I decided to ditch the runflats and go for some high-performance tires. After a lot of research, I decided that the Goodyear F1's were for me, so I ordered a set of four from Tire Rack at 2:45pm yesterday. They shipped from the Louisiana warehouse and made it to UPS yesterday evening. They made the trek from Louisiana to Dallas overnight and made it to my house at 3:15pm! That's amazing shipping for only $35 for all 4 tires!!!

Great service! Thanks TireRack!

PS: Here's some pics of the new Goodyear F1's in a 215/40/17 to go on my webspokes:

 

lucky mine are on back order and are holding up my wheels too

-greg

 

you're gonna like those tires.

 

Tirerack was really good with me too~ Mind you, I live in Toronto, Ontario, and it only took them 3 days (or 4, I am not 100% sure) to ship my driving lights!! I wished they didn't use UPS tho, UPS charges a lotttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt on handling fees for shipping to Canada... If TireRack offered the option to ship with USPS, it would be even better~

 

agranger,

Can you tell me where your GS-D3 tires were made?

We know sometimes they are made in different countries and these are on special right now.

Can you get me the $35 for shipping price to Hawaii?
Didn't think you could. Shucks.

Very nice tires.

They probably took your order and printed out the shipping labels within 30 seconds, slapped them on the tires that were being bound up in pairs at the same time and then loaded onto the truck as it was leaving the area.

Tirerack uses FedEx to my area.

 

TireRack had several shipping options for me, but UPS was both the cheapest and the fastest... probably because they ship from a UPS main hub and I live near a UPS main hub.

 

I'll try and remember to look for a country of origin and post back here in the next few days. Can you tell me where to look to find this info? Is it on the sidewall or on a lable somewhere?

 

Got you beat agranger, mine took 19 hours from order to delivery! /yes, I know I live a little closer but still pretty amazed.

 

I bet it wasn't a 'closer' factor but a factor of who was first on the UPS truck driver's route. He usually doesn't get to my house until after 6pm, so I'm happy that I had the day off to have some work done around the house.

 

I took a look tonight. The sidewalls say "Made in Germany"

 

Zer Gut!

See
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=70130
Post #25 Alex mentions the difference.

I expect your tires are Y speed rated then.

Time to buy some Goodyears!

 

That's interesting!

They never have a choice of the W or Y tire in the same size (you never see a 215/40/17 in both the W or the Y), but there is frequently a larger ratio tire (taller) that is the W rated for most of the Y rated tires.

PS: Both the W and the Y ratings are faster than the MINI will go unless you strap a JATO pack to the roof, so, in the grand scheme of things, it's a moot point (but overkill is reassuring sometimes...). The difference between a 186 MPH speed tire (Y) and a 168 MPH tire (W) shouldn't matter a whole lot in the real world to us here on NAM.

 

PPS: They are clearly marked which ones you are ordering on this chart: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes....Eagle+F1+GS-D3

Look at the "Service Description" for the W or Y speed rating

 

You will have a choice if tirerack has more than one GS-D3 but right now there isn't a choice. Each tire for a given size has a speed rating that is different possibly. We see this for tread rating and traction rating within the same tire in different sizes sometimes too.

W vs Y rating can make a difference. Not for normal street driving but for "high" performance driving especially on a track. The hotter the tire gets when going fast on a track (even if not at the top speed limit of the MINI) the more stress you put on the tire and the more you may benefit from the Y rated tire (lap after lap).

See also
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...currentpage=29

Many of us will do a driving school event or lapping sessions so our MINIs need good shoes or dedicated track tires if that is possible (Michelin Pilot Sport Cups or Toyo Ra1s).