Hey everyone, does any of you run the pilot exalto pe2's? hows the ride comfort, handling, and the thread wear on those? saw these in tirerack and they got good test results. getting ready to toss the runflats so any inpust would be nice.

 

crazyaboutmini,

What size tires are you looking for?
What do you want to use the MINI for with these tires? Street only, autocross, track or driving events?
What kind of weather conditions do you have? Mostly dry, some rain, some snow- light or heavy?

Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 is an ultra high performance summer tire.
In stock 205/45-17 size it is $147 each and $159 for 215/45-17. 240 tread rating W speed rated A traction and A temperature.
Tirerack tests show the Exalto a good street tire with good performance especially for wet conditions. But it costs alot more than the ES100.
In the same price range (or a little more) the Bridgestone Potenza Pole position S-03 or Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 would be worth a look. Check out the test results for each and give Alex@tirerack.com a call to discuss your options. I don't hear much talk about the Exalto as a tire used by MINIs to replace runflats.

At MINI2.com they have a list of replacement tires used by their members-
http://www.mini2.com/forum/faq.php?f...lacement_tires
I only see Michelin Pilot sport mentioned- no Exalto.

Depending on your needs, other tires often mentioned include-
(for 215/45-17)
Pirelli P Zero Nero M+S (ultra HP all season) $116 each 400 A A W rated
Avon Tech M500 (ultra HP Summer) $104 each 280 AA A W rated
Avon Tech M550 A/S (ultra HP all season) $98 each 360 AA A W rated
Toyo Proxes 4 (ultra HP all season) $88+ each 300 AA A W rated
Falken Ziex ZE-512 (HP all season) $86+ each 360 A A W rated
(all season tire can be used in rain and light snow)

Tirerack doesn't sell Falkens or Toyos but will know about the others.
Edgeracing.com carries the Toyos and Falkens but my 2nd day air shipping costs would be much higher which is prohibitive for me.

 

Although this relatively new tire is not listed in the FAQ, the Replacement Tire Statistics indicate there is at least one member running these tires

 

Thanks,
I searched but didn't come up with any matches for the Exalto.
Michelins are expensive compared to some of the other brands.
Maybe if you hear of any long term update you can let us know.
ezrally purchased the Exaltos in August of 2004.

 

I've got them on my car now. I had Yokohama Parada Spec-2's before.


Take this with a grain of salt as my Parada's were pretty bad according to my dad. He said they were "capped" whatever that means.:smile:

The parada has a stiffer sidewall and is more precise but is pretty harsh and they were pretty noisy when they wore out. With the parada there wasn't much feeling in the tires. They stuck from the get go, but when you found their limits, it was rather quick. Not something I'm looking for in a street tire. The Michelin has a better ride and feels more pliable and soft than the Yokohama. They don't stick quite as well, but they have lots more grip than the stock Goodyear runflats and do very well in the rain.

 

yeah tirerack has good results from the exaltos. the size i'm looking for is 205/45/17 and i want a tire that can give good overall performance. good and comfy on the street while still good on the (occasional) track AND give good thread life. i was looking at the es100's, but people say the ride quality starts decreasing shortly after. has anyone have experience with [font='Times New Roman']BFgoodrich g-Force T/A KDW-2?[/font]

 

i'm looking at those right now for my 15x6 minilites that are coming in soon. because of my size preference, 205/55-15, i'm very limited in selection. currently debating between kdw2 and es100.

i think the kdw2 are too new to have any sizable amount of feedback, although preliminary results seem to be positive.

 

in tirerack, the kdw2 tires were ranked 2nd out of 40 tires in its similar class. but comments are important than numbers though. all i know about them is that they have a cool thread pattern

 

I actually installed the Pilot Exalto´s on my MINI Cooper. I had the 15 inch holies rims with the skinny tires (dont remember the size, I think 175/70).


I got 195/60s. The tires are soft and comfortable with very nice grip, handling improved vastly compared to the original setup. My only complaint is that they are somewhat noisy and scream quite a bit during hard cornering.

I live in mild weather, so I cannot say anything about winter usage of these tires.

 

thats good to hear mexminime, so far i narrowed the exalto pe2's and the kdw2s

 

In addition to the Exalto's and BFGs, it looks like there are a few other choices now for the OE 17" size. I was wondering if Alex or anybody could update the sticky about tire information to reflect some of these newer ones, specifically the Michelin Exalots, Dunlop Direzzas, Bridgestone Potenza Re050A.

thanks.

 

I surely will, I am recovering from our busiest time of year.

Alex