Now I drive on runflats of Pirelli; I don't want them anymore... normal tyres!
I think about Dunlop SP Sport Maxx, but also about others...

Now the size?
what should I take: 205/45/17 or 215/40/17 and why?

My car is a MINI One (tuned to 135 HP), has OMP upper & lower strut braces but standard suspension

 

MINI on the road,

215/40/17 Less sidewall.

Earl

 

Watch your pressures like a hawk! If they get low, you'll knock the snot out of your rims etc. I'm driving 215-40 ZR 17 GS-3Gs and if the pressure drops even a few lbs, I hit HARD a lot more.

Also, with the 40s, you're pressure will be higher than you're used to. I run about 38 psi....

If you just want a street driver, you may want to go for the 45s. That's about a 10% higher sidewall, and the difference is noticiable.

Matt

 

What sized rims are you running? If 17x7 or 17x7.5 then-

With standard suspension first choice would be
205/45-17 if you can find tires that suit you in that size.
This gives good performance with less weight and cost per tire but selection of tires is not as good as other choices. Might still be ok for you.

Alternatively you can use 215/45-17 which is a bit heavier and wider but has good load for general street driving and passengers. Clearance should be ample with stock suspension. Ride is smoother than with 215/40-17.

 

Last summer, when I still had 17" OEM wheels, I was running 215-40-17 amd it looks a lot better than 205-45-17.

Get 215-40-17 for sure, and ditch the runflats!

 

I had the Pirelli runflats with S-Lites before and they were horrible. They slammed and skipped on bumps jarring the car and causing it to change direction. I bought a set of the BFG g-Force Sports last Friday and drove some back roads over the weekend and I really like them. I got them in 205/50/16 and switched from 205/45/17. In comparision to the stock runflats these tires were a huge improvement in everyway. They have a slightly higher sidewall for a smoother ride over the bumps and a slightly shorter diameter for better acceleration. I also switched from the S-Leads to some Daytonas and the improvement in drivability was dramatic. No more clutch slipping to get launched, much better acceleration and quicker turning and precise tracking. It felt as if my power steering had been broken and was now fixed. In my opinion 17" and larger diameter wheels are a detriment and so are lower profile tires. Lateral flex isn't a problem at street speeds so I don't see the benefit of a lower profile tire. They just get slammed and pinched and go flat and the rims bend. If I were driving over 100mph through the corners I might want a lower profile tire, but the Mini is too tall to be good at that. The stock 17" wheels are so heavy that they respond to inputs like lead bricks. So I think it is better to go with 16" wheels and a 50 series tire.

 

Hello all,

Thanx for you reactions!
The rims are the 17" S-Spokes; so that's 17x7



And sorry for my English...

 

I have 215-45-17 Goodyear Eagle F-1's with Kazera KZ-V 17"-7" (18lbs ea.) from Tire Rack and LOVE them. Only down side of the Kazera's is the small black plugs for the unused holes will work there way out after some "very" spirted driving. I can live with that because I love the look and can get spares from Tire Rack.

 

I've been to a lokal tire-dealer hier in Holland and asked the same questinon.
He said that I've runflat now, so I used too hard tires.
A little bit more comfort should be nice, but I want a corner taker!
When I take 205/45/17 this tire would be softer than a runflat in the same size but this could be to much comfort for me and less corner taker.

Now the question: should a normal 215/40/17 be harder or softer than a runflat in 205/45/17 (recent situation)?
I think it would be about the same (maybe a normal 215/40/17 a less more) ánd the 215/40/17 should be a more a corner taker.

 

hello, if you are talking about the compound, it depends on the tire selection, however, runflats have very stiff sidewalls, and switching to a regular tire will make heck of a difference.

 

Indeed
Thatswhy I think I can take 215/40/17

But now the tire! :impatient
I think I'ld take the Dunlops or Toyo's

 

I went with the 215/40. because I was thinking of autocross. It lowered my car 1/4". and rode harder than the run flats, and can be a bit anoying if lots of normal street driving on rough roads.

 

I was looking for Dunlop SP Sport Maxx, now I see also Falken.

Do you kow Falken?
Origine of Germany, now it's Japanese.
A part of the Sumitomo Rubber Industries; Dunlop and Goodyear are also part of it.

