OK so we're back from Thunderhill and all is well... What a great time with great friends! The Yokos were absolutely great and impressed me as well as the coach. Without having another tire to compare 'em to on my MINI, well except for the crappy old OEM run-flats, all I can say is that they felt great! They even seemed to out perform the Dunlop SP Sport runflats on my buddy's GP. No surprise there, and not his fault they don't adhere too well... All I can say is he'll be making that his next necessity purchase for the GP for sure.

Here's a couple pics for your leisure. Sorry, but the pics from the pro photo guy won't download. I'll try later and edit this post if I can figure out how to compress a photo or two of his so they'll fit inside here. And, BTW Peter... I can't say enough of just how great the weather was here in California this past Sunday. Awesome, Just Awesome! It was 29 deg. on Sunday when we left the hotel for the track... 45 - 51 deg. or so @ the track, breezy, and very chilly actually in the afternoon. Gotta love sunny CA!

So now it's off to cozy up to the big screen, the DVR and a cold Fat Tire for a little Daytona 500...
God how I do love that beer.

 

Not sure that those Yokos would be my choice for a dry track oriented tire. Next time give Dunlop z1 star specs, bridgestone re 11 or yoko AD 08 a try. The dunlops z1 are my wet track tire now and they work quite well. Last a lot longer than wet r-comps.

 

Had the AVID ENVigors for about a month. Handled decently in the Chicago blizzard, and a huge improvement over my Goodyear Eagle F1's which wore to the bone in less than 3 years, 25000mi. Smooth, quiet ride, great wet pavement handling.. i wonder what summer will be like..

 

Replaced the Conti run flats last week at 23K miles..... Nice to be driving on tires again vs. rocks..... Between the tires and replacement of the timing chain, I am once again a happy camper!!!!

09 Cooper S

 

I'm not sure if I may have misled some of you when I posted above about going to the track last weekend. My idea for last June's Yokohama purchase was not about finding a great tire for the racetrack... Had it been so, I would have tapped my buddies in the racing side of life and made a decision according to that specific application. Rather, I wanted a tire that would perform well in all types of situations, albeit dry, wet, slick, hot, cold, etc.

I do appreciate Slinger's offering of info on tire choices. Although I'm not a track day dude, I completely get it for those who are. I definately had a great time with the MINI on the track at Thunderhill, and it's my better judgement that will likely keep this type-a-thing to a very infrequent endeavour... The track day was simply my opportunity to see how well these tires would perform under conditions I would normally never encounter...

The MINI is awesome in this environment and I learned a tremeandous amount about what it can do under these conditions. In my humble opinion only, these tires worked very well and the experience reaffirmed my thoughts as to just how great they are at meeting my all-around needs. Each individual's needs will certainly vary depending on the varoius elements the environment we live in has to throw at us. Tire manufacturers know that all too well so I suppose that's why we have so many choices. If not that, I'm sure it's all about confusing us all beyond practicality so we can feed them our money like a starved slot machine...

I know that many may experience severe conditions where they live and that those conditions typically dictate the way a vehicle is prepared to meet and beat the odds. In my particular situation, I know that I can go anywhere, no matter what the season, and be relatively sure I am going to survive the elements in our MINI. The California stereotype is all about surf and sun... Believe it or not, we do have four seasons out here. Regardless of what your driving habits, skills, or weather conditions, I believe I found a tire that suits me and the MINI very well. All this, coupled with the suspension mods I've made, make my car a very nice driver that I'm confident will handle any situation I may encounter on the open road.

Hope this info I have been sharing helps you guys and enjoy 'em if you choose to buy 'em!

 

Hey guys. I'm pretty much decided on these tires for my MINI for spring - fall driving. I'm just wondering how many miles you've put on them and how well the treadlife is?

I put almost 20,000 miles a year on my MINI (garage it in the winter) and I want something that will last at least a whole motoring season. My front OEMs needed replaced after about 12,000...

 

I've owned these tires since June 10 and all I can say is that they are great tires. I had the Goodyear F1 on before and what a difference in road noise compared to the Avids. I purchased an additional set of wheels and snows for our New England weather and boy did we get hit hard but never bothered to change over to them because the Avids worked pretty well on snow and ice.
I give these tires a 10. Go for it!
And they look good too!

