New Images have been released for Michelin’s new all-season tire, the Pilot Sport A/S 3.

You can find available fits and sizes for your car at http://uhptires.ca

 

This tire is not yet listed at Tirerack.com, coming summer of 2013.


Pilot Sport A/S 3, Treadwear 500
Some expected MINI sizes:
175/65-15
195/55-16
205/50-16
205/55-16
205/45-17
215/45-17
205/40-18


Pilot Sport A/S Plus

It is supposed to be a little better on handling and braking than their Pilot Sport A/S Plus Ultra High Performance All Season tire.

 

Those look promising.

 

TireRack and Discount/America's tire have listed them.

Missing from TireRack's listed sizes are the 175/65-15, 195/45-16, 195/55-16, and 205/50-16.

America's Tire only lists the 195/55-16 in my area.

 

So Pilot Sport A/S 3 vs. Pilot Super Sport

Treadlife vs. Handling

Comfort & Noise vs. Braking


Living in a no snow climate A/S isn't needed but that aside which is the better tire?

 

I don't know whether I missed them or TireRack has just added them, but there is a second listing for these tires under the high performance category.

175/65-15 84H $94
205/50-16 87V $136

Very reasonable prices for high-end Michelin tires.

 

H and V speed rated tires take 44 psi max tire inflation pressure (highest cold pressure)
vs W and Y speed rated tires take 50-51 max tire inflation pressure.

H and V speed rated Pilot Sport A/S 3 are not "high end" tires, but they are likely to be reasonably good tires for High Performance all season tires.

In this same class Michelin already has the Pilot Exalto A/S which tests well-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=129

400 treadwear
For the MINI it comes in-
195/60-15 $99 each, 21 lbs, H speed rated
205/50-16 $127 each, 22 lbs, V speed rated
205/55-16 $137 for V and $141 for H speed rated, 23 lbs

The Pilot Sport A/S 3 line is meant to offer a higher level of performance than the Pilot Exalto A/S.

Within Pilot Sport A/S all of them share the same tread design, construction materials but with different speed ratings. MINIs can make use of either line whether MCS or base coopers. An H speed rated tire is best used for street only applications, if you are going to do any high speed driving then W or Y speed rated would be better.


In H or V speed rated MINI tire sizes include:
175/65-15 $94, H speed rated 18 lbs
195/55-16 $129, V speed rated 21 lbs
205/50-16 $136, V speed rated, 21 lbs
205/55-16 $121 for either H or V speed rated 24 lbs
205/40-17 $135, V speed rated, 19 lbs
215/45-17 $137, V speed rated, 23 lbs

In W or Y speed rated, tire sizes include:
205/55-16 $134, 23 lbs, Y speed rated
225/50-16 $144, 23 lbs, Y speed rated
205/45-17 $153, 21 lbs, W speed rated
215/45-17 $165, 23 lbs, W speed rated
245/40-17 $191, 25 lbs, Y speed rated

About $13 to 30 more for a given tire size.

Note that for now there are no sizes in 18" that will work for the MINI (R50/53/56)

 

So what in your opinion would be a high-end all season tire that fits on 15 and 16 inch MINI wheels?

 

You forgot to mention that the A/S 3 comes in a 195/55/16 as a V rated tire.

 

Thanks, I updated my post.

Looks like MINI owners can choose which version to use but they are likely to be very close in performance for street use, just a matter if the size will fit your wheel better.

hsautocrosser,

As for "best" all season MINI tire for 15" and 16" wheels first look in:

Ultra High Performance All Season tires if a blend of handling and comfort with moderated treadwear is your priority. Treadwear about 400-500 range.
see
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...jsp?type=UHPAS

In 195/60-15 which fits OEM 15" wheels and up to 15x7" rims OK,
Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS pole position, treadwear 400

In 195/55-16 OEM size, top 2 on this list good, small tire selection
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...wws=N&showcm=N
You can also consider Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS runflat if you need a runflat.

