I'm looking at getting new Tires for my new Mini. I really don't like run flats so I'm getting the car delivered on winters and buying a new set of wheels and tires for summer. I'm looking for tires in 215/35 18 size.

If I were to get ultra high performance I would probably get the Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport, if going for the max performance probably the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric. The price difference isn't too big between the tires, but I expect the UHP will have better tread life.

Is the performance increase of the max performance tire much better than the UHP? Is the tread life of the UHP tire much better than the max?

Anyone had experience with either or both sets of tires (specific brands or categories)?

 

Do a little research at tirerack and read the reviews. There seems to be quite the difference between brands on tread wear and traction in the same catagory.

 

Get the P Zero Nero summer compound if they still have them on sale. They stick like hell.

 

I have no experience with either of those two tires. I went with Toyo T1R (Max-280 rating) because they were kind of between the Eagle F1 (Max-240) and RE760 (UHP-340) I previously had BFG KDW-2 (UHP-300) and the Toyo T1R have much better performance and only slightly less wear (17,000 verse 18,000 miles). The Eagle F1 has always performed well in tire test reviews but will wear much faster than the RE760. It is a trade off.

 

I got some Potenza AS960 all seasons for my JCW Challenge wheels to use in the cold months.

For the summer and performance I put Yokohama Advan Neova tires on a set of OZ Alleggerita rims. These are "extreme" performance and they stick like crazy. I've been very pleased with them so far and will really put them to the test in a couple weeks when I do a HPDE on them.

 

I think I'm going to be doing around 16,000km (~10,000miles) per year on them and I want them to last at least two years, three years and I'd be a very happy man . I'm still swinging between the two, I hate having to make up my mind...

 

The Eagle F1s will not last as long as you want. If you are looking for 20,000 to 30,000 miles, I think you will have to go with the RE760.

 

YOu kinda have to make up your mind on priority: performance or longevity. You won't find a tire that does both really well.

I put about 12K miles each year on my car, and a 1/3 of that is on the winter wheels. I go the performance route and just know I'll have to replace them. Since I do a couple track events each year, it also saves me from buying another set of wheel and r-comps just for the track, but still get reasonable enough performance to have fun.

 

I do have to make my mind up, but as I said that's what I hate doing .

It sounds like we do similar milage (I should be 10k miles max summer plus around 4k miles winter). From replies it sounds like going the max performance route means new tires annually, wheras going UHP will get me through two years and I guess it's hard to guage performance difference without trying both personally.

I am slightly leaning towards just going the UHP route, but then the little devil on my shoulder pops up and says to hell with it, just go for the sticky option.

 

That why I have the Advan Neova AD08. They are about as sticky as you can get before going to a competition tire. The previous generation AD07 tested as TireRack's fastest street tire. They look cool too.

 

I'm not sure the distinction between "max performance" and "ultra high performance" actually means anything. The actual model of tire you're getting is the important thing.

I just got Michelin PE2s (220 rating), which are "only" UHP but they perform almost as well as the Dunlop Z1 Star Specs (my track tires) (200 rating), and they perform better than the Goodyear Eagle F1 (GS-D3s)* (280 rating) that they're replacing, even though the F1s are listed as "Max" performance (I could have sworn they used to be "Extreme" performance which is a category between UHP and Max).

For street use I'd go for the PE2s (I'm happy with them). I never actually bother about the treadlife aspect of the tire, as far as I'm concerned shorter is better. It usually means better performance, and if you find you don't like the tires, you're not stuck with them forever.

*Not to be confused with any other Goodyear Eagle F1s, like the assymetric.

 

TireRack defines what they mean by Extreme, Max, UHP, etc. I interpret it as Extreme being the highest street dry performance rating.

 

As RaceTripper said these are categories which Tire Rack puts the tires into (sorry, should have made that clear in the original post). I'm not sure exactly what criteria they use, but I think in general:
Max are stickier than UHP
UHP have longer tread life than MAX

Obviously if there is something that is as sticky as a Max Performance, but lasts as long as a UHP that is ideal.

The reason I didn't specify Michelin's in my original post is that they didn't come in my search, but I see there are some if I change the tire size michelins do come up.

I'm also wondering if I should just get 17" wheels (I'm buying new wheels for summer use as well) since there seems to be a lot more choice of both wheels and tires at that size.

