You should be able to find something in Seattle. Hooked on Driving have branch in Oregon now.

 

That's awesome, thanks for the link!

 

If anyone needs further proof, just put economy tires on your favorite race car in Gran Tursimo (5) and try to do a hot lap of any track.

My tires? I have probably the most expensive tires available in 195/60/15, Nokian Vee's. I pay about $140 per tire from an online distributor, but they have come down in price a bit. I am on my 3rd set.

 

The DW and DWS are generally regarded as excellent tires. I like how Continental was smart and made the tire idiot-proof with the disappearing letters to tell you when the tire is no longer good for certain conditions.

I still prefer separate winter and summer sets but the DWS is probably the only all-season I'd run.

 

I will not buy the cheapest tire just because it is cheap, nor will I buy the most expensive tire just because it costs the most. I typically do my research on the web. Tirerack.com has a very nice evaluation system so you can get an idea of the performance of the tire. I steer away from tires that have very few miles that have been driven by the people who have purchased them and look for some reviews, both by owners and by other "professionals" so I can get an idea of what will meet my needs. If two tires are close in performance then I will choose the one that costs less.

I think the comment about specific tires for the MINI is fantastic, but it can be difficult to find comprehensive information that is MINI specific. As someone else has said, most people are the limiting factor when it comes to their cars performance. And I probably fit into that category too. Sometimes you just don't know what you don't know.

 

I have separate wheels and tires for the new JCW Coupe that is on order. The wheels and tires that come with the car will be used in summer. Then once the tires go I will buy some good summer tread to put on that car. In the winter it will have the All Season DWS tires with another set of wheels that are black but still look REAL good. The JCW will get the good wheel treatment. My GTO just will not go in the snow at all so if there is any hint of snow the Goat gets parked and the JCW will have to do the heavy lifting.

Know what I mean?

Thanks for the comments.

 

You can also get too much tire.

Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec, possibly the single stickiest street tire you can put on a Mini. Grips like it's angry.

Also super loud right a 47mph for some reason, a white knuckler at anything wetter than damp roads, double white knuckler at anything colder than 50F, and will wear out in, oh, about 15,000 miles. My current favorite tire, but not for everyone.

There are tradeoffs in everything. Do your research, and choose what fits your needs best.