Here's my deal.

I had the stock base 16 inch wheels on my 07 Cooper S.

Goodyear offered me a free set of tires a while back so I picked up 225/50ZR16 hi performance Eagles. When I put these on it gave the car a much more aggressive stance and it stopped trying to understeer...went to neutral. The only downside was the tire was so wide on the rim that I lost that precise steering feel in the wheel that I love about Mini/BMWs.

So now as the snow approaches my front tires are 100% bald and the rear tread is fully fine.

What I'm thinking is I want to put smaller tires on the front to regain that steering feel. I'd like them to be of a high performance nature with some bite so that the car still has a neutral balance in turns.

The stock tire size was 195/55-16. I'd be interested in getting a slightly smaller sidewall to give the car a bit more of a high back low front stance. Yes I understand that the car is not rear wheel drive. I come from 11second rear wheel drive cars in the past. I just think the look is mean on the mini. lol

1.... If I have different size tires on the front and back will it screw with the traction control system? What's the tolerance? I don't have the other nanny systems.

2.... The tires I have on are not runflat but the stock tires were. I understand all aspects of it but the one thing I'm curious about is will runflat tires help with the precise wheel feel or hinder it?

3.... What are the best high performance tires that I can get which meet the above requirements? Also what size would work the best for me. Again my priorities are steering feel and keeping neutral balance.

Thanks!
Gene

 

I may be wrong but I would think it would screw up the active handling. Of course you could turn it off everytime you drove your car. The tall tires in the rear will do as you say and give a Califirnia rake but most people that are into cars will probably get a good laugh from it.

---------I personaly would not do it but it "AIN"T my car.--------------
Ronnie948

 

I didn't purchase active handling with it. Just traction control. Of course with the same size rims I wont get much of a rake but I think a very slight one may look good. My car is matte black with an off center strip down it so it looks different as it is.

Thanks for your opinion though.

-Gene

 

Did you go straight from the stock tires to the 225/50's?

 

Yes. They had good feeling but pushed in the turns. Were also very rough because they were runflats.

 

So you are gonna put a 40 or 45 series tire up front and keep the 50 out back? Without an adjustable suspension (i.e. coilovers) I don't see any chance of that looking anything other then horrible.

I don't know whether its within your budget but I would say upgrade to 17s instead.

 

with the right sizing you can keep a similar diameter but have narrower in the front no problems.

i would at least advise having the same brand/model tire front and rear. then you can only rotate side to side so get bi-directional tires.

I had Mustangs before my Mini and ran different sizes a lot (like 225-45 / 275)... granted its RWD but the logistics in handling do apply somewhat.

 

He isn't really looking for a narrower tire, just a shorter one. He's looking for a shorter tire to reduce sidewall flex.

 

ohhh. gotcha. guess i missed that.

 

Thanks for the help guys. I think I for sure have to go narrower to go shorter. I went that tall on the wide tire to stretch it over the small rim.

As for the rims I don't want to change them. The lease is up in a year and I bought the stock rims because I was going to change them out. But after making them matte black they're my favorite rims.

I'm not too worried about going different brands. I certainly have to go different types of tires because even when they had tread they were horrible in the snow.

ideas?

 

A few other things to consider:
-Narrower tires in the front will bring back the understeer. I think you'd need some suspension and alignment calibrations to get a neutral balance if you're intent on having mismatched tire sizes.
-Different sized tire diameters on the front and back will likely cause issues with your ABS system.

 

I have to get the car aligned anyway so that's not a big deal. But that's why I wanted a narrower yet stickier tire so maybe it would balance out.

As for the different sizes the rake thing isn't really the priority here. Just finding something along the 195 stock size that sticks and isn't a runflat so I can get the steering feel back in my wheel.

Thanks!

-Gene

 

Can we call it something else, not California rake?
New York or Ohio Rake? Maybe?
Unless of course it is rear wheel drive.
OP
????
What the heck you trying to accommplish?
Please check out Tire Rack site for proper tire sizing.

 

Maybe I didn't explain myself well enough in the first place...

Most important thing here is I want a narrower tire in the front so that I get my steering feel back.

Second most important is that the tire provides high grip to balance out with the rears.

Last and least important by a long shot is that I don't mind and would favor is the front tire being slightly shorter. It's really not a big deal and would be by such a small amount. So let's not focus on this one.

When I titled the thread larger in the rear I meant by width not height.

Thanks a log guys. Sorry for the confusion. This guy below has enough of a rake to keep me happy.

-Gene

 

Why not just got to 17 inch wheels with the normal 205/45/17 size tire all around? Steering feel is pretty damn good with good tires that have a nice stiff sidewall. And sell your rear tires use if they're in decent condition.

I think mismatching size front to rear (either width or height) is a bad idea. Wider in the rear will handle like poop...understeer city.

- andrew

 

I really don't see a narrower tire helping you get steering feeling back.

The only thing the width of the tire affects is grip. The height on the other hand will make a difference.

You went from runflats which have extremely stiff sidewalls to regular tires with even more sidewall then you had before.

The only way to counteract this is with a shorter tire. The stock 195/55s are 24.5" tall and the 225/50 are almost 25" tall.

Simply going to 225/45 will reduce your sidewall by 10%, but it will only be 5% smaller then stock.

 

That is what I originally thought you meant, but wasn't sure cause its kinda a weird set-up. 205/50-16 might be better, suspect that 225 width along with taller 50 series tire on a 6.5 rim is contributing to your loss of feel. There is both Star Specs and RS-2 in 205/50-16. I know people say 225 is better, but maybe on 16x7 inch rim or 15 inch rim with 225/45-15, a tad lower series tire.
andyroo is also 100% correct, the 17 inch rim with lower sidewall is the ticket, if you want that "responsiveness" feel maybe even a 215/40-17 will work out even better than 205/45-17. And staggering will not yield good results, the MINI is already prone to understeer by design. A 40 series tire will work out in the city too, I was absobent enough to take on potholes, yet remained responsive with good steering feel. And there is Star Specs, RS-2, AD08s available in that size.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'm sticking with the stock wheels and stock 16" size for sure. I have a year on the lease left and I haven't seen any aftermarket rims that fit the look I'm going for better than the painted stock metal.

Gene

 

I need help deciding whether to stick with run flats or not. What tire is the best for the mini cooper sport 06'.

 

Everything is better about losing the runflats other than when you get a flat.

cheaper tires, better steering feel, lighter tires, slightly softer ride, often better grip.

 

Gene,

If you have a 2007 car, and do NOT have the pressure sensors in the wheels, your car keeps track of tire inflation by watching wheel speeds. If you change the front tire diameter I'm pretty sure the car is going to think you have a couple of flat tires in front, since they'll be rotating faster than the rears. You'll have a constant tire pressure warning light on in the dash...

--Dan
Mach V