So...what are your opinions on dedicated winter wheels/tires? I have done this on two past vehicles, and worked really nice. But this time around, with the new car, wheels + TPMS + Tires will be a small chunk of change.

My Cooper has the 16" wheels, and I was thinking of getting a set of dedicated 15" wheels I can get them out the door for $900-1000. If I swap to snows on the 16" wheels I have, the cost is going to be ~$500 plus getting the tires swapped on and off every season.

It is a hard decision, but looking for opinions!

I"m considering these wheels + tires for winter:

Hanook Winter iPike, had these before on FWD sedan and liked them.

 

I have always gone with dedicated sets of winter and summer tires on our cars, and allways will. The flexibility and convenience of being able to quickly swap them at the curb
is hard to turn down, and remounting tires twice a year is hard on the beads and sidewalls, and you have to rebalance them each time as well.
There's enough snow in Eastern PA to justify a full winter set for a few months per year. It's cold enough in the winter that full summer tires aren't happy then anyway.

 

Agreed a winter set is the way to go. I just put together a quick 15" package with these wheels and tires for $976 + shipping. Those Blizzak tires are among the best snow and ice traction I offer. I run the same tires personally.

 

So what is the difference between WS60 and a WS70??? I'm still considering keeping a 16" wheel.

Current tirerack 15" consideration:

On WS70

or Studded:


Tires+Wheels+TPMS+Shipping are the same price (~1050) from DiscountTireDirect.com or Tirerack.com

Wheels are going on a Chili Red /w Black roof/mirrors.

 

I ran the Blizzak WS60 in 175/65-15 on my Holies when I lived in CO and I had problems whatsoever with snow traction, even in heavy mountain snowfall conditions. I don't think the studded setup would be needed unless you are really chomping through some nasty ice and such.

iirc the ws70 is just the newer progression of the line. Honestly, I don't think you could go wrong with either.

 

I had studded snows for my Interceptor, and they worked pretty good at times.

I had the Hanook iPike on the Ford, but they weren't studded. But I know there were times when studs would have helped.

We get a mix of weather in PA. I seriously can drive from my house and into town, drop 300 feet in elevation and go through a snow/rain line, or a sleet/rain line. My current commute leads me up into the pocono's where in March 2011 I drove through slush, inches of snow, and ice. Lots of hills, both up and down. If someone else gets stuck, I need to be able to stop and drive around them. I've turned around from lines of stuck traffic and gone different routes (or home) when I had my Subaru. I really just want my Mini to the best fighting chance in winter!

 

Definitely dedicated winter wheels and tires. I can just swap them myself at home in 30-60 minutes instead of spending part of an afternoon at my favorite tire shop. It is also cheaper in the long run and extends the life of your summer set.

Personally I don't like downsizing the wheel if I can avoid it - I just don't like the sidewall flex with the higher profile tire on top of the winter treat design on my 15" current winter set. But we have cold temps over here and not so much extreme snow conditions. With the new JCW coming I have no choice but to stay with 17" alloys and 45-series tires.

You could also consider buying snow tires on your existing 16" wheels, then get a set of 17" for summer (and sell your 16" tires). But that may be too expensive.

 

this is a photoshop but mine look just like these now. (in the darker grey all across the wheel)

 

I thought about it getting snows for the 16" factory wheels, but then in the spring I would need to spend more to get a set of 17's. I'm not if I want to do that again anyway. I had my fun with a 225/45R17 before, and honestly, I don't think the the gains are there when going up from a 16" tire. Its more about rubber compound for grip. Not to mention loss of ride quality from the thinner sidewall, Pennsylvania is 85% potholes, 10% gravel roads, and 5% of fresh, but poorly paved new roads. :-(

I'm not too concerned with the sidewall flex of a 15" tire, it is only for winter way, and if I get studded, there is no going above 60-65 mph anyway.

 

So I think the better questions, which wheel do you think would look better on this?




Or

 

Screw those for dedicated winter wheels. Go get some stock hollies and use those so that you can have a nice set of wheels for the summer.

 

Stock rims tend to be heavy, strong, and pretty cheap (used), great for winter rims...
on a r53, the r50 rims in the 15' size is a bit narrow...so i ended up getting aftermarket 15's to save a few $$ on both tires and rims...the fact the roads have bigger potholes, frost heaves, etc in thw winter means the car does not get so beatup from the bad roads too..better ride too. Side effect, lighter rims/tires kinda make up for the loss of feel in going to a taller sidewall...heck most winter tires have pretty soft sidewalls, so pick carefully...also be realistic about how agressive a snow tire you need...the better the snow traction, the worse wet/rain performance...and most folks tend to drive more on icy roads in urban/surburban areas than powder/deeper snow...so "carving" (true power/snow) tires are not a good choice for many folks...but more of a blizzack style rubber compound with a very agressive tread is good for many.
So many options....
but a mini on snow tires in the snow = AWESOME!!
snowtires on a mini, $$, the value of passing a 4x4 SUV in a snow bank/ditch, priceless!!!

