OK, for Performance/Ride/Comfort/ So. Calif weather in
195/60-15 (which is fine for street use)

From tirerack.com (talk to Alex for any questions)

Ultra High Performance Summer tire:
Yokohama AVS ES100 $79 each H speed rated
280 treadwear AA traction

Ultra High Performance All season tire:
Bridgestone Potenza RE960 AS Pole Position $70 each H speed rated
400 treadwear AA traction
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...ay.jsp?ttid=72

High Performance All Season tire:
Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S $89 each H speed rated
400 treadwear A traction
Test results
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...ay.jsp?ttid=60

I think both the RE960 and Pilot Exalto are worth a look. You give up a little performance for better comfort and treadlife. Both are highly rated by owners and test results are good.

Yokohama ES100 are good performers but some owners report more tramlining noise, rougher ride, shorter treadlife. Tests are not as good as other tires in it's class. Good value.

Note that this size tire is H-rated which is not highest performance. Better for street use only. Not for track use.

 

this is totally incorrect

 

Wha'ts so incorrect? 206/60 is a bit larger diameter than stock 175/65, and 205/55 is a bit smaller.

If you want to be picky, I don't think top speed would actually increase since I suspect that it's totally drag limited rather than gearing limited.

 

yikes....205/60 would look sooo fugly...yikes. Talk about sidewall

I opted for the 205/50's for my old wheels:

 

I've pretty much decided on 195/60/15. on Rewinds.

Just need to pick the right tire in that size.

So Cal / comfort+performance

 

any reason you dont want to go for the added width if you want performance?

and why 60 instead of 50 or 55? just curious

 

195/60 15 is closes to the stock size.

Im running with the M7 USS and have already bottomed out on it. So I dont
want to go much under stock size, unless someone can talk me out of it.

 

you bottom out? thats crazy....

I have the 50's (lower my car .5 inches) and have my car lowered 2.5 more inches via coilovers and i have never bottomed out like that

my car lowered this far:

 

I've got a steep drive way and
there's a dangerous 2" post in the driveway at Long Beach Mini that should have been coned off.... you've been warned.

 

Cool blacked out grill slates BTW!

 

What is so totally incorrect about it?. If you do the math with the tire sizes to get the diameter, you'll find:

175/65-15 = 23.96" (stock Cooper 15" tire size)
195/60-15 = 24.21"
205/60-15 = 24.69"

and some other popular sizes people use on their Minis:

195/55-15 = 23.44"
205/55-15 = 23.88"
205/50-15 = 23.07"

Tires will vary slightly from one manufacturer to another, but most are very close to the calculated numbers from the tire size. FWIW, I definitely prefer the shorter tires on my MC, they are lighter and give a slight gain in acceleration doe to the better effective gearing of the smaller diameter tire.

-Keith

 

There is up to a 2% diameter variation even among the different factory stock sizes from MINI:
175/65-15 = 23.96"
195/55-16 = 24.44"
205/45-17 = 24.26"
205/40-18 = 24.46"

 

I've got Flik Fuels in 15" Glossy Black although I now use them as Autox wheels for my MCS

 

So the only 15" replacement that fits that stock range (23.96-24.46)
is 195/50/15 unless you go with a 175 tire?

 

What size / brand of tires?

 

The original tire was the 175/65-15. The factroy is happy with + or - 3% in dia. That would mean acceptable sizes would be all the way down to 23.24" or -3% of 23.96".

This would still keep the speedo reasonably close. Great reduction in overall height, lower gearing, better braking.

Even a 215/50-15 is taller than that at 23.46" and only .5" shorter than the stock 15" tire.

I think you have a lot more choices than you think.

 

If you are referring to OctaneGuy's 15" wheels, that would have to be 205/50-15. The tires appear to be Falken Azenis from the pics, and that is the only 15" size available for the Azenis.

-Keith

 

That's absolutely correct!

I don't use them as my daily wheels because with HSports, they ride so low that I scrape over speed bumps, so that's why I run 17's now.

 

Here's a 15 incher question for you guys:

If I pick up a set of holies (15x5.5), will a 195/60 handle better than a 205/55 because it is streched more over the smaller wheel (or not as ballooned as a 205)? Or will the difference be negligible?


