Hey trying to search for my next tire set. My 2016 MCS with DDC has Hankook Ventus v2 Concept2 tires. I basically found 2 types of tires that I am leaning towards: Grand Touring(GT) and Ultra High Performance(UHP). Both are made by General and I am staying with the same tire size which is 205/45/R17 on Black Cosmos wheels.

Just wanted to find out from user(s) who have tried(regardless of brand) both GT and UHP tire. I know each tire has its own unique characteristics and the thread life is different as well. I am also reading that Grand Touring tires have become better when it comes to performance side of things. I do know what I would gain by using GT tire...softer ride, less road noise, longer thread, possibly better all weather condition grip and less rattling noises in the cabin when driven on rough roads(hopping for it)

-How much performance would the car lose by going to Grand Touring tire compared to UHP tire? Mainly concerned about cornering ability, handling when changing lanes at highway speeds?(I don't do a lot of it though)

Found General brand for both types:
GT - https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...omCompare1=yes
UHP - https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...omCompare1=yes

 

I am currently running the G-Max RS and like them a LOT! my buddy that owns a tire shop talked me into trying them when I was ordering a set of Pilot Sports. No complaints at all!

 

The tires you have seem to be performance summer and I think I would be happy with handling but I live is Northwest and it rains a lot and temperature drops. Live in apartment and don't have convenience to switch tires by the season. If you could ask your friend about General GT and UHP type of tires, if there is a big difference in handling or just a little?

 

"Performance".... hmm... depends on how you drive and if the tire is the limiting factor....

Even with some old RFT tires on there.... the Mini's outhandle 80%+ of the drivers of the car.

If you are a very agressive driver that really throws the car around .... the kind of driving that really makes passengers nervous).... and your suspension has been upgraded etc.. and you do some weekend tracking... then you may, or may not, find a diff between the tires. Also will you feel they last long enough? Higher grip generally equals less tire life.... The UTQG rating is an indicator of this.... low numbers like '100' are track tires.... the higher the UTQG number you go... for most intents and purposes.... the less 'grip' you have... but that is only when a tire is pushed to the limit.

I'm a fan of the Nankang tires for solid performance at a bargain price... and I feel that they are more than "on par" with the General brand... and some of the 'premiums' as well.

Check out this post... has discussion, photos, sizes and prices...
TireRack does not carry Nankang... so there should be no conflict in saying that simpletire dot com has great prices on these with free shipping.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ang-tires.html

 

I don't track my car and basically sometimes like to drive fast in/out of ramps, some high speed lane changing but 80 % of the time, I am just a casual driver. My main concern with UHP tire that they are a bit more loud, MINI's interior does like to rattle here and there on uneven roads. I though if Grand Touring tire would eliminate those unwanted issues and I won't see drastic difference compared to UHP, then I can buy them. The price is about the same but tread UTQG rating is 700 vs 500 for UHP. BUT if GT is a lot worse than UHP then I would have to stick with UHP. My car is stock and I feel that when I put my car in sport(with DDC enabled) then it is pretty stable and adequate for my taste.

Thanks! I will check the links you provided!

 

I can say that the NS-25's are a pretty quiet tire.



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Had many hankook V2's, Have not ran generals. So i cannot help you there.
What made you not want hankooks?

 

I don't know how good Hankook tires are when they are new, but here is what I experience:
1) The wet traction is not good. Even applying gas pedal from stop, make tires spin and traction light flash on the dash
2) Going into right turn on the street with moderate speed, make rear of the car either jumping and skidding at the same time or feel like tires are going to roll over themselves.(sideways) - I have seen one review from tirerack.com where one person said that factory PSI pressure is too high for these Hankook V2s and had to lower only rear pressure to about 30 PSI to prevent this from happening. My car sticker says 39 in all 4. I haven't tried that.
3) Weird air leak, mostly on front left, but even slower leak on front right tire too. So I pump air into both front tires and make them lets say 39 PSI. After a week, the front left could show 1 PSI less and front right, would have .5 PSI lower. I am trying to figure our what it is and asked MINI to look at it, but didn't find anything. SA told me that it is normal for front tires to loose air as they are under more pressure because of the engine.

My tires still have 60% front and 50% rear tread left, so I may not buy a tire at the moment but planning to.

 

Sorry i had about 8 sets of V12s v1 and v2s also. Those v12 v2 are good.
Have you tried the V12, they are more of a performance tire then the Ventus V2s.