In 205/50-16, top 3 on this list are good-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...wws=N&showcm=N

In 205/55-16 there is better tire selection, top 7 on this list are all good-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...wws=N&showcm=N

Or in Grand Touring All Season tires if your priority is less on handling and more on ride and noise comfort with higher mpg, lower rolling resistance and longer treadlife. Good for daily driving and commuting.
see
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey....jsp?type=GTAS

For 195/60-15 which fits OEM 15" wheels:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...wws=N&showcm=N
The top three are all good, prices from $93 to $115 each, treadwear about 600+, tirerack test results for this class-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=166

For 205/55-16 which fits OEM suspension and 16" wheels:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...wws=N&showcm=N
All of the top 9 are good, especially the top 5, prices from $89-$134, treadwear from about 440 to 740.

I don't generally worry about "high end" tires, I go more for performance within a budget range with the needs of the buyer in mind. Higher price is independent of meeting the needs of the buyer in many cases. I find that almost all tire makers have some tires that can be really good and others that are really poor yet prices do not reflect that, not sure why that is the case.

I don't generally look at High Performance, Performance, Standard Touring or Passenger tire classes because for the same budget I can usually find a better tire in the classes above or in a Summer tire. That's not to say there can be some good High Performance All Season tires. And there are other brands not sold by Tirerack.com which are good tires, Falken, Nitto, Cooper, Nokian, and others but they are not considered high end per se.

 

It seems to me that Michelin has filled an ever increasingly large void with the A/S 3 for the driving enthusiast MINI owner on smaller than 17" wheels.

A speed rating of 168 mph or better is irrelevant to me, and I would suspect, most drivers. I wouldn't want to be overlooking tires like the A/S 3 or ContiPremiumContact 2 when advising MINI owners in search of good handling.

 

W or Y speed ratings can be driven up to higher speeds than the H or V speed rated tires to offer a greater margin of safety when the tire is being used near it's limit.

More importantly is that the W or Y speed rated tires are designed/built to handle heat and stress generated by higher speeds. This requirement makes for a stronger tire that will keep up with a MINI going fast in a driving event or on the track.

For common street use the H rated tires will work fine, so if you find a good size then no need to spend more. OEM tires on the base cooper are H rated, Cooper S are rated W, Y or V.

As for good tires in 15" and 16" sizes the Ultra High Performance All Season tires I listed do a good job at providing a mix of tires that are decent for street use and cover a range of prices. Of course it would be nice if more tire companies would make better tires for sizes to fit the MINI but the overall trend is to make new tire models cater to the 17" and larger markets.

 

I don't think I'm being fooled by anything. I don't use all-season tires for competition. It's nice to have a superior handling one for the street though.

 

Continental ContiPremiumContact 2 Grand Touring summer tire, 280 treadwear, OEM 15" tire
owner (click on survey) results-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....emiumContact+2
I can't see this tire is competitive when it comes time to replace it.

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus Ultra High Performance All Season tire, 500 treadwear. This is a good tire.
owner (click on survey) results-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ort+A%2FS+Plus
205/55-16 $154 each closeout, Y speed rated, 24 lbs
205/45-17 $158 closeout, Y speed rated, 22 lbs
215/45-17 $167 closeout, W speed rated, 22 lbs

Assuming the new Pilot Sport A/S 3 is an improvement over the A/S plus it replaces-
Then yes, it would be a welcome addition.

A driving event can be an instructional day on a closed course (driving school) or lapping sessions on a track not involving competition. No matter if you have all season tires or summer tires the higher speed rated tires will offer a measure of greater safety.

I have personally been in a stock sedan on worn All season tires that ran circles around other sporty cars including MINIs on a closed track during a BMWCCA driving school.

 

You expected a nine-person survey to overide my own opinion of the Conti?

I question whether raising the center of gravity of a MINI hardtop with a 205/55-16 tire just for a higher than required speed rating is increasing safety or performance on a race track.

I have no more to add and I'm leaving town in the morning riding on six Michelins.

 

No, you are entitled to your own opinion.

I have owned and used three full sets of OEM ContiPremimiumContact 2 tires in 175/65-15 run on stock 15" wheels on my MINI over the course of about 5 years. I got them from the dealership due to lack of storage space from take offs when owners did upgrades.

I agree with most of the owner reviews, I think it is an OK tire, I've had worse OEM tires. I used them only for street driving and they were better in the dry than in the wet, comfortable enough, low in weight and good in mpg.

