This post is mostly for those trying to decide what size of tire to buy and a RFT or Non RFT if you are not wanting to modify.

I bought my first Mini ever on the 19th of April and it needed some new wheels and tires. The stock rims looked like they had the "car wash" damage and the tires I saw after I bought the car were winter tires not all purpose.

What a better excuse could I have to buy a new set of wheels and tires. I will use my stock rims and tires for winter.

The tires were received today from Tire Rack, mounted, balanced, after
ordering them last Thursday. After checking each wheel and tire for shipping damage, I decided to install today after work instead of waiting until this Saturday.

I had experience with RFT before on my Z4, but they were an older generation of RFT and I had switched to an NON RFT with the same brand and size on that car.

So when it came to deciding what to buy, I did a lot of reading here and decided to go "old school", conservative...16x7 wheels and the tire in the subject line. I bought the RFT because of a writeup I read on Tire Rack's test drive. They said they were quiet, smooth and responsive unlike most RFTs, so I thought I'd give them a try.

Tonight only after approximately 30 miles, I can say these tires are just as good as the write up was.

They are quiet, smooth and the ASA AR1 wheels (16x7) and the stock size tires fit perfect without any adjustments.

Quiet and Smooth .... don't run away just because these are RFT's.

Pictures will be posted this weekend, too much rain today and not enough time to clean the car ... well, maybe tomorrow May 2.

 

How are those Potenza RFT working out for you. Noise? Handling?

 

I have 378 miles on the tires and they are just as quiet as the Non RFT Potenzas I had on my Z4. The noise on my car decrease A LOT. As far as handling, one thing I noticed, I was up to speed (65mph) faster, without noticing. I am happy with the handling although I have been waiting for the 500 mile mark before I give it a real high speed tests through sharp turns.

Bottom line .... I am happy with them and they see to ride just like Tire Rack described on their road test article.

 

Nice wheels - Did you order the wheels from Tire Rack with tires combo.

 

Yes, I did. Ordered late Thursday night and received on Tuesday. Shipped from Delaware to Indiana. I checked the air pressure after mounting them and they were perfect. No damage of any kind to the wheels or tires.

 

Hum - I may give Bridgestone a try... Bridgestone left a bad impression with Turanza on the X3 low profile and have not look back at Bridgestone in a while.

I was considering summer tires instead of all seasons because i have winter wheels and tires.

Keep us posted after the 500 miles break in period.