I read good things about the Falken FK-451 (FK451).
http://www.falken-europe.de/enen/con...rts_enen.shtml[FONT=Verdana][/FONT]

 

Dunlop SP Sport MAXX comes in 215-45-17(22lbs) 155$ special or 205-45-17(20 lbs) 175$ at www.tirerack.com

 

When I take 205/40/17, or would that a bad driving?

edit: it's too small!

 

Yes it is.

Alex

 

Thanx for reply!

Now I saw some pictures of wheels with tires for a MINI:


Its a 17x7 wheel and as you can see at second picture with tires in size 205/40/17.
Is this very sporty of should that be the same as driving on wooden wheels?


I mean: should it be many deifferents between 215/40/17 an 205/40/17?

 

205/40 = 82mm about 3.28"
215/40 = 86mm about3.44"

4mm difference something close to .16"

 

Hier is a little nice program to caculate your tire-size and also the deviation of your speedometer. It's in dutch and in km/u, but I think that's not a very big problem.

Dutch -> English
bereken = calculate
tellerafwijking = deviation of meter
huidige band = current tire
nieuwe band = new tire
omtrek = circumference
verschil omtrek = deviaton of circumference

 

I still don't know:
Now I'm sure, it wouldn't be 215
Now I'm thinking between 205/40/17, 195/45/17 or 195/40/17 around my S-spokes (7x17").

This guy has the standard 205/45/17 around rims at size 8x17", thats 1" narrower than the S-spokes so my tires must be narrower too to get the same effect. Lowest picture shows his car with also S-spokes, you see the differens!

 

the 195-40 will just plain knock the fillings out of your teeth! I've done 215-40s and those are very rough, and like I posted earlier, you have to watch pressures very, very carefully!

I've found that if you figure out what you want your car to do, and set it up that way, it will look the part. If you set it up to look like it will do something, it rarely does it well.

Are the roads you drive on good or crappy? Good roads can handle lower side walls.
Do you like milage or cornering? Narrower, taller tires will give you milage.

Personally, I think you're crazy to even think of 195-40s. You're losing about 1/8th of the sidewall over stock, and that sidewall is pretty short to start with. The chances that you'll pinch a tire are much much higher, and the chances that you'll ding a rim are much higher too! You'll have a smaller contact patch, so I'd guess you loose on cornering as well. You;ll get a bit of pep, as the rolling diameter is smaller, and that would be fun.

If you're just going for looks, do whatever. If you're going for an optimization of a particular driving style, go talk to someone at a performace tire/alignment/suspension shop.
Matt

 

The roads here in the Netherlands are reasonable good and I live at the German border and there are the Highways very good -> there is no speed limit!

I like to cornering, thats the reason I drive MINI!

Optimizing at first, looks are second reasons; I'll talk to a tire shop here in the area and with my tuners. Indeed, 195 would be too narrow. I'm going for 205/40/17, little bit lower sidewall, but I use the breadth.

I think here in Europe the (tuning-) people take tires with a shorter sidewall than in US. For example, take a look at the 'Show & Shine' topics of a Belgium MINI club.
I'm a member of a Dutch MINI Club -link-; but you have to register, at the Belgium you don't.

 

If you don't like 215 then your best bet would be 205/45-17.
You need to keep in mind the correct load ratings for tires when using them for a MINI. A load rating of about 84-87 or greater is OK.

205/45-17 88 load rating, 24.3" outer tire diameter, fits 6.5-7.5" rims
205/40-17 80-84 load rating, 23.5" outer tire diameter fits 7-8" rims
195/45-17 no matches at tirerack.com
195/40-17 no matches at tirerack.com

205/40-17 can be used for performance driving with no passengers or one extra person. Not a good choice for four people and a long trip.

 

My first choice in 17's would be the 215/40/17, it should corner better and may even ride as good as my second choice the 205/45/17. The 215's have a shorter side wall but tend to be bowed out more on the same width rim, providing a little more spring effect over small bumps. The 205/45's would be better protection for the rims on big bumps. The 215/40, with it's smaller diameter and wider tread would out accelerate the 205/45.

I would suggest not getting a tire with a load rating below 86.

 

Depending on the tire brand, the difference between a 205/45 17 & a 215/40 17 could be less than .3" in diameter. That translates into less than 1" in circumfrance. Sidewalls on different brands are another consideration as some are quite firm. If you are changing from a Goodyear runflat almost any tire is more forgiving.