I just bought a set of Holeys and want to know what is the best street tire for the money to buy to run on the Holey 15s?

db

 

Kumho Ecsta Supra 712

Good and cheap!

 

I just put some Kumho Ecsta H4 716's 195/60x15 on my extra set of wheels. Only have a couple hundred miles on them, but they stick a lot better than the Conti's and seem very neutral in the curves. I was looking for the best rain tire I could find. They seem to wander a little more on the highway, but it's not bad, still trying to find the right tire pressure. 42 bucks plus shipping from TireRack. Keeping the Conti's for winter and long trips.

 

thanks for the suggestion, Kumhos seem to be the best way to go, what size 15 is best all round ?

is wider better?? what about a 205?

thanks db

 

Well, like everything else, I guess, the answer is "that depends". What kind of driving do you do? Do you autox, or take it out to track days? Are you a spirited driver? I don't know where you live, but does it rain a lot, or snow? Actually, IMHO, I don't think the engineers would have put all that time and effort into designing the MINI's handling capabilities, and then put inadequate tires on it. The 175/65 Conti's are acutally quite capable and enjoyable. I'll put on my flame suit here, and say that most of the 17 and 18 inch bling wheels and tires are overkill on a MINI, since 95% of the time we're all just puttering down the road at 45mph. Of course, I'm an old guy. They look great, though, and that's important to people. I wanted a good, long-legged MINI that could take an occasional pothole, handle the thunderstorms, and still stick on the twisties, so I chose 195/60. Did I mention they were cheap? If I flat-spot them squirreling around, it's not a catastrophe. 205/55 would stick better, but I expect they might be a little less precise in a straight line. Since you have an extra set of wheels, you get to experiment !! Let us know how it works out.

 

I live in south east Tn so its a bit rainy sometimes, I wouldnt say Im a spirited driver in fact I tend to baby the car prob more than it needs but I live a ways from a dealer so I can afford any break downs or major probs, to me it feels like the 17s make the front end heavy and I hate the ride of the runflats. I like the mini-lite look of the S-lites and thought about changing tires but then you get into the whole "spare tire the same size/change a front flat to the back" deal, not to mention that S-lites arent too lite.:impatient
As far as experiments go I only have one set of 15s my other set is 17 S-lites so thats why im asking before I buy.
I dont consider myself an old person but Im a bit past the boy racer, tater gun muff, boom boom box type guy, I like the look of the original Mini (owned 2 in the past) so I like retro and the Holeys look close to the original 60s Mini wheel and theyre lite.
i thought about a set of steel snow wheels painted silver with moon caps but Im not sure if they would take the car too far into the past???
so i bought a set of holeys for $100.
Im going to check into the 195-60.

2 more questions??

I assume a lot of ppl buy tires from our sponser but where do you get them mounted locally??? in other words who will mount mail order tires without charging you more and giving you dirty looks and cussing you for not buying your tires from them????


Do a lot of MINI owners who didnt order their car from a dealer change to smaller wheels? I assume the Holey's dont come with the S normally.
Just wondering if Im crazy changing my S wheels to basic Cooper wheels??

thanks for all the suggestions!
db

 

No, the crazy thing is that the holeys have such a stigma attached to them just because they're "basic Cooper wheels." I think they look great, and they're less than half the weight of the S-Lites - only 12 pounds! You'll improve the ride of your car, and improve fuel economy and braking a bit, too. The only downsides are slightly less grip in corners and the generally negative attitude on this forum toward the wheels.

 

Im more concerned with performance and looks than popularity tests, my main concern with 15s was the gap or if the hwy RPMs would change that much and it doesnt appear to be that different.
I like the look of less wagon wheel and more tire wall.
If the S-lites were really lighter I might consider keeping them and changing out the tires, but as far as Mini-lites go there are better looking aftermarket Mini-lites out there.

Im personally glad no one likes the Holeys, Im sure theres going to be a ton of MINI Coopers changed over to S-Lites in the future and hope more Cooper ppl ditch their Holeys so mine will be a little different looking.
Maybe I should start a thread/club for all the S ppl who have changed to Cooper Holeys and call it the Holey "S"hhhhhhhhhits
Ive posted this before that I really like the looks of the Cooper with its simple looks and chrome accents, I wouldnt give up the performance of the S though, if I keep the car for a while, I thought about changing out the bumpers with a Cooper but then you get into changing out the exhaust and prob other things so its prob not worth it.

thanks db

 

I'm glad this topic came up. I am starting to think about replacing my Conti tires and I've been looking around at other brands. Kumho looks like a decent change to me.

I guess the only reason I don't see more Coopers with "holeys" is that most seem to have gone with the Sport Package. I built my Cooper without packages so I could get just what I wanted. I got the holeys and love the look.

 

Kumho ASX is a good choice for all season performance choice. I'd use 205/55/15

Alex

 

Holeys look great, I think. I'm over on the other side of the mountain from you in NW NC, and yeah, it rains. Put some 195/60 Kumhos on those holeys, you'll love them.

Tire Rack has a list of installers you can search. I took mine to Mock Tire, just said "Tire Rack" and they had no problem with it at all. Since I carried the wheels and tires in, it cost me 10 bucks a tire to mount them.

4 x $42 tires
$34 shipping
$40 mounting

$242, grand total

 

unfortunately the H4 716s are discontinued, Tire rack has whats left on back order but do you really want a tire that a year from now you couldnt replaced if something happened??
Its been replaced with the KH16 which has a diff tread pattern and is a little more expensive at around $55.
Im not sure what to do now.

db

 

I realize the only vaid choice for 15" while keeping almost stock diameter is 195/60/15 or 205/55/15, and both of these choices will retain a fairly tall side wall.

Which tire in those sizes have the STIFFEST sidewall? I'd like better on the limit stability while retaining the Holey's look and awesome light weight.

 

205/55/15 is a good choice for the holey 15x5.5" rim for general use and street driving.

Go to tirerack.com and search for tires in that size. Consider your price range and if you don't need to work in rain and light snow then you can look at the various Max Performance or Ultra High Performance tires. If you want longer tread wear and drive in an area with some rain and light snow then look at the All season Ultra High performance tires.

The selection of 205/55-15 is quite good and the outer tire diameter fits the MINI very well. The balance of ride smoothness and decent performance at a good price is a plus.

Holeys are very good OEM rims indeed. In my area they are common for performance applications when stock rims are needed or if one's budget is limited. Either way they work well for a wide variety of uses. I have used them for track, autocross, driving school and street use.

 

A lot of people run 205/55's and seem very happy with them. The choice is yours. I may try them next time myself. I'd like to keep a set of 175/65's around as well, I just wish there was more choices available than just the Conti's.

I wasn't too concerned about the 716's being discontinued, I think the last time I destroyed a tire was 1978. It just doesn't happen to me very often. If I lost one, I think I'd probably replace all 4 anyway.

 

Best tire for the 15" holies is the Nokian Hakkapelitta2 in 185/65-15 all equipt with lots and lots of studs and only 17.2 lbs. Now that is a tire!!