put the 3Ds on my wife's 325xi... I have heard great things about the M2/M3s... and will soon find out how they last...

 

discounttire.com is running a $100 off sale til Oct. 27 for installed tire sets or wheel sets. You might check out what they have in a 16" snow tire. Unfortunately, it's just a special in Ohio...sorry.

 

i havent asked yet, but i am getting good feedback about the hankook ipike W409... looks alot like the pirelli winter carving i had before which is a great start already cuze i loved the pirelli

will know whenever we get this mild fall weather out of the way

 

Yep, I saw the discounttire $100 thing - but their selection did not impress me. No winter tires in a 195 size. Going to a wider winter tire seems counter productive. Hancook? No thanks. I think a nice car like the MINI deserves decent rubber. The Nokian Hakka's get such great reviews, I have to look into what sizes they have...

I've had such great service from TR so far with what I've bought from them, my first choice was to stick with them - if possible...