Hey everybody,

I currently have the 16" R84 wheels and the Dunlop Runflats that feel like steel wrapped around a wheel on those abundant non-ultrasmooth roads. Good news is, they are trashed to hell from the last canyon run and no more rotations can save them from their ultimate disposal. I love the look of the wheels and they aren't too evil at 18 pounds each for a stock wheel. I live in Los Angeles and you can imagine, snow isn't encountered very often in triple digit weather (but I can dream). I like to head out to the mountains during the winter-weekends to fulfill my fancy for skiing. I am planning to get some tires on these 16's that will not give me problems in snow situations when the time comes yet will not feel like crap or have some incredibly uncomfortable oddity around the city.
For the long run, I plan to get very lightweight 16's (possibly 17's for looks but I'm not crazy for that) surrounded by highly grippy tires that will lead me to cloud nine as I go hammer and tongs through the canyons. When I reach ecstasy, the x-lites will be put away until snow-trips start shouting their names and probably for LONG roadtrips to avoid excessive wear of the performance tires/wheels every now and then.

The question of highest priority is the following: Where do babies come fr... No.
Which winter-capable tires can suit my situation for now and the future? And another question (that will help procrastination win the day yet again), which 16" wheels will make me drool with it's lack of weight, wallet-friendly-price and decent looks? Thanks guys.

_________________
-Anto. 2003 MINI Cooper S DS/B Bought 2/9/03. 16" R84 X-lite, DSC, MFSW, H/K System. It's All Excellent.
Mods: Pilo Racing Intake 5/24/03. Alta 15% Reduced Boost Pulley 7/10/03.

 

I'm in a similar position. I get my Mini inside of two weeks hopefully and I have the R84 wheels coming with all-seaons as well. (Dumb move on Mini's part. Why do they lock you into all-season tires if you don't get the sports package when you get a choice between performance and all-season at 17" -- oh yeah, they want your money).

What I have been deliberating between are Kazera (sp?) 17" wheels or 16" MM Cellos. I love the look of the Cellos. They just seem to capture the period of the car perfectly. But with tires, I was trying to decide if I wanted to spend a $1,000 and not increase the size of the wheel. I do increasingly believe I'll be moving in that direction.

If you have the storage, then what I would do for your skiiing options is to keep the R84's and buy a set of Blizzaks which you could put on or take off as you want. I will do this if I continue to live in Northern Virginia. If I move to Florida, I'll leave the all-seaons on the R84's and probably sell them.

As for a compromise, I looked at the Pole Positions and the PZero Neros. They appear nearly even in wet traction based on TireRacks tests, but the Neros have a reputation for being a quieter tire and cost about $20 per tire less.

Just where my deliberations have been taking me. I've never spent so much time thinking about a car purchase in my life. The Miata took about 45 minutes.



>>Hey everybody,
>>
>> I currently have the 16" R84 wheels and the Dunlop Runflats that feel like steel wrapped around a wheel on those abundant non-ultrasmooth roads. Good news is, they are trashed to hell from the last canyon run and no more rotations can save them from their ultimate disposal. I love the look of the wheels and they aren't too evil at 18 pounds each for a stock wheel. I live in Los Angeles and you can imagine, snow isn't encountered very often in triple digit weather (but I can dream). I like to head out to the mountains during the winter-weekends to fulfill my fancy for skiing. I am planning to get some tires on these 16's that will not give me problems in snow situations when the time comes yet will not feel like crap or have some incredibly uncomfortable oddity around the city.
>> For the long run, I plan to get very lightweight 16's (possibly 17's for looks but I'm not crazy for that) surrounded by highly grippy tires that will lead me to cloud nine as I go hammer and tongs through the canyons. When I reach ecstasy, the x-lites will be put away until snow-trips start shouting their names and probably for LONG roadtrips to avoid excessive wear of the performance tires/wheels every now and then.
>>
>>The question of highest priority is the following: Where do babies come fr... No.
>>Which winter-capable tires can suit my situation for now and the future? And another question (that will help procrastination win the day yet again), which 16" wheels will make me drool with it's lack of weight, wallet-friendly-price and decent looks? Thanks guys.
>>
>>_________________
>>-Anto. 2003 MINI Cooper S DS/B Bought 2/9/03. 16" R84 X-lite, DSC, MFSW, H/K System. It's All Excellent.
>>Mods: Pilo Racing Intake 5/24/03. Alta 15% Reduced Boost Pulley 7/10/03.

 

Teldon, thank you for your response, do you know if the Blizzaks are ok to use in the city though for the time being? Any other comments welcome.

 

>>Teldon, thank you for your response, do you know if the Blizzaks are ok to use in the city though for the time being? Any other comments welcome.

I don't know what the standard would be but I did leave them on my Miata about two months too long. I really didn't mind them at all being on there and my summer tires were about 250 miles away. After having them on for a while, you forget they're there.

I've put about 10k miles on them and they didn't seem to wear at all. I still have great tread on all four tires after two seasons of on a fwd and rwd car. So I guess in a sense I did rotate them.