I purchased my first Mini Cooper a few months ago and I want to change out the wheels and tires. I purchased a set of R104 17" Crown Spoke Silver rims with 5,800 miles on them. Now for the tires my Mini is a 2003 base model and I don't want run flats and the ride is more important and taking the curves fast so what do you recommend? I live in Southeast Missouri and we do get lots of rain in the spring and some snow not a lot but I don't want to have different tires for the time of year. I have hear the Continental Extreme Contacts are a good chose or how about General Exclaim UHP? Please give me you recommendations and share your experience.

Thanks so much
WalkerIowa

 

There are plenty of "what tires?" threads floating around here. Your best bet is to use the search at the top right. I have Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 tires, but they are Summer tires, not meant for the cold. Do the search, as this has been beat to death and you probably won't get a lot of replies.

www.tirerack.com has useful tire comparison and reviews. They are a good company.

Good luck.

 

I use and very much like my 17" Falken Z912s. They are great in the rain, quiet and handle well. I use snow tires, so have not tried them in the snow, but they are an all-weather tire.

"Act 04" is correct, this has been beaten to death and folks generally don't respond to this subject. When I posted a similar thread this past Spring I got very few replies.

My 912s have about 30K miles on them and are pretty much shot, so I was all set to buy new tires (Falkens or Hankooks). But, with only four months left before I put the snows back on, I'm going to wait until next year.

As the 912s wore down, naturally the rain performance has suffered ...but on a dry road ...they are awesome ...even better than when they had full tread.

Dean.

 

I have Toyo Proxy 4's on my VW GTI and I plan on putting them on my 03 Cooper at the next tire change. Great tire... very good price.

 

I have had two MINI Coopers so far and have ditched the run flats on both cars. Only wanting to have one set of wheels and tires, I needed an all season tire. The winters here are not that bad, only about three bad snow storms a year, so the tires did not have to have the best winter traction. They just needed to be able to run in all four seasons and be able to support spirited driving in dry conditions.

So far, here are the tires I have had on the cars and my reviews of them. All tires were 215/45/17.

Kumho Ectsa ASX - Decent handling and comfortable ride. OK winter traction. A little noisy on the highway. Decent dry traction. Not so good in the rain. My biggest complaint was that a bubble appeared on the sidewall which caused me to get replacement tire.

Toyo Proxes 4 - Hated these tires. They were on the car for one day and I took them back for replacement. These tires felt like mush. Also, they reduced my MPG by 3 miles per gallon. They are also a little on the expensive side.

Nitto Neo Gen - Better than the Proxes 4. Great traction. Good looks. OK winter traction. Does not give too much confidence in the rain. Soft side walls, so turn in felt a little vauge. I bought these because they were recommended for cars that have been lowered.

Fierce Instinct ZR - OK don't laugh. These are actually a subsidiary of Dunlop. There tires have the stiffest sidewall of any of the above tires, so if you are looking for handling and performance this is it. I would give this tire 7's and 8's accross the board for handling, traction, wet weather, comfort, fuel economy, and road noise. I have not had them in the snow yet so I can't comment on that. They are moderately priced and there was also a rebate going on when I purchased them. Best of all they maintained the nimble feeling of the MINI's steering characteristics. Just be sure to keep them at the recommended 38 PSI.

 

On my previous MINI I swapped out the run flats for Goodyear F1s. Quiet and very smooth ride with great handling. All Season. Looked great. Good tread wear too. Used them on my 17 inch two piece web spoke tires. Thinking about them again on this MINI to replace my Falkens.

 

Good info Teibito! On my GTI the Proxy 4's are amazing... but on my 235/40/18 they may have different properties.

On another note... I would recommend staying away from Falken 512's. They have been replaced by the 912's but are still out there for sale. They have good grip but really weak sidewalls so they flex and roll like crazy on high G turns (read highway on-ramps).

They were popular with the VW crowd that like to stretch tires... a trend I've never understood. But oh well... stay away

 

For the kind of driving you will be seeing, I would recommend the Kumho Ecsta ASX for sure. They have a good treadwear rating, grip very well in the dry, have a good cohesion in the rain, and can stand up to the occasional dusting as well. I have run those tires now for about three seasons and they are starting to wear down completely after about 38,000 miles. Honestly, they probably have enough tread to still get me through at least October if I were to mount them today. The General tire is a summer tire and shouldn't be driven in snow, and the continental tire is great (that's what I have right now on my s-lites) but the cost jump from $90 to $110 per tire.

The Kumho is also available in the size that I run on my 17 inch rims, which is 215/40/17 and the Conti is not. In the end, unless Continental does in fact make a great high performance all season in my size, I will go back to the Kumho for sure.

