I researched tires for my 2010 hatchback for two weeks, and spent days digging on the net for the quietest and best performing 15" tires that money could buy. Sadly, for my 15" rims, the "better" options are very few, and there are no "high end tires" that I could find. I wanted a top-of the-line tires like the Continental Extreme Contact or better, but the options were somewhat limited in my size.

In the end I wanted the OEM tire, the Continental ProContact, but found the tire would take a week to get locally by anyone, at least in my size. The Continentals are very popular, and have a good reputation, but are hard to get quickly.

What would I do if/when I had to replace a tire? Wait a week? No thank you.

I settled for the Ecopia EP422m and I'm glad I did. It was recommended by several sources as quiet and smooth, and it is SO quiet, it is remarkable.

I can highly recommend the Ecopia EP422 for anyone who wants a quiet and smooth 15" tire for their Mini.

 

Interesting test results on Tire Rack. Good fuel economy (by 0.3 mpg), and good snow performance. Normal wet and dry, not as good.

 

I talked to an individual at Tire Rack, and he personally has tested the tires. He raved about them across the board. He was much more enthusiastic then the written test/review was.

Consumer ratings are almost worthless, I have found. Even tests are subjective I suspect. For example, better mpg by .3 compared to what? I finally forgot the test results, forgot the inconsistent, meaningless consumer ratings, and went with personal recommendations of salespeople from Tire Rack and various Tire Stores. Problem I found is that in a 15" tire the selection is severely limited at the higher end.

The salesman who sold me the tires locally has never steered me wrong, but I still had to research the heck out of the tires before I was comfortable choosing.

The rolling resistance is so much less with these tires I can feel a huge difference when I let off the accelerator, the car does not slow down immediately as it had before, it coasts much better.

Not a single salesman at any store recommended any tire over the Ecopia's, except one salesman who pushed Yokos, and the dealer, who of course pushed the OEM Contis.

I drove over solid ice today and my traction was excellent. Handling is not quite the same, steering is not as responsive, but the trade off for this much quieter ride is worth it to me. As the tires break in, steering response will improve a touch, I hope, but if not, I will at least enjoy a quiet ride that I did not know I could have with this car. It's another reason I'm glad to have 15" tires, the ride is better.

My previous car had 17" tires, $450 each, and they still rode like a truck. They looked great, but I got over the need to have larger wheels real quick when I learned how much quieter smaller tires could be, so when I found this car, a base hatch, I was actually happy to have the smaller wheels.

In a 15" tire the only better I could do, I suspect, would be with a more responsive tire, but that would mean a loss of quiet, I think.

I was willing to spend much more than I did on these tires, but I just couldn't find proof of anything better at any price, at least noise level wise.

 

I have used both Ecopia EP422 and Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires on family cars.

The Ecopia is comfortable and gives a little better mpg, the MXV4 gives better handling more suitable for any MINI.

I'd select the MXV4 (Grand Touring All Season tire) in 195/60-15 $116 each, 620 treadwear, H speed rated (also in V speed rated but $147 each).

No need to keep 175/65-15 tire size, also OK to use 185/65-15.

 

I'll talk to my guys today about your recommendation. I wanted the Primacy at one point and didn't realize I could go with a different size.

Thanks mininhune!

I'll drive today with the Ecopias and make sure I need to switch out before doing this. Steering response is not as good with these, but the ride is so smooth it is nothing short of amazing to me.

Would I not lose some comfort with the Michelins? Or can I expect a similar ride?

 

For the MXV4 street comfort and noise are very good, you probably won't tell much difference.

 

Minihune, you mentioned in above post that I don't need to stick with the OEM size tire for my car, that it would be fine to go from OEM size of 175/65-15 to 195/60-15.

Do you have any doubt at all that this change will not adversely affect things for the car?

I ask because I can return my tires and the dealer will happily exchange, but I get one shot at this. I cannot return or exchange this second set, so I want to be certain this will be ok.

I want to go with the Michelin Primacys, but want to make sure before I have the dealer order the tires from the warehouse.

Thanks for any reassurance or cautions you can provide.

 

I am sure that 195/60-15 will fit stock 15" wheels and work fine with your MINI, I have this exact setup on my MINI which I have used for 2+ years.

I am surprised that your dealer would be willing to replace/exchange your current tires for Michelin Primacy MXV4s. I assume that you pay the difference in cost of tires and pay for mounting and balancing, but the dealer will take back the used EP422s?

You have Ecopia EP422 in 175/65-15? Why not just keep them and keep in mind the Michelins for the future? Nothing really wrong with EP422 unless you drive aggressively on the street. Treadwear is 480 while the MXV4 has a treadwear of 620.

If you were to change to tires that offer better handling such as Ultra High Performance All Season tires, you will trade better handling for less comfort, faster treadwear, and slightly more noise. The Michelin as a Grand Touring All Season tire falls somewhere closer to the EP422 with slightly better handling.