 

I wouldn't bother getting a set of "nice" new wheels to abuse throughout the winter. A set of used stock wheels is great advice, that's what I'm planning to do this winter. I loved tooling around in the deep snow last year!

 

The inly other advice I can offer is get the hell out of there. SNow sucks thats why I live in Florida. I hate the White Devil that falls from sky.

 

Dedicated snows shouldnt even be a question. You want to pothole your shiny summer wheels? No way in heck. My old stock 16s will be my beaters, dont forget that you want sidewall compliance to follow the lumps in the ice/snow mix and get the most grip. Also, get the narrowest tire that will fit well, you arent after short sidewalls n cornering, thats what the summer stickies are for, winter is not the time for banzai running. Narrow taller tires will not handle so smooth, but when you get to the end of the winter w/o a scratch and you can bolt on the summers again, you will be smilin. This is 15+ years experience talking, 7 sets of snows, all Bridgestones, so take it or leave it, its up to you, its all good ..............

 

exactly, i'm not sure where everyone decides to buy new rims for ice to gouge up. i bought 6 vw teardrops for only $80 and tracked down 2 bmw bbs rims for free. winters are set for me

 

I actually looked for stock rims, but never found anything locally. If I pay to ship stock rims, I might have well bought new ones. I'm looking at "aftermarket" wheels on the cheap, those are $100 dollar range, I'm not chasing down 150-200 wheels per corner. Just something that looks better than a steelie.

Steelies, which are NOT an option....are terrible for winter wheels. They chip easily, rust to hell, rust to the rotor, don't have center caps. They have never been worth the time and effort in my opinion. The amount of maintenance and care for a steelie, I might as well spend the money on a cheap alloy wheel!

I actually want, for now, to keep my factory 16's and get better summer rubber when the factory tires are worn out. As mentioned above, I've gone through R17's and lowering springs before, Pennsylvania just sucks too much to bother running such a short sidewall. I can tell you from experience, keeping some sidewall will provide better overall comfort, handling, and control in Pennsylvania.

I'm kinda tempted to order these, and get the WS70, and have the whole thing put together locally.

 

I had a choice of a lot of ugly $100 alloy 17" wheels for my new JCW, or nice looking $140 so I chose to pay $40 extra for my winter wheels. In my area getting used MINI wheels was MORE expensive than what I decided to buy in the end.

Of course if you can get away with steel wheels around your brakes and that is what you want, go for it. I had 14" black steelies on my old car and they worked ok but they rusted up after 2 seasons and looked like sh**. My current 15" winter alloys were cheap but look new (minus a little curb rash) after 3 seasons.

 

Agreed Walk0080, steelies will go to hell pretty quick. I'd rather spend $200 more now, then buy new steelies again in 3 years

 

So again disappointed in my local Mini representatives. I was communicating by email, and got an oddball quote of $1500 for winter wheels and tires. I thought it was a pretty good deal considering it was 16" wheels on run flat winter tires. The wheels really weren't what I wanted (R94).

Then got a number of $740 dollars to install, mount and balance non-factory wheels & tires, this include TPMS sensors. Which was, to put it nicely, retarded over priced.

Later in the afternoon I receive a follow up email, he "misread" the prices and the previous $1500 was now a flat $2,000.

Needless to say, these was the same group that failed to count four mud flaps for my Mini....I just don't understand how they can be so "nice" but just get it craptastically wrong at the same time.

 

So drove through the snow in the north east on Saturday. Mini did pretty well with the all-seasons. Can't wait for the snow tires! Wish I would have ordered them sooner Alex!

 

once i get my spacers in i'll be picking out my winter setup

 

Ive decided to try something different, I still stand by my earlier comments about the Bridgestones, they are great tires. Ordered Firestone WinterForce directional snows from the Tire Rack, they were $12 each cheaper than the Bridgies, have not tried these yet but they are supposed to be a more performance oriented carcass and base layer, and they are directional, so I will see what there is to see. They have the M&S snowflake stamp like the Bridgies, so they should be pretty decent, tread pattern looks nice n aggressive, the reviews were raving so I will give them a chance. As soon as we get some snow out here I will post an opinion, considering that 30 miles north of here just got 6 - 8" from this last passing storm (southern PA @ the MD border), 2 days before Halloween (dont think Ive ever seen that before), this may be a somewhat brutal winter. Will prob get several opportunities to form a lasting opinion on whether saving $50 was a good idea or a massive mistake. Stay tuned ............

 

Zero, sadly being "nice" and being "competent" dont always go together. Some of the nicest people Ive ever met couldnt find their butt with a flashlight, telescope, portable handheld GPS and a MIL grade map. But at least they were smilin.

 

Wheels are here, work is consuming my life again this week. Hopefully I'll get these installed Saturday/Sunday. If I'm not working the weekend