I have a 2011 Clubman S. He needs new shoes sooner than later. The one thing is, he has the 16" rims. :( He is sort of bummed that the tire everyone raves about is one he cannot get easily.

I have almost 20k miles. I had a scare on Monday. Right rear had some sort of hole that was losing air quickly. Luckily it could be repaired. The OEM set is also about worn out. They do need to be replaced.

So....since the Michelin Pilot Super Sports, Hankook v12, Dunlop Direzza Z1, and the like are not an option, what might be a tire that would be most like the Michelin PSS's? What type of mileage are folks getting out of those kind of tires?

If economically viable, I might could do 17" rims. Just a quick search shows that they would be not much more than 16" RF's, not that I need the RF.

So....any ideas on a16" tire that will act like the PSS's or will not be a squishy loud monster would be great.

I put on a performance tire, but check the reviews on the Bridgestone Potenza's RE970 A/S non-run flats but the traction is amazing in these tires on a dry day or on a SUPER rainy day. I was looking at Continentals DWS's and Michelin Pilot Super Sports too but I wanted something great on dry and rainy days. In the snow, the reviews said it was much better then the Continentals. But who knows haha. Good luck.

At 19K, I installed Michelin Pilot Exalto AS 16" on my Clubby. We went from 17" rims to 16" to also soften the ride. Couldn't be happier with this decision!

A call to a shop other than the one I use may have presented me with another dilemma. This is one that was recommended by someone on the local MINI board. They have a set of 17" OZ rims with BFG tires that have ~5k miles on them. The price is lower than just tires for my 16's. Trying to decide if that would be a decent prospect. The guy said the guy that had them put the stock wheels back on to turn in the leased MINI. Now I need to decide because my shop would have to order the set I'd want. Hmmmm.

You could go with a size larger (205-50 or 205-55) in the 16", that would open up a lot of tires for you. The 17", especially in a performance tire, will be stiff and rough riding about like the RFTs you have now.