I currently have 15 holeys and plan on getting another set for performance tires. Yes I love holeys, got a problem with that . Anyways, I"m wondering if it's a good idea to get teh holey's for performance tires. I want good performanc tires mostly just for street use. so from another thread i found this:

195/55-15 Overall diameter 23.5" max load 1135 pounds
205/50-15 Overall diameter 23.1" max load 1278 pounds
205/55-15 Overall diameter 23.9" max load 1235 pounds


seems to be the suggested sizes for the 15 inch holeys. will 195 be wide enough or should I be considering the 205's? I was hoping to get some ideas regarding fitting issues and availablity in these sizes. what do you guys think? please help

 

Take a look at your options in the way of tyres at each of the different sizes. Go with the one that you think will fit all of your needs, or at least most of them.

It's sad that most of the leading tyre manufactures have given up on the performance tyre market for smaller tyre sizes. 17 inch wheel size and up is all they seem to care about now.

Good luck with your search.

Oilman

 

the thing is, this is my first car and therefore, my first performance tire. Because of this, I have no idea how good the grip will be for 195 width vs 205 ore even higher and whether 195 will be enough. I'll check tire rack to see if they have a good selection in these sizes though.

 

Either of the 205 sizes will improve handling performance, but they will affect your accelleration since their diameters are different from stock. The taller one will feel just a tiny bit more sluggish but will give you greater top speed. The shorter one will be a bit quicker to accellerate but will lower your top speed.

Neither of these is very significantly different from stock though, so you probably won't notice much other than the improved cornering performance.

You may want to consider picking up a set of very slightly used 16 or 17 inch wheels. Often, people get a new MINI and immediately install aftermaket wheels and tires and you can get a great deal on these nearly new sets in the marketplace forum here. A set of 16 or 17 inch wheels with performance runflats can often sell for about the price of buying a new set of tires from your local dealer. . . .

Good luck with your decision!

 

well.. .i think i'm going to be going for the 205/50's. I still have month till i get back in town so I have time to figure things out.

as for getting a 16 or 17" set, i've thought about it, but i dont like the style of those sets. IMO, the s-lites look really nasty and the other styles usually go for quite a bit (such as v spoke). I really like the holey's and at around 12 pounds, they seem to be just a great deal.

I know people have been running 205's on the stock rims so if anybody could give me some experiences that would be helpful =) thanks

 

I've been considering the same question regarding the 195 vs. 205 width. I had a BMW 318ti with 225/50/16 tires on it and found that switching to 205 width tires made the handling more lively and fun. I'll probably run the stock 175's on my MC through my first track day to use them up, put on 195's, and then go to 205's when those wear out. Then I'll just go back to whichever one feels better.

 

I have had both the 55 and 50 series tires on my race holeys. The 50 is the way to go, i will never get another 55 series tire on that rim. They are too tall and will roll. I now have 205/50 on my racing wheels and love them. I would think that the 195's would be too narrow. The 205's are wide, but still provide good turn in.

 

darn... although i got the tire figured out, turns out the holey's I was going to get is a no go. too high an asking price. I hope i run into some soon.

 

I've run both of those sizes on holeys without any fitting issues.

You might also want to check out 195/60/15, if you see anything you like in that size.

195 should be fine for street use... heck, the oem 175's are actually fine for street use If you are going to do anything competitive, I'd go for 205's.

 

205/50/15 Toyo RA-1's on holeys is a great track day setup

 

I have problems with screeching with the 175. There are a few curves that i enjoy taking aggressively sometimes and I would enjoy the extra grip

 

Well if this is your first car, you may find that with some practice, the 175's are far more capable than you give them credit for.

I think that for street driving, the lower adhesion of a skinny tire is sorta fun - you don't need to go as fast to be at "the limit".

Anyhow, I do find my 195/55/15 Yoko AVS ES100's a lot grippier than the OEM continentals. I have autocrossed both tires and the Yokos are far superior to the conti's - not that that's saying much ... come to think of it, I've run track days on both tires as well. The Yoko's are roughly passable, the Conti's are not.

I find the Conti's perfectly acceptable for street tires, though.

Since this is a second set of wheels/tires that you're talking about, you might want to go with a good summer tire in a 205, just in case you do get in to autocross or track days. That's my 2 cents, I guess.

By the way, I like the holeys, too I currently have 3 sets and a set of SSR's

 

could there be another cause for screeching? going to fast into the turn? The roads that I get the screeching on aren't gravely or wet or anything. I figured it was the tires. anyways, you could always use more grip. =)

I do plan on getting summer tires. However, I'm a bit worried about wet performance. I mean, I will be able to realize and slow down accordingly, but if my parents or sister take out my car, I hope they remember.

in general, are summer performance tires a lot better than all season, or is the difference not worth it?

 

More than likely Slow in, fast out And on a public street, slow in "moderate speed" out is probably better


There is normally a very noticeable difference - espeically if you're comparing them to the OEM Conti's.

I'd check out a 205/50/15 Kumho MX. They are a nice tire that has plenty of grooves to clear water, and is very sticky and priced pretty well.

 

Squeeling is pretty normal for the stock 15" Conti's when you're driving in the twisties close to the car's limit. A lot of people (including myself) kind of like it, because the tires really communicate (literally!) how close you are to the limit. Along with the squeeling, the Contis also give way very gradually, so if you are driving with reasonable control, they will not suddenly give way and surprise you with a sudden loss of control where you need it the most. On the other hand, I use 205/50-15s for autocross, and I'm probably going to compromise with 195/55-15s for my next set of street tires.

 

sorry, I meant all season performance tires vs. summer performance tires.

Also, with what ChiliCooperMark said, is it normal for tires to give way very gradually or will the performance tires all of sudden spin out on me or something?

 

check with your local MINI dealer...Here in Orlando, they have stacks of holeys (holies?) for around $400/set...have not yet tried to talk him down to $300:smile:

 

Really, i got mine for $120 at the dealer.

 

I've heard that 205/15/50 is hard to mount on a 5.5" wide rim. It can be done, just difficult. Easier is the 195/15/55, which is still a good wide tire, with reasonably aggressive low profile. :smile:

 

I had 55 series tires on the holeys. They were too high a profile for such a narrow rim. Rolled like crazy. Maybe that was just me.

 

But the stock Contis are 65 series, so the 55 profile should roll less than the Contis.

 

may have to pay a visit sometime soon and show him the thread!

 

little update:

back in town and got a chance to visit the dealer. 120$ VERY good deal. i offered 200, since that's what they are worth ebay wise, and was firmly shot down.

turns out they use them to make winter wheel packages. glassintrepid must be in a land of no snow for the dealer to sell at that price, wish i was there.

 

I agree...Im hoping to find a set of Holeys for my S.
db

 

For the most part when it comes down to 195 vs 205mm wide tires, the actual tires you're looking at will be the deciding factor. Some 195mm wide tires will be stickier than many 205mm wide tires, but of course the extra tread width of a 205mm wide tire should offer more grip if you're looking at the same model tire in a 195 and 205.

For street use I feel that a 205mm wide tire is a bit of a stretch on a 5.5" wide wheel, so I decided to go with some 195/55-15 Toyo T1r's on my stock 15" holeys for warm weather street use, but for now I'll be using some 205/50-15 Kumho 710 tires for race (autocross) use on some ebay 15" holeys, and I have a set of 15" 5-spoke R93 "Rocket" wheels coming from ebay to use for colder weather with the stock tires (when the stock Conti all-seasons wear out, I'll go with snows).

-Keith