I purchased my 2013 Mini in the spring (when the snow is done in Northern Illinois) with performance tires on it already. I was thinking about picking up 4 plain-jane rims and all-season tires to get me through the winter. Any suggestions?

 

I just put on a set of studded General Altimax Arctic tires on my old 15"x5.5" base R56 wheels. $65 a tire at Discount Tire (they also make a non-studded version). They don't make a 175/65R15 (OEM size), but the 185/65R15 they do make fits just fine (only 0.2" taller than OEM 205/45R17 tire).

General is owned by Continental and the tires are manufactured in Germany.

 

On a 2013 Cooper S you might need to get at least 16" rims to clear the brakes. Surf Craigslist for a set of OEM 16" wheels. You can probably find a set for cheap. Then add a set of 205/50-16 General Altimax Arctics.

 

The title of your post says "Winter Tires," then you inquire about picking up "all-season tires." Two different animals.

If it's winter tires you want:
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2, look no further; none better...

If it's all-season tires you want, be forewarned that there is not an all-season tire in existence that can compete with a dedicated winter tire:

I run Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 on my '04 R53 and love them in the wet, dry & very, light snow, but when more of the white stuff (like you'll get in Northern Illinois) is on the road, the Nokians are put on.

 

When I lived in wisconsin I found a set of OEM mini rims for pretty cheap and then put blizzaks on them. Can't go wrong with blizzaks

 

If you're getting a 2nd set of rims anyway, you might as well get dedicated snow tires instead of all seasons. The all seasons will only give you traction for a few more degrees of temp drop as compared to your summers and light snow traction. Just get the snows and you'll be better served in the white stuff.

 

I live in NE Ohio and bought a second set of OEM wheels and Blizzaks for winter. Three winters here and the tires are still in great shape.

 

A little late to the thread, but if you're still shopping....I did the same thing living in Chicago (and now in Michigan), but with Dunlop 3d run-flats. They're not as badass on the snow and ice as the Nokians or Blizzaks, but they're much better on dry (or at least clear) pavement. And let's face it, in a northern Illinois winter, you're still going to be on pavement most of the time, and the best snow tires are awfully squishy for pavement use. The Dunlops are plenty adequate; my limiting factor in deep snow is usually the amount of snow washing up the hood and over the windshield so I can't see. Or else it's the clown in front of me with bald tires and RWD.

 

One thing to be careful of is to be sure the TPMS sensors are the same in the winter wheels as your summer wheels.

 

I was going to ask if the TPMS system could be bypassed so sensors would not be needed in the winter wheels. Do any of you guys run your winter set without them? Mine is a 2015 R60. I'd like to get a set of winter tires/wheels but not sure how the TPMS system would alarm.

 

You can run without sensors, buy you will get the warning on the dash. I would install them, unless you plan on running with a spare tire in the car.

 

So heres my dilemma. Wifes Mini needs runflat winter tires (or more accurately I want runflat winters). On a previous Mini we had the Dunlop Wintersport 3D which was just fine. On the present one, it has Nokian WR D3s which I think are better. They dont sell the D3 runflat anymore (in fact the only D3s they ever sold in N America were 2 runflat sizes), they did have the R2 in runflat but the R2 has been superseded by the R3 and there is no R3 runflat in the size I need. After doing some research I settled on the Conti Wintercontact TS830 P SSR. The non runflat has had great reviews around the world for several years and they are asymmetric and not directional which I like given the camber on the Mini. A on line retailer had a great deal. I emailed and asked what year production they were, told it was this year so I bought them, When they arrived the DOT says 3215! I sent them back. Found another place, they were upfront in saying they had no idea and would actually have to get them from Conti as they weren't sitting in their warehouse or a distributors. Local tire places, same story. Ordered them. They were also 2015, though a few months later production. I know they have probably been sitting in a climate controlled warehouse for the last 3 years so probably haven't aged the way they would "on the road" but should I send those back? During my research one retailer thought this model may be ending soon which may be why they haven't got any newer ones in N America, or maybe its too early for this season. But 2015s even for last season suggest they aren't exactly flying out the door. Blizzaks I suspect I can get with more recent production, though maybe not, as the size and runflat may make them very rare also. I've had various Blizzaks before on other cars, no problem getting them again but even the non multicell blizzaks I didn't find great on dry roads. We live in the NW burbs Chicago but she drives into Chicago regularly, hence the high mileage, so having a winter tire helps as does the runflat. Theres a Pirelli too, though I suspect thats even less popular than the Conti!
I had a small RV once and you could see the rubber crack as the tires got old though not quite the same scenario obviously.
Should I just get something else or just use these "3 year" old ones? Wife will likely put 10K a year on the winters (she does 25k a year easy). So probably get 3 -4 seasons out of them at most. And by then its probably time to get another Mini.