 

I have seen V12 while I was looking/researching tires. Will read some more about them. Thanks!

I haven't tried anything on my MINI as I bought it used last March with <20K on it. One thing I don't know if original owner replaced stock tires with Hankook V2s or MINI came with like that in 2016?

 

Yep the V12s were a MINI focused tire back in day and today. Orange tires were never really offered, it was just a dsiplay thing.

So much that Hankook featured many promo cars with orange tires sporting the V12s . A couple times at SEMA.








Their technical center HQ for america is right down the road from us in akron ohio. I pass it on the highway everyday.

 

These tires look unusual as most of the tires are black We only have Hankook in tire shops. I tried to search their location but non could be found in Seattle area

 

Yep. some national tire chains carry them online. We got you covered for wheels.

 

ESCTuning, when you mentioned "we got you covered for wheels" you meant rims?

 

Turned another friend on to the Nankang's.... He's pretty happy today.... Running them on his 1M-BMW.


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Nice to hear that. Every little recommendation, advice helps to research or stay better educated.

Manual of my 2016 MCS shows if you drive up to 100 MPH, then 39 PSI is the pressure to use(door sticker shows that). If you drive over 100 MPH, then 42 PSI is the way to go. I usually have 39 PSI but as you know when you drive, air in tires gets warmer and by the end of the trip my tire has about 41 to 42 PSI.
The interesting thing is that when tires are 42 or close to that pressure, my car likes it and I hear less road noise and feels that it is easier to drive and steering feel is better. So the question is, maybe my Hankook V2s like to be filled at 42 PSI?

 

I live in Seattle and drove over the pass in snow on Monday. They did fine.

 

So what about when it is cold outside, don't summer tires get much harder and may have issues with grip?

 

They are called wheels, rims are the outer edge. People that run wheel companies like HRE and BBS correct people all the time.They even talked to me at SEMA about it.

 

Great! This site not only helps with car questions but with correct car terms! Thanks, at least next time I will be better prepared talking about wheels

 

Yep. Glad to help.

 

By the way, I read about General G-Max RS tires. They seem good according to user reviews. As I understand the low temperature may play a bit role in handling of this car and the ride quality. In sprint+summer+early fall, the tire might work but in winter would I really have to replace with different tire set? Just never had summer tire before.

 

I dont know much about the general tires. I have ran hankook, pirelli, Yokohama, continentals, and goodyear. Blizzaks, pirelli, and Nokian in winters Softer tires will have more grip and wear more. Better in colder climates, but chew up in the hot climates, Harder tires last longer but you will loose grip from what i have seen on the track and street.

 

I'm in the same boat. 2016 Cooper S and looking at both, UHP and GT tires. I'm running General Gmax tires now and do not like them.. they're loud and pretty unrefined feeling. Never had good luck with General/Continental. I'm considering either Pirelli P Zero all season plus in 215/45/17 or Pirelli P7 Cinturato (non runflat version). Some rough roads here in the northeast so I might go with a GT tire but I'm afraid the car will feel even more wallowy . The Gen3 Minis don't have the go kart feel of older ones, like gen1 R53s for example. I don't even have sport suspension, so I'm unsure if going GT would be a bad idea or not. Tough call.

 

Hmm. You mean General G-Max AS-05 tires weren't good for you?

One time in 2006 I had Acura TL and Discount Tire shop put on some tires and told me if I won't like them, then they can swap to another brand. This is what happened. Within about a few days to a week I came back and swapped for another brand.
So for the contrast, I was given 2020 MCS(with 11 miles on it) as a loaner couple of months ago as my MINI was going though some maintenance. That new vehicle had Pirelli P7 Cinturato(run flat) which are Grand Touring tire. The handling wasn't bad at all and for me important factor was the good feel on some bad roads. I am not saying RT tires are good but just comparing GT tire to UHP.

1) If discount tire can still let me try GT first, then can swap to UHP if I don't like them, then I this is the route I am leading towards.
2) I did research Pirelli P7 Cinturato tire you were mentioning but we need to get wider tire which might make the side wall a bit taller + I don't think P7 is that good in winter times. There were few Tire Rack video reviews online for General GT, UHP and Pirelli P7 Cinturato(non run flat)

G-MAX AS-05: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...omCompare1=yes
AltiMax RT43: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...omCompare1=yes