 

Well, I guess the best thing I can say about these tires is that I just ordered a second set for our daughter's car.

14000 on mine so far. Excellent tires.

'Nuf said.

 

I have 7000 miles on mine and like em. They work well in the rain and for the kind of driving I do. As far as driving in the snow goes, I thought the Mini drove awful. From what I have read about driving these cars in the snow, a set of snow tires is the way to go. When and if I get a set I'm thinking Nokians.

 

I got these Yoko Avids as the first replacement tires for the lame run-flats. I have to say they are a great tire for aggressive daily driving, even in damp weather. I live near San Francisco and they are great for city driving, pretty forgiving over rough road.

 

So, how did the Yokos turn out for BrownSugar???

 

I finally found this thread. lol I have narrowed my switch to non-run flats down to the Yoko AVID/ENV or the Bridgestone Ecopias. I am leaning toward the Yokos . . . the tire rating, reviews, and price is just too good to pass up!!

 

I put my Yoko Envigor's on (205/50/16) two weeks ago and I am glad I did. I switched from Continental runflats. I feel they have just now gotten broken in (500 miles) and hope to put them through their paces this week.

Ride is much better and more different than I expected. They are more "cushier" which at first I thought I would mean I couldn't feel when I was pushing them too hard but that doesn't seem to be the case. I also have made several hard, fast turns on a familiar road near the house that the Continentals always would slide a little and the Yoko's don't move! I have pushed them harder than the runflats in several cases and they stay on the road better. Super impressed here. Can't wait till the Dragon!! No more unnecessary squealing!!

 

Went to Big O and got my Yokos today and the difference is AMAZING. Much quieter, smoother, and the thought of saving so much money (half the price of Conti run-flats at the dealer) with better wear made me giddy riding down the road.

Tomorrow, I will bathe my baby car and take some tire pics for all!

Paula

 

Not sure if I posted on this tread or not but just wanted to say a few things. The yokos have been good for me whether it be on dry roads, wet roads, or snow covered roads. While the MINI doesn't plow through the snow it's very predictable and can be corrected easily. I just had the tires rotated and balanced. They look almost brand new still after about 10,000 miles.

Definitely recommending these tires to friends and family.

 

I just ordered some new Envigors to replace my factory RFs. I must admit, I only have 8K on them, but fortunately, we hit a pothole and a bulge developed on the outside of the tire. I had to have some rationalization to have the bricks removed from the wheels, and that provided just what I needed so I won't feel guilty.

This time tomorrow, I should finally be experiencing a MINI experience the way it should be - on real tires.

 

I picked up a set of Avid Envigors a couple thousand miles back and am very happy so far. I went through two sets of runflats in less than 40k miles and am hoping these get more than 20k.

As for performance, handling is great on wet and dry roads. With the last month in Northern California, I've had plenty of "wet" to drive on. Although one of the best things is that road noise is greatly reduced. I now notice wind noise that I never did before with the Continental and Michelin runflats.

 

Not to sound like a broken record, but the reduction in road noise as well as handling improvement makes me wonder why I waited 8K miles to do this.

My partner, who drives a 135i and has RFs, was skeptical the new tires would make that much difference. After using my car to run and pick up Chinese last night, he's now discussing getting rid of the RFs on his car.

Driving is believing.

 

Ok, I'm in on the Avids. Putting them on 16" s-Winder wheels. Are you people buying the stock size of 195/55-16 or something else and why. I appreciate the advice as I have to get these RF bricks off my Mini ASAP

 

205/50/16 on my justa.

 

I put mine on stock 16" s-winder wheels, 195/55-16.

 

Stock size 195/55/R16 for me. Rides great!

 

For your viewing pleasure. There is one more glamour shot that is too big to upload! I'll work on that one.

PJ

 

Has anyone gone 205/60/16 on s-winders, on a 2009 justa cooper? This will make the side wall almost a half an inch taller, or the overall diameter of the tire 1.3 inches bigger. Anyone know if this will cause tire rubbing problems??

 

stock 195/55-16 on my old man's MC