I originally had a set of Michelin Pilots on the car when I bought it Nov 2005 with 6500 miles on the odometer. The tires looked excellent all around - and just as you would expect, they were super sticky! About 6k miles later the front ones expired and the rear were still in near perfect condition.

Side bar: In 25 months of ownership I've just barely put 21,000 miles on the car. It is a daily driver. No track events yet. 70% of my driving is surface streets, stop n go traffic. 30% on the freeway. An occasion run through the canyon or in the mountains. I drive the car to enjoy it, but I don't beat it.

So, at about 12,000 miles on the odometer I needed to make a tire purchase. Buying 2 new Michelin Pilots was about the same cost as a set of 4 Falken Azenis blah blah blah (simply because I don't remember the exact model as I'm sitting at the computer). I had a set of Falken Azenis different blah blah on a New Beetle several years (that had a few suspension tweaks) and that car was primarily driven on the freeway and across the US a few times and I got a good 40k + miles out of those babies.

Now, at 12k-ish on the odometer, the r53 gets a set of Falkens. Not as sticky, a lil louder, but nice looking and doing the trick. I've rotated these puppies 3 times in the last 15k-ish of driving (most recently about 3 weeks ago). Evenly worn on all four tires but probably unlikely to last another 2-3k miles - and that's being optimistic.(my r53 does not pull to the left or the right and has the stock suspension and AC Schnitzer 17inch wheels).

Now blowing through a full set of soft, sticky Michelins every 12k miles makes sense (although I'm still not certain how my rear ones remained in near perfect condition), but a set of Falkens making it about 15-18k miles seems a little baffling.

Are these cars just so light that the hope of having a decent sticky peformance tire in a daily driving situation and getting more in the range of 25k miles is a pipe dream? Or, do you have the answer to tire happiness? Lay it on me people.

 

Your tires are wearing out because of your heavy right foot. I have the same issue. My original Brigestones about 22K, my next set Goodyear F1s about the same, now on Michelins and will be getting about 30 when all gone. I'm also trying me best to not accelerate so hard when I don't really need to. Not nearly as much fun, but saves a little gas and tires if that matters.

YD

 

its the way you're driving
a combination of how you accelerate and how you turn in...
i used to have that problem until i learned how to properly go in and come out of a turn...1st 2nd kills the tires too...went through 3 sets of tires in 25k miles...all hankooks.

 

I had a set of Hankook ventus r-s2, that didn't last 2 summers. Only 2 hours of track on them, I rotated them every month all summer long. For some odd reason the rears wore out much quicker than the rears.
They were super sticky and fun, but the fun was so fun, that is my thought on why they wore so quickly. heavy foot = fun times!!

Scott.

 

My records aren't the most accurate, but I got about 20,000 miles out of a my last set of tires. I consider this normal for my MINI and actually quite long lasting over previous tires. It comes out to about 2 years per set of tires. My snow tires help my 3 season/all weather but snow/all temperature tires last longer.

I don't really care to keep track of it that much. I've found a tire make, model, and size that I really like. Buying new tires every 2 years is not an issue for me. Quite frankly, I'm amazed that they last that long.

 

You are doing about average in my book. My original dunlop runflats lasted 12k, my next set were eagle f1 all seasons that lasted 18k (more highway, but also autoxed it), and my snow tires would have ~10k on them, but have alot of life left (I take it easier with them). At this point my goal will be to have a set of tires last for ~1 year and just keep snows for the winter.

A sticky tire won't last long, but a long lasting tire won't be sticky.

 

sounds like i'll have to accept 15-20k miles out of set of tires on the mini is par for the course.

anyone have recommendations for my next set of tires?

 

If you are willing to trade some longevity for performance...

I have used (in the last three years)
1. Hankook RS2
2. Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec
3. Toyo R1R

I reckon the Bridgestone crowd might have a better idea, but the Dunlops would be my choice. That's what I'll run this coming year.

 

Even if your car isn't pulling to the right or left, it doesn't mean that your alignment is okay. Both tires could be toed in or toed out, scrubbing away precious rubber. I got 35k out of my Nitto NeoGens.

Some places like NTB will do a free alignment check, and give you a printout of how far it's off. You only pay then if you end up doing the alignment. Spending $90 once to make your set of $400-$600 tires last twice as long is an easy budget decision to make.

 

Going through tires quickly just means that you are enjoying your car. I'm on my third set at 26k.

 

cool - 3 brands i haven't used before, but i'll take a closer look at it. longevity may just be a moot point since the whole idea of an mcs is screamin fun performance!

 

good point - i have a set of tein springs sitting in my garage since early spring that i've been waiting to put on the mcs, afterwhich i'd re-align the car. maybe a good reason to throw them on asap b4 shelling out for a new set of tread

 

adding negative camber up front (-2 front, -1 rear) and I went from ~11k a set of tires to well over 20k per set. Same tires too. While driving style has a lot to do with it, the sucky, near verticle front camber has a lot to do with it as well. Get some camber plates, and if you're like me, the tire saving will pay for the whole thing 1-2 sets of tires.

matt

 

I was considering the IE fixed camber plates. Good start?
Should give -1.2 camber.

 

12K per set of max or extreme performance summer tires is very good. The fact you're only wearing out the fronts means you're not rotating tires often enough.

 

No - they're just so heavy that the hope of having sticky tires last longer is a pipe dream.

edit: damn bumped thread.