Tires for 2009 S
 

Has anyone used Riken Raptor ZR, Falken ZIEX ZE950, Kumho ECSTA PA51 or Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring on their Mini's? Or have a good recommendation for a not too expensive tire.
Thanks
Russ

I second the Firehawk Indy 500's. Half the cost and 90 to 95% of the performance.

I would love to get them but they are high performance summer and I am looking for a high performance all season. Unless someone uses them year round. I have winter to drive in.

get some used wheels for real winter tires, all seasons do no seasons well

What wheel are you using? What suspension?
What are you using your MINI for? Street driving only and in cold weather?

How bad are your roads?

Riken Raptor ZR
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=233
Not good in wet but handles OK, budget tire

Falken Ziex ZE950 A/S
OK street tire, likely not the most comfortable

Kumho PA51
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=238
Basic tire, soft riding, handles OK

Cooper CS5 Touring Grand Touring All Season tire, treadwear up to 640
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surve...=true&filter=y
Probably the most expensive tire of the four, Grand Touring AS not as good for handling but OK for cold weather and some street comfort although this tire isn't at the top of it's class.

If you are only doing street driving and don't really require precise handling then Grand Touring All Season tires are OK, prices vary a lot but you tend to get what you pay for. The Best of this class are very good tires indeed. Easy to live with for daily driving and decent enough for the MINI. Ultra High Perf All Season tires tend to offer a firmer ride, a little better handling, but might wear faster and be a little noisier.

General GMax AS-05 do well in Tire Rack testing. $70 rebate on them right now. I just bought a second set. First set went on my son's Mini but he didn't put that many miles on it before he decided to sell it. I just bought a set for my Mini but haven't had them installed yet as I'm in the process of cleaning up the wheels and repainting.

Thanks, I would have made a mistake in buying the tires that I tough were good ones. The Mini is my daily driver so It does get in some snow but more rain than anything else.I wanted good handling tires that didn'r have a lot of road noise. I have a convertible so I hear a lot.
Russ

Thanks for the feed back. I had looked at those and wonder if they were a good buy. I looked them up on Tire Rack and can have them sent to my local Pep Boys. Much appreciated.
Russ

I've used General snow tires across a number of cars for years and been very happy. We just got a set of the AS-05s for another car, and I'll be putting the GMAX-RS on my mini. General is owned by Continental, I think they're the best value out there right now.

What about BFG G-Force Comp-2 A/S? Anyone use those tires?

Although a late reply to the OP's question....

My personal experience.... 3500 miles on the Ecsta PA51 tires .... 205/45R17

On 2011 R56-S... did quite well in the snow and slush last season, excellent on the twisties in the mountains in the summer time and great all around tire.
I liked them better than than the Michelin AS-3's ... For me, does everything better at a lower price. Setup on car is Koni Red/FSD's with WMW rear sway-bar with R112 wheels.. on low mile car. Tires grip really well and I can push them more than I'm comfortable without compromise.

For an all season tire, this is pretty top-notch... If you are looking for a track tire on a car with a super stiff setup this is not your tire... but I feel that 90% of Mini enthusiasts would be very satisfied with it.

Next tires for my gals Fiat 500-s will be the Vredestein Quadrac-5's to try out as it is more geared towards winter driving.







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