If you mostly drive the speed limit and like the street manners of the EP422 then just keep them.

 

My dealer has a 30 day satisfaction guarantee, I've used it before on another car. Obviously I would have to pay the difference, which is perfectly fine for me.

I do mostly city driving, and the difference in steering response from the OEM contis is noticeable. I most dislike it on the highway, where the steering is mushy.

As I've declared before, the quiet and difference in rolling resistance is amazing with the Ecopia 422, so I could have done much worse.

I'll be calling this morning to confirm with the manager we can do this, we'll see what happens.

 

OK, that makes sense.

It's a personal decision whether to stay with the EP422 or move to the MXV4.

Some additional info-
I have the EP422 as OEM in my 2012 Nissan LEAF, now at 10,000 miles.
I drove the MXV4 on my 2006 Honda Civic EX for 2-3 years and sold it when I bought the LEAF.

I drove both on streets at speed limit. I like the MXV4 better and it was noticeably better than the worn OEM civic tires it replaced. It was like having new suspension installed, handling and ride quality much better.

The LEAF has a soft suspension plus the EP422 has a soft ride but it is quiet and comfortable. Handling is not a strong suit for the LEAF so it is a good match from Nissan. Still, the EP422 is a capable street tire.

In my opinion the MINI is a very capable handling car in any trim option including the base cooper. Adding better handling tires improves the fun factor of the car but you will trade off better handling for less comfort, more noise, and less treadwear depending on which tire you select.

For my daily street tires I have picked Ultra High Performance All Season tires, Bridgestone RE960AS. I have found them to be good handling yet, affford enough road comfort and decent comfort but they are not as smooth riding as the MXV4. I am willing to trade some comfort for better handling.

I have also driven my MINI daily using Extreme and Max Summer tires, handling is superb but comfort is much reduced, it can be noisy and treadwear is fast. It is a lot of fun to drive in dry or wet, not good for cold or any snow.

I have also driven the OEM 15" Contis for several years and found them to be OK for street use. Certainly there are better tires for a Cooper S.

I have full suspension upgrades, adjustable Bilstein coilovers, rear swaybar and endlinks, aggressive alignment, tower strut bar, etc.

 

It's hard to say how tires compare unless you mount them side by side on the same car which is what tirerack tests aim to do.
Some tirerack test results for Grand Touring All Season tires (note Michelin MXV4 and MXM4 are different tires)-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=166
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=138
and Touring All Season tires-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=161

Opinions vary of course as they are subjective. The better you know your salesman the more you can judge their opinion. Every salesman is bias by what they sell since that is where they get to see how it works for customers.

If you search at tirerack for quietest tires-
http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/bens-b...t-quarter-2012
http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/make-d...est-tires-list
http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/alexs-...-than-michelin
http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/chads-...e-at-tire-rack

Tread design affects noise-
http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/motors...ck-summer-2012

Tire price has little to do with handling or comfort. There are some poor tires at fairly high prices and some very good tires at budget prices.

Rolling resistance is a function of tire size, inflation pressure, the road surface, and tread pattern. More narrow tires with tight tread blocks,on smoother surfaces inflated to higher pressures do better. In addition the EP422s new rubber compound is supposed to be helpful to increase mpg.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Michelin's are on the way, but there is a catch. Dealer is Bridgestone, not Michelin, so he cannot guarantee the Michelin's. If I don't like them, he cannot exchange. I bought a Bridgestone tire, I could exchange a second time, not that I would want to, hopefully. He suggested the Serenity Plus, so I could exchange if I wanted to.

 

Your point about the Contis is exactly where I am at. I wanted an upgrade from the Contis, as good handling and responsiveness, slightly less noise.

 

I have a 2009 mostly stock R56 automatic that is ready for a new set of tires. The current set is a well-worn 4 of Michelins (I don't have the model right here), and they were good for comfort, handling and rain until they reached the wear level they have now.
I live in southwest WA State, with average rainfall in the wet months, and about 4 completely dry months in the summer/fall. Rarely do we have lingering snow where we live and drive, so that is just a factor somewhere below noise reduction, rain control, comfort, handling.)
My driving is either an 8 mile round trip to town, or a 2 hr 75 mph trip to Portland or Olympia. No stop-in-go, most of the time.
Currently, my car is NOISY at speed, handles well enough for me, and did fine in the rain until now.
My priority is to reduce the noise, significantly, without giving up much in rain handling and comfort.
Recommendations are highly appreciated. (I don't care about the look/profile, chic brand/micro-handling, etc. )

 

I can recommend the Bridgestone Serenity Plus, very nice tire. A slightly better tire in some ways would be the Continental Extreme Contact, very similar but from what I'm told slightly quieter.

I'm extremely picky and I do love the Serenity Plus. Not perfect, but after a slight break-in and a wheel alignment I'm extremely happy.