@MINIDave - glad to hear you avoided my mistake with the DWS and the Kumho Ecsta ASX maintain the Mini's sports car feel.

@jrcsh6: per the many posts here, I've increase my pressure to 40psi cold. Seems to make a difference, but still no where close to the original Mini sports car feel.

Hunter99 provided alignment specs which he claims "fixed" the wandering problem. I haven't tried this yet - trying to avoid sinking another $150 into this mess for alignments (set, and restore if no difference).

Let me ask again - has anyone else had success in using Hunter99's specs to fix their wandering problem?

 

I have spoken to two different tire experts on this and they say it is simply one thing...sidewall rigidity.

There is nothing you can do about that. I guess you could overinflate and see some improvement...but, ultimately these tires were designed for ride comfort and calm, comb-over styled driving inputs. Most over 50, most women, or those that bought the care for its 'cuteness' will love these tires over stock...most who bought the Mini for the driving experience will hate them. There is no other concise way to put it.

 

Just an FYI. I did not state my alignment fixed my wandering with these tires. I had the alignment done when installed. I have not experienced the issue using those specs. I do not claim they are a cure-all. They have turned out to be very good specs for me.

 

you should re-think this as what the door says refers to the OEM tires. these are far from that. you may find a better pressure. i believe most people are running tires like this at 36-40psi

 

In my 65 years of experience: Higher pressure=quicker handling, more twitchy. Lower pressure=slugish handling, softer ride. Are these tires so different they wouldn't respond the same?

 

there is that, but at the same time no pressure is going to overcome the sidewall rigidity. (ie the runflats...) there is a happy medium which is what i'm searching for now. i'm running 40psi and am fairly happy with it as it is.

at the end of the day these are too soft for my liking in performance but put up with them because the other 90% of the time, on indianapolis roads, they are brilliant. it's give and take for me. a little sport given for a LOT of comfort (and great price)

 

I am considering these tires in the 215/45/17 version. Can someone post a pic of how they look up close on their car in this size or 205 or let me know if they have one in their gallery. THanks!

 

Here in 215/45/17

 

After reading all the posts here I took the gamble and just installed the Conti DWS' in the 215 size on my '03 MCS. I have them at 32 psi and just took them for their first ride. My last tires were Conti run flats (the best riding run flats I've tried) and WOW, what a huge increase in ride comfort! No more bone jarring run flat ride! IMO no significant change in normal (and even somewhat "spirited") handling, high speed (90-100 mph) highway handling was normal with no wandering, but the soft sidewalls are VERY noticeable when you push the car to its handling limits. So far I'm very happy with the tradeoff as I don't normally drive the car at 10/10ths. When I have more time I'll try increasing the tire pressure and see what happens. Thanks to all those who reported their findings before me. Need to go pick up a can of Fix a Flat!

 

Its amazing when you "ditch" the run flats for regular tires. No more jarring yourself to the point where you can't enjoy the ride. I have the Michelin Exalto Sport A/S 205 50 16 and can't say enough good about them.Smooth and responsive as any tire out there, bar none

 

Has anyone ever put or had the TSW- Mallory wheels on their Mini ?I really like the looks of them,but I'm worried they might put to much weight @ 20lbs ea.

 

May I ask what a better, bar none Michelin Exalto Sport A/S is?

Pilot Exalto A/S?
Pilot Sport A/S Plus?

 

Pilot Exalto A/S....What I meant was ,I was tired of the runflats and had the opportunuty to test the Conti's and found the Michelins were far superior in a smmmmoooother ride.thats all I was trying to imply.

 

Thanks. I was just wondering which you meant since you were endorsing them so strongly.

 

they are great for what they are. i sometimes regret not doing the pole 960as or the pilot sport as+ but at the end of the day. 50 miles commuting round trip on the crap streets in indy these are very good. i've found at about 90mph+ you HAVE to be on it or else you can get a little squirly with these being soft. that said, i'm regularly amazed at the grip.
for the money these are a good fit for me. i think the pilot as+ is probably the dream tire but at almost 200$ more for the set.