They now cost about $88 each and have a treadlife of 280.

If I were considering tires in that price range to fit 15" wheels I would consider-

Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS (Ultra High performance All Season tire) 400 treadwear
195/60-15 fits rims 5.5-7" wide, $91 each, 21 lbs
Tirerack (click on survey) owner results based on 1681 replies)
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....+Pole+Position
I have used this tire with stock 15" wheels and agree with the survey results.

Getting back to topic.

As a replacement for the OEM MINI 15" tires, Yes I agree with you that the
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 (H or V speed rated) High Performance All Season tire appears to be a solid and better choice for replacement OEM MINI 15" tires.

It comes in-
175/65-15 $94 each, estimated 400-500 treadwear, 18 lbs. This allows for many tire shops to use this when replacing OEM tires of the same size. No excuses about using 185/60-15 or 195/60-15 due to differences in tire size.

The Pilot Exalto A/S (Michelin's other) High Performance All Season tire has a good winter performance rating from 1159 owners, lets hope that the Pilot Sport A/S 3 is equal or better.

Here's to hoping that even Costco will carry the Pilot Sport A/S 3 in MINI sizes, then I would be very tempted to give it a try.

 

I really wanted the Pilot Sport A/S+ but they weren't available in 205/50/16 which is what I need. I hope these show up on tirerack before Fall, and in my size... I'm down to the wear bars on my S.Drives and I've decided to run all-seasons since it only snows here once in a blue moon, I don't want to deal with snow tires again.

 

The Pilot Sport A/S 3 comes in your size available from 6/26/13 from tirerack, email or contact Alex@tirerack.com or at extention 294 for more info.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....SAS3&tab=Specs

Once you get them, let us know how you like them.

 

Excellent! I'll have to call Alex since he hasn't been responding to my emails lately

 

My current Michilin Pilot AS2s are cracking with 18000 miles on them, so I was thinking of trying the new AS3s. Has anyone tried them yet? if so, what do you think? They are available in 215/45/17s which I have been using and love the size.

 

I don't think anyone has tried them because they've only been out for two days.

 

I currently have above 15,000 miles on my ContiSportContact SSR 3 run flats and have hated every jarring mile of it. I’m looking to swap stock 17" wheels and tires altogether. The scant reviews for these tires have been nothing short of amazing. I'm on the fence trying to figure out which size would be best for both sportiness and comfort on my Mini Cooper Roadster S with stock suspension, but with 17x7.5 et 40 wheels? I’ve searched throughout the forum and most have recommended 215/45R17, but others have run 225/45R17 (required trimming on the rear wheel trim). Considering that the Roadster has very minimal load on the back end due to the lack of a back seat…would 225/45R17 work without needing trimming? I'm curious because the price difference between the two are negligible.

 

Stock size for 17" wheels for the MINI is 205/45-17. 225/45-17 is too large, it looks oversized and reduces wheel gap and clearance. If you roads are smooth and well maintained you can probably get away with it on 17x7.5" wheels.

If you put cargo and two people in your Roadster you might get some rubbing on dips and uneven roads driven at speed.

215/45-17 is a better size and weighs less, it's still taller and wider than a stock tire but it is OK with stock suspension. In your case you can consider-
215/45-17 $137, V speed rated, 23 lbs rather than the W speed rated. Since some ride comfort would be welcome, 215/45-17 would offer a taller sidewall than 205/45-17.

Your other option is to go with 16" wheels, 16x7" et42 is fine, 205/55-16 is a little tall, 205/50-16 is fine for street use. Handling is not as responsive as with 45 series sidewalls but ride comfort is much better.

 

Thanks for the input minihune. I'll most likely go for the 215/45-17 size, but with regards to the speed rating...V or W is there a noticeable ride difference between the two to justify the $36 difference per tire? anyone with experience cycling through a set (preferably within the Michelin lineup) of tires but with differing speed ratings?

 

Under normal street use and conditions you will be fine with the less expensive option. Speed ratings refer to the tire's ability to handle stress and heat when going at higher speeds, the more expensive tire can endure faster speeds better and longer which makes for a larger safety profile.

The lower speed rated tires still offer ample safety with street use.