I ran 205/45/17 Yokos es100s on my first Cooper S and have the stock 205/45 runflats on my current S. I cannot take the ride anymore, they are going in the attic. I am also selling my summer set 215/45/17 GSD3. Not too big a fan of the 215, the grip is great but its not as nimble as I'd like it to be.

So I am thinking on the skinnier side. These 15s will be year round, mid atlantic/new england. People seem to speak highly of the Falken 512s (cheap), also thinking about the Avid H4s, Toyo Tpt, possibly Exaltos, anything else you guys recommend?

 

195/60-15 is fine. Both tires fit the holey rim.
205/55-15 is fine. If used with the narrow holey rim neither tire will not be quite as wide as they were designed.

They are both similar compared to 45 or 50 series tires. Both are OK for the street and close enough to stock tire diameter to work OK. Tires will wear down a bit and loose tread so tire diameter will be less over time.

At tirerack.com in
195/60-16 for all season use consider-
Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position RE960AS 400 treadwear AA traction
Fits 6" wide rim perfectly, tread width 6.2" H speed rated
Very good in dry or wet and pretty good in light snow.
see
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...ireSearch=true

For High Performance All season tires consider
Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S $89 each
Bridgestone Potenza G009 $67 each
Yokohama AVID H4S $54 each
BF Goodrich Traction T/A H $62 each
see
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...ireSearch=true

Compare with
205/55-15 (perfect fit for 6.5" wide rim) at tirerack.com
in Ultra High Performance All Season tires
Continental ContiExtremeContact $82 each 400 treadwear V rated
Kumho Ecsta ASX $62 each 420 treadwear AA traction V rated

For High Performance All season tires consider (note higher prices compared to 195/60-15)
Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S $126 each
Bridgestone Potenza G009 $92 each
Yokohama AVID V4S $72 each

 

what would you recommend for a NON all season performance tire?
195/60 205/55 15"

 

Anyone have direct experience of a 195/60 and a 205/55?

 

I have 3 sets of wheels---

195/60-15 cheap Kumhos on stock Silverstones for winter and long trips
205/50-15 Azenis on Holies for auto-x and track
205/55-15 BFG G-sports on 15x7 Rewinds for summer and track

The Kumhos do fine for everyday driving, but obviously do not grip as well. The Azenis do pretty well, but I think suffer since they're on a 5 1/2" wheel. They get a little greasy after a few sessions on the track. The Rewinds are my favorite, and have done very well, the extra offset helps a lot. I have 3 track weekends on them, and many thousand miles, and they're still going. I do not have camber plates. I can tell the Azenis are shorter, and I wouldn't run them if they were all I had, wouldn't be very good on a long trip.

 

For summer tires (good only in wet or dry, NO snow) at tirerack.com

195/60-15 (very very limited selection)
Yokohama AVS ES100 (Ultra High Performance Summer tire) $79 each
280 treadwear AA traction H speed rated
Sumitomo HTR 200 (High Performance Summer tire) $48 each
380 treadwear A traction H speed rated


or in
205/55-15 many many more good choices (tires don't last as long but they are fun to drive with). Prices reflect better tires.
BF Goodrich g-Force T/A KDW2 $108 300 tread AA traction W speed rated
Bridgestone Potenza RE750 $89 340 tread AA traction W speed rated
Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 $120 240 tread A traction W speed rated
BF Goodrich g-Force Sport $67 340 tread AA traction V speed rated
Kumho Ecsta SPT $61 340 tread AA traction V speed rated

See
http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=EZ3&url=/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=UHP&width=205%2F&ratio=55&d iameter=15&tireSearch=true


At edgeracing:
In Ultra High Performance summer tires
For 195/60-15 the selection is very limited
Cooper Lifeliner Touring Sle (more than one variant)
$69 each 360 tread A traction V speed rated
$53 each 420 tread A traction H speed rated

For 205/55-15
In Max Performance tires
Toyo Proxes T1R $95
280 treadwear AA traction V speed rated
In Ultra High Performance tires
Cooper Zeon 2xs $72
280 treadwear AA traction W speed rated

 

I can get a set of holies for practically nothing, which tire and size would you use for all year performance driving? Also keep in mind S-lites with 205/45/17 RSA runflats available at all times for "fun".