 

I'm about to order my new 215/45/17 Michelin Exalto PE non-runflat tires for my 2009 JCW. From what I have read on the Tire Rack reviews and tests these seem to be just what I need. They are the same weight as the Dunlap runflats I'm replacing and a little wider and very little taller. I had put Michelins on my Corvette when I had it and liked them a lot.

I already bought Slime Aerasol tire sealer to carry with me just in case I do have a flat.

 

Let us know how you like them once you get them installed. My only gripe with the Michelin's is that the side walls are a little soft. Makes for a comfortable ride but sacrifices a little handling if you are a spirited driver.

By the way, you should also carry a small 12 volt air compressor along with the can of fix-a-flat. I took the tire changing tools out of the boot which made room for the pump and fix-a-flat.

 

I bought the aerasol cans of slime. I know I still need a pump but all of the ones I see in the auto parts stores look like junk. Thay are all made in China and don't look high enough quality to even blow up a tire. Do you have any suggestions? I'll probably just get the one Lowes sell because most of the stuff I buy there is usually works pretty good. It is a little on the large side though.

 

I'm not sure of the brand but here's a photo. It was pretty cheap, like $29.99. You can top off the pressure with it, which is all you need to do once you use empty the can of fix-a-flat. All the items are are secure with velco so they don't rattle around in the boot.

 

I am not interested in run flats so please no advice on them to expensive, to few a miles and to ruff of ride.

walkeriowa

 

Here is a picture of the Kumho ASX, just for grins.

 

Been loving my Continental DW Extremes @ 215/45/17 on Rota RBs. Looks really nice with a great tire-corner profile (rounded) and a relatively clean sidewall face. They are one of the lightest tires in it's size, very very smooth ride (even on my tighter JCW suspension), and gives great confidence in corners.

Sample image:

 

I bought 4 of the Falken 912 z's just before I went to the "Dragon". They performed well, no squeeling like with my original ones when I was there before.... Nice, I did buy them from Sears and if i bought 4 one was free... They also said they would rotate for free an d that if I put on snows, that would be a rotation. For winter I have Blizzaks for Minnesota winters..... Linda Hallman

 

The velcro is really a very good way to stop the items from bouncing around. Very good advice. Thank You,

 

I have the Continental DWS all season tire and have been pretty happy with them. They were the best all-season tire in winter conditions according to a test done by Tirerack.

 

How is the turn in and cornering with those tires? It's between those and the Yokohama Aved Envigors for me. I need to make a decision soon. I just want to get the best handling all seasons out there.

 

I have the Continental Extreme Contact DWS in 215/45 ZR/17 but only for the front. I can't wait to come into some bucks to replace my Dunlop SP Sport runflats on the rear. The ride is noticeably nicer even just having them on the front. These tires aren't glue but they are pretty close.

 

Teibito,

The Continental DWS's are a bit soft on cornering. I put 4 additional psi in each tire to firm them up a bit. If you are looking for the best turning Ultra All Season tire, this may not be you choice. They are very quiet, comfortable, great in the rain and good in light snow.

 

Hey Walkeriowa, I live in the Cape Girardeau area. I get my work done at Pro Auto at 200 S. Kingshighway. He does a good job and is very familiar with German Automobiles.

 

After that review, I think I'm of the opinion that any non-run flat all season tire will not have the sidewall stiffnes the MINI requires for cornering and turn in repsonsiveness.

I'm still waiting for someone to review the cornering stability of the Yokahama Avid Envigor. Otherwise I think I'm back to all season run flats for the winter, even though they cost more.

Thanks for your input.

 

Teibito,
Runflats made my car ride like a log wagon. Sure they held great in cornering but, every pot hole shook the car to it's core. I can still take nearly every corner at plus 20 mph. If the Continental or Yoko do not meet your needs, consider the Michelin A/S plus.

 

I've had the Yoko Avid Envigors on my car for a month now. I think their cornering stability is fine. Certainly, I don't feel (this is subjective) the sidewalls are too soft. They're not as hard as runflats, but their not as soft as my snowtires either. However, these are all-season tires and if you are looking for ultimate dry grip, you should stick with a summer UHP tire and get snowtires for the winter. Though fine for spirited driving, I feel the traction I'm getting while accelerating on off angle turns is not as good as my previous summer only UHP tires. Wet traction, though is quite good and this tire is very quiet which might be why I think I'm not getting the traction I was with my previous set. It could also mean I haven't worn them in sufficiently yet so take my comments with a grain of salt.