Yes, I said it..
Tires...
I know, I know...
Anyways, now that I said it, (And yes, I did search for answers),
What tires are best for the street?
We have BF Goodrich G-force Sport 205/45/17's in mid life, 2009 matched set.
Florida Roads are some of the best asphalt.
Sporty driving and would like excellent grip.

So, what are your recommendations?
Should we just go with Super Sports?

 

Best grip?
Hankook RS3, Bridgestone RE-11, Dunlop Star Spec Z1

All three are UTCG 140 tires, so they will not last as long as harder rubber.

I've been getting 15-20k out of the Star Specs, and run a fresh set every year.

What I'd do?
Give Alex Mouralis a call at Tire Rack, and chat with him - he's a straight shooter and knows his stuff.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

The Super Sports tested better than the RE-11's on the Tire Rack test, plus they have a highter UTCG treadwear rating. I have RE-11's now on another car and will get some of the Super Sports when the weather turns warm in the spring. (Got some Blizzaks for this winter)

 

When I bought my MINI a few weeks ago it came with the BF Goodrich G-force's. How did you like them? Because honestly I hate them. They grip great but they're SUPER loud and produce a very harsh ride. I'm interested to know how your experience was with them.

 

Hankook Ventus V12 Evos.

They're absolutely amazing for a Max Performance Summer tire. I used to live in Florida as well (Bradenton/Sarasota area). I lived there for 9 years and never really enjoyed it over there. The roads were pretty good, though. Then again, they're not exposed to freezing/thawing and salting like the roads here in Illinois.

I digress; my V12 Evos have performed admirably for me this summer. They're not as good on heavier cars, but for lightweights like the MINI and MX-5, they're a good "all purpose" tire for street/track performance. My only complaints are that the sidewalls are a bit too soft in the stock 205/45 sizing.

 

Wow, the Hankook Ventus V12 Evos are only 89.00 each?
Interesting..
Anyone else like the Hankook Ventus V12 Evos?
Price seems very very good...

 

Where is this TireRack test comparing RE-11's to Super Sports?

 

I just bought the hankook v12 evos, got em mounted on rims but haven't put them on the car yet, they got an $80 rebate going on too still I think. I love the Dunlop Star Spec Z1's, currently on the car, the grip is awesome, but they howl pretty good after 10-12k in the 43-48mph range. Went with the hankook for some better tread life, hoping I like them, kinda wish I went with 215s though instead of 205. I had hankook rs-2s in the past and they were great, not as good as the star specs, but pretty grippy.

 

I've had the Hankook's Ventus V12 Evo on my baby for about 5,000 miles so far and they are seriously the best bang for the buck. I replaced my stock Pirelli's with the Hankook's and the differece is really night and day. They have great grip, and so far are wearing great. I would highly recommend then for street use.

 

Thank you MiniR53, cmt, bosfordjd and Carmichael.
215's? how will that affect the Speedometer?
We have plenty of grip with the sports, can not imagine getting more, but we will see...

BTW, I agree, the Sports do make some noise, but it is not too bad..

 

One more thing.. The clutch is kinda stiff.. We greased the Actuator nub on the Slave Cylinder trying to quiet the squeak, but to no avail. It is not loud (almost just a creek), but you can hear it with the engine off and the pedal just seems a little stiff. Wish there was a way to put a little grease where it needs it (Like drilling an access hole just big enough to drop a teaspoon of grease right where it needs it.)
((Heavy sigh)), we don't need the expense of pulling everything apart, so we will just drive it and see what happens... No information from the Previous owner.. Ordered the RX65, Blinders M27 and looking at new tires.

 

Mine does the same thing. Like you, I also tried greasing the shaft on the slave cylinder and it didn't help. Unfortunately I believe it is the throw out bearing. I'm also going to just drive it for now.

 

My clutch was quite heavy for quite awhile. It has since become slightly lighter. I think the previous owner, or the original owner put an aftermarket clutch in. Pedal effort is still substantially more than my aunt's bone-stock '06 MCS, but I'm used to heavy clutches ... I actually quite like a solid feeling clutch, then again I used to daily-drive an AWD DSM with a 2400 lb pressure plate. My left calf was a little bigger than my right for awhile.

If anyone's interested, I'm going to put my Hankooks up for sale sometime soon for cheap. /shamelessplug

 

Has anyone just driven their Mini with this glitch that has happened with our clutches?

Can we get another 60,000 miles out of it? Everything else on our Mini is like brand new...

Just would like to hear the problems that will crop up if we just drive it.
We would rather hear that no problems crop up, but are mostly interested in knowing what lies ahead in the future..

 

Since no one responded to the 215 question (Was really thinking about the 215 35-17's) we ordered the 205 45/17 Hankooks from TireRack.com

We figured BMW and Mini would know the proper tire for the Mini Cooper. So, although the G-force tires are still 80% new, they were mid 2009 tires. We will keep two of the BFG G-force Sports tires for spares.

Next in line is the Hydraulic Motor Mount. It has just started leaking, so this is a preemptive repair. Has anyone ever tried refilling them with fluid? Seems easy enough, but would want pictures to assure they are not going to explode.. Just seems you could patch the leak and seal it, drill a small hole to fill it, the plug the hole.
Plugging the fill hole would be really easy.
Simple fix for almost no charge.. and easy to re-fill again if the problem recurs.

 

Put in a vote from me on the Hankooks. I've tracked with them twice in addition to my normal daily driving and they have performed great. They are 1/2 the price of a set of comparable Potenzas or Pilot Sports. I had Potenzas before and I think they perform just as well. Great value for the performance you get.

 

Has anyone ever tried 205 40-17's
They are the same rim width, but with a smaller aspect ratio.
It would be like dropping from a 3.68 differential ratio to a 3.90.
The speedometer would be off 5mph at an indicated 60 instead of just 3 mph.

Will this tire be wide enough to offer any rim protection?

The 205/45-17's appears to be a perfect fit, but it would be nice to change to an even a lower profile tire.

 

I have these on my MINI and I like the slightly wider tire

215/45R-17 Continental ExtremeContact DWS XL

Not exactly the answer to any of your questions but what the heck

 

The motormount cannot be refilled....it is a rubberball style filled with oil.....the ball tears where the bolt goes through it, rendering it useless....oil then starts to seep out...

 

It is a good and useful answer. I have been doing a very deep search and it seems no one sees any advantage in the 205/40-17 verses the 215/40-17. The advantage I see is in the Price ($99.00 each compared to 110.00 each) and in the lower profile (which will give the Mini more zip from the lights and put me into 6th gear a bit sooner.) The 215/45R-17 Continental ExtremeContact DWS XL are rated as some of the finest tires for the Mini. I personally like the Michelin Pilot Super Sports, but will stick with the in-expensive BF Goodrich's.

Zippy, This is very good information to know! Mine has just started to leak, so I will order a new Motor mount right away.