Hi all,

Can you help me pick a tyre size for a new set of winter tyres?

Looking at a set of R84 (x-lite) alloys then fitting winter tyres.

Checked the Wheel FAQ/Sticky and I still can't come to a conclusion.

The size generally fitted to these wheels is 195/55/R16 how flexible is this sizing, i.e. Could I go to 195/60/R16? Or increased width (205 etc)

Anyone have any experience with these?

The 195/55 seem to be a hard size to find in stock.
Cheers

Hi

I had no problem with my 195/55/16 I got some Bridgestones from

tyres online @ mytyres.co.uk: tyre dealer for cheap passenger, summer, winter tyres (http://www.mytyres.co.uk/)

Was a good service no problems, I got a set of 16" steel wheels for my gen 1 MCS with GP brake set up they were £180 for 4 from bmw. I don't think they recommended for gen2 because of the extra weight but not 100% on that

RealOEM.com BMW R53 Cooper S MINI steel disc wheel style 12 (http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=RE32&mospid=48020&btnr=36_0793&hg=36&fg=10)
Hope this helps you out

Hi ya sorry To post again I just dug this out from Surrey new mini might be worth a look at as an option From BMW

Avoid Dice on the Ice with MINI Winter Tyres
MINI’s Winter Tyre Programme helps motorists cope with the worst that Jack Frost can throw at them

With average British winter temperatures dipping below 7°C, this winter MINI is dedicated to helping drivers stay on the roads, regardless of weather, with its Winter Tyre Programme.

All MINIs are fitted with summer tyres as standard, providing excellent levels of grip, acceleration, braking, comfort and fuel economy in normal road conditions. Summer tyres operate best at temperatures above 7°C. However, once the Great British Winter sets in and air temperatures drop to near freezing the rubber in summer tyres hardens, detracting from the summer tyres’ performance. And in true wintry conditions of snow and ice summer tyre performance is even worse.

MINI’s winter tyres have been specially engineered to operate much better than summer tyres at temperatures below 7°C. MINI’s winter tyres contain more natural rubber in their compound and a different mix of silica as well as featuring special grooves. This allows them to retain flexibility at much lower temperatures.

Research has shown that the difference in breaking distances at 60mph in wet conditions under 7°C on summer and winter tyres is a whopping 4.8m.

Being safe doesn't mean having to compromise on style; MINI’s winter wheel and tyre packages come in steel or alloy rim designs. A set of winter wheels and tyres is available from £560 RRP per set, and is by far the safer option in these colder months. To make life easier, MINI dealers will even store customers’ standard wheels and tyres for just £30 until it's time to switch them back again in spring.

Hi
I've just done something similar and bought some R94's off eBay and now need some winter Tyres to suit (probably part worms since I can get four for The price of one new one, with 4mm+ tread)

I was going to get 195 55 16 H which seem pretty standard to me, if they aren't in stock then that's an indicator they are popular since 205 45 17 is also out of stock in winter Tyres as well, throughout the south east.

Has anyone had any first hand experience particularly in terms of handling, noise, wear etc? And yes I've read all the magazine reviews already (evo, auto bild, auto express) seems totally random as to who wins what.

So far I think the Dunlop 4D, bridgestone blizzak 25, conti wintercontact ts 830 & Goodyear ultra grip p2, look good.

Any recommendations? I want something which also runs in cold dry weather...

Thanks

I've only run two sets of winter tyres so far, so I suspect like most people here I can't say what's better or worse - as far as I can tell, all winter tyres are brilliant in snow by comparison with summers so most people will tell you the ones they chose are good.

Conti, Dunlop, Michelin and Goodyear seem to come out at the top on most sizes but the real shocker is how bad cheap winter tyres can be - often they have decent performance in snow and/or ice but things like wet cornering can be little short of dangerous. And my experience is that wet cornering is relatively poor on all winters, so making that worse is bad news.

In the end I got some Bridgestone Blizzak 25s. Should be good since I've never known Bridgestone to make a bad set of tyres.

Will post my findings when they go on, oh and when the temp drops below 7 degrees in Essex too!

Wheels and Tyres are now painted black and fitted by mini (same cost as local backstreet tyre fitters). Mini did a great job fitting them and carefully positioning the old wheels in the car - thanks Cooper Mini.
Anyway, I'm very pleased with the wheels and tyres and can recommend them to anyone. I paid £300 all in for four mini alloys, painting, fitting and part worn tyres. Mini wanted £1600.

Obviously I need some severe weather to review the Bridgestones properly but so far the ride is better (higher profile) and dry handling seems good. Damp/cold fast starts are improved, no more wheel spin when pulling away.