 

Here's my follow up report...this evening I had a chance to increase the pressure from 32 to 40...major difference. Tightened up the handling significantly with a noticeably firmer ride (but not at all punishing like the run flats). When I pushed the car hard (my test track/skid pad is a traffic circle near my house that's usually not busy at all, except during rush hour) the dry road grip was very good...there's certainly other tires that would be superior, but I'll give that up since the punishing ride is gone versus the runflats. I could feel a slight amount of vagueness in the steering (versus the Pirelli, Goodyear and Conti runflats I've had in the past) from the tires as you approached the limits of adhesion, but the steering feedback in the Mini is so darn good (nearly as terrific as my Lotus Elise believe it or not) that it was easy to feel what was happening when the tires started to lose grip. When the tires had been at 32 lbs. there had been a definite squirrelly feeling (you could feel the sidewalls flexing) when the car was pushed hard, but that's gone now. My final test was to take the traffic circle near the adhesion limit and abruptly release the throttle to induce oversteer...with 32 lbs. of pressure that was somewhat scary as you could feel the rear tires' sidewalls flex and the rear tires start to lose grip. But at 40 lbs. pressure the car reacted just as if I still had the runflats on. I'm very pleased at the great compromise between handling and comfort. One other thing to mention is that the power steering now feels overboosted at very low speeds (under 20 mph). I do have one remaining concern...since these tires are larger than stock (as well as rated extra load), with 40 lbs. of pressure I'm concerned the tires will wear as if they were overinflated (well, technically they ARE overinflated). When I have some more time I'll dig out my infrared thermometer and compare tread temperatures at the outer and inner tread versus the middle....that will give me some indication if I can run the tires at 40 lbs. long term without them wearing incorrectly.

 

oops.

 

I have a relatively stock 2010 R55S that I have put about 3000 miles on so far. I’ve had a lot of fun doing a few minor mods already and I’m looking forward to a few more. I’ve come to dislike a number of things about the suspension and tire setup. First, I think I really hate the run-flats on this car. I had them on my last 2 528's and the impact on the ride and handling didn't bother me as much. On the Mini they are really harsh and really compromise handling. I feel the RF’s give up a lot of grip in both the turns and the braking. Getting rid of these tires will be my next change. I just purchased a Mini spare donut at a very good price and when I return from my trip I will be picking up a set of new tires.

I live in Metro NY area and I drive about 350 miles a week all over NY,NJ, CT. Basically the roads in this area range from OK to Horrible plus temperatures range from a low of -10 to a high this year of 105. We generally don’t get much snow around here and when we do I have another car that I would drive. I am looking at moving up to a 215/45 17 size to get a little more (very little more) rubber on the road. Also, I’m looking at either the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus or Continental ExtremeContact DW. I realize that the Michelins are an A/S tire and the Conti DW’s are a Summer tire but I'm not sure how the difference would reveal itself in the real world. Thoughts? I would consider others if they would be a better choice.

I am hoping that this change will improve the ride quality, handling, and braking performance attributable to the tires. I was hoping to elicit a little feedback from anyone who felt they had something to consider regarding the ideas i have or the choices I am looking at. So, this is what I’m thinking…any thoughts??

 

Knowing the location that you live in pretty well (went to school in Philly) I would think that the All-Season option would be the best overall if you were to drive your car in the winter there. If not, then there is no comparison to the performance dynamics of those two tires, the Extreme Contact DW will be a better performance drive, period.

 

Just to play devil's advocate, Tire Rack's handling rating of the DW is 7.04 vs the Michelin's 7.62. I believe Alex said the all season Michelin's gripped so well they made him car sick. But what do I know, I haven't driven on either.

 

As I stated earlier, I have driven on the Continentals and Michelin outweighed in performance in wet, dry and snow.Michelin Sport Pilot A/S on my Cooper S 205 50 16 it grips like no other.Most of all your not jarred all over in those damn run flats.They're also very quiet and you can definately hear the radio.If you read reviews on most Michelin tires, especially German cars ,you'll find most will give them an excellent review.

 

Its difficult to compair survey data because they haven't driven both.

Its also very difficult to draw comparisons between catagores, like UHPAS vs Max Performance.

Alex

 

I was quoting the TireRack tests rather than customer surveys.

 

Hey Alex, What are your thoughts regarding my situation asI put forth in #118? I would like to hear what you have to contribute since you have a unique base of information to draw from.

 

If you are going to drive your MINI in cold weather you need all seasons or better yet winter tires. It is not only the snow that matters, it is also the cold that makes a performance tire unsuitable for winter use. When it gets cold the rubber compound will get hard on a UHP tire. They just won't stick.