Hello everyone,

I think I have narrowed my tire search down to two. I am thinking of either the BFGoodrich G-force Sports (ultra high performance, 340 treadwear) or Dunlop Sp Sport Maxx (max performance, 240 treadwear). I want a tire with good grip and a stiff sidewall. Anyone have any preferences between these two? Also, how big is the performance difference between max and UHP, the test results from TireRack show the performance of these two tires to be very similar.

Thanks a lot,
Erik

 

The general rule of thumb is the lower the treadwear the better the traction. I don't know much about either of those tires, sorry.

 

You might want to talk to or email Alex@tirerack.com

Ask him about those two tires.

I think he will tell you that the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx is the better handling of the two.

Why did you narrow your search to those two tires in particular?

 

I had a set of Dunlop SP Sport Maxx' before I switched to the BFGoodrich G-force Sports. I switched because I wanted slightly longer lasting tires and they were significantly cheaper. The Dunlops have better grip and provide better turn-in, as part of the lower threadwear. Sidewall stifness feels about the same. The BFGoodrich's are slightly "fatter" compared to the same 215/45-17 size as the Dunlops which caused some additional rubbing on my lowered car... anyway, I miss the increased traction of the Dunlop's but have gotten used to the BFGoodrich's which are actually a pretty decent tire for someone who's not super picky about performance, doesn't auto-x or track...

 

Thanks, Those fall into my price range (they are within a coupe of dollars of each other with the Dunlops discount) and both seem to give great performance. There are two other tires made my short list which are the Nitto Neogen and the Nexen N3000 but I haven't heard as much about them.

 

Ive been autocrossing BF goodrich KDWs and they are quite good. They have pretty good grip and definitely a great sidewall. Tire compound does seem to be very temperature sensitive which is a pain for the spring/fall autocrosses.

 

I've really liked the 205/50/16 Dunlop SP Sport Maxx, better wet performance than expected, very grippy, progressive at the limit, and pretty cheap as well. I wouldn't expect to get more than a year and a half out of them if your MINI is a daily driver. Make sure to rotate them regularly as well (maybe every 4K miles or so). Planning to replace all four I currently have mounted on my summer wheels after I take delivery of my R56 in May.

I've played with the idea of going to Eagle F1 GS-D3s in the same size, but will probably save the $100 or so and stick with the known quantity of the Dunlops (plus I had the Goodyears on my 04 R32 as OE and wasn't all that impressed, different car and all, but still).

Never tried any variety BFGs but I've heard many positive things.

 

I just installed the BF Goodrich g-sport tires on my R56 and I am pleased with them so far. I have not tried anything too demanding yet but they seem like a very good deal w/ decent traction. They also look pretty good as well (fairly aggressive looking), have a great price and should wear nice as well.

 

I am worried by the 240 treadwear of the Dunlop's, I got less than 20k miles on my OE Dunlop runflats, but the price is right. I also have winter tires now which, I hope, should help.