 

From a performance standpoint, 17" is better than 18" because you'll have enough less unsprung weight and rotational mass to make it very worthwhile. That helps for handling, acceleration, and braking. Go for 18" if you want the cosmetic look of it. Also wheels and tires are cheaper in 17" (and even cheaper at 16"). I had a M3 with 19" wheels and tires prices for those were crazy (like over $300 a piece for 275/30/19 and 245/35/19). The Advans for my MINI are half that.

 

I think the 180 treadware rating on the Advans is it's biggest downside.

 

As I said before, you can either have sticky or you can have long lasting. I don't really see the 180 rating as a downside, because improving it would mean compromising performance.

Ya gotta pay to play...

 

Exactly...

I always laugh when i see threads that are asking for tires that are:
- low cost
- grippy
- comfortable
- great handling in rain, snow or shine
- not noisy
- long lasting

Sorry, there is no magical tire that will do anything you want. Tires are always a trade off and one just needs to pick the sacrifices that one is willing go make to have one thing over the other.

 

You mean I won't be able to find tires that are:

- grippy
- comfortable
- great handling in rain, snow or shine
- silent
- last forever
- free
- chick magnets
- pick winning horses
- always pay for the beer

 

I recently swapped out the runflats for 225/45/17 Nitto Neogens on the stock Challenge wheels. I am loving them so far. Tire Rack does not sell them so I went to www.discountiredirect.com. Great price at $92 a piece shipped.

 

im hoping to switch to a summer performance tire too and i had been looking around and seem to like the Bridgestone Potenza RE760s, good price and seems to get rave reviews, but the what i need to know before pulling the trigger on this is, if i have the All season runflats on the 17" crownspokes what kind of improvement/ difference/ feeling ect.. should i expect from a UHP tire? i figured i shouldnt go any higher because i just am a spirtied driver, no autocross, just like to carve the local corners. in that sense, is it even worth up grading? i figured i'd get new tires cause i want to get new rims too, either Elburs 104's or if i find a bag full of money somewhere the Breyton GTS-R in black with the red stipe.

 

You will feel/hear an improvement in handling, comfort, and noise. I have found the runflats to be not very sticky, very hard, and noisy when compared to UHP tires. I have found the wear of UHP tires to be about the same (if not better) than the runflats I have replaced on two different Minis.

The big disadvantage with the change is no runflat security. I have AAA plus I carry a tire hole plug tool, slime, plus an air compressor. I have not had an instant flat after switching to non-runflats (about 50,000 miles). I have had slow leaks that I could add air and continue driving to a repair location. However your thoughts on keeping runflats probably depends on where you live and road coditions.

 

When compared to the 200 rating most of the other tires in the same catagory have it is a valid point.

 

And others in the range are worse at 140.

It's really a stupid argument. If the difference between 180 and 200 bugs you, don't buy the Advan Neova AD08, and don't buy the Potenza RE-11 either, or the RE-050, etc.

The AD07s tested as the fastest street tire last year at TireRack. The AD08 successor is just not a tire to pick if you are going to worry about wear -- get something else in that case!!!

Get this tire (or the Potenza RE-11, also 180) if you want the extreme in street legal tire performance. It's really more suited for those of us who want to track or AutoX their car occasionally without going to a r-comp (which will wear even faster).

 

Runflats have that wooden ride, sure, but I posted some close-enough-to-be-identical times on mostly-worn-out Pirelli Eufori@ runflats and my (then almost new) Michelin PE2s. I blame tread squirm. The Eufori@s weren't that un-grippy, they just felt, well, wooden.

Driven spiritedly, my Michelin PE2s have lasted last 13k and are a-l-m-o-s-t done. Bear in mind, my "spiritedly" and yours may differ. The ride wasn't night-and-day different, but quite noticeably more comfortable with the Michelins. Now that the tread has worn some, the michelins would definitely post better times than the worn out Pirellis did (data source: my calibrated butt-o-meter). My Michelins have never, ever, paid for the beer. They make a barely noticable "ronging" (kind of a low pitched ringing) sound at speed, but are otherwise quiet. They stick like epoxy in the wet.

Max performance tires will give you a noise tradeoff as some of them are sticky enough to throw all sorts of road grit against the undercarriage (like race tires do).

I'll be faced with the same decision shortly, am strongly considering one of the BFGs (hi Colin!) or maybe a Goodyear or Bridgestone..., both for treadwear and because they're not yet another Korean tire. I know the Korean stuff is fine quality (mostly), but our economy needs a lift.

 

what about the falken azenis rt615?? I've had two sets on mine each set lasting about a total of 15K. Not bad for $108 a tire(215/40R17) and the performance is awesome.....noisy but awesome!