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Old Jul 2nd, 2012, 10:32 PM
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Winter tyres for 16" Wheels on Cooper S- recommendations.

We're collecting our 2010 Mini Cooper S at the weekend.

We've a spare set of wheels with winter tyres for our other car and I'm keen to do the same with the mini.

The car is fitted 17" Bullet alloys in black but I managed to pick up a set of used s-winder 16" wheels for the princely sum of £7.50 on eBay!

I'm guessing there's a good chance our Cooper S will be fitted with run-flats and therefore have tyre sensors. I've got a couple of questions:

Would it be wise to get run-flat winter tyres? I'm aware fitting non-run flats can mess up the handling of a car set up for run-flats, but I'm also aware run-flats are only an option on the mini now.

If I do need to get run flats, are there sensors in each wheel or is it just linked to the ABS? How much will a spare set of sensors cost?

If a sensible option I'd prefer to opt for non run flats to give a wider choice of winter tyres and save on any outlay for sensors.

I'd also appreciate and recommendations for winter tyres in 16" if anyone ran any in the last few winters (or ones to avoid!)

Thanks!
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Old Jul 3rd, 2012, 07:00 AM
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Shouldn't matter weather you go run flat or not as it isn't a run flat indicator. It works with both types it simply warns you when you are losing pressure in a tyre.

Ry


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Old Jul 3rd, 2012, 10:50 AM
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Short novel starts here.......

There are no pressure sensors in your wheels - those are only used in North America, not Europe - the tyre pressure warning is triggered by the ABS sensors saying one wheel is turning faster than the others and so the computer assumes it's flat. So your S-winders are ready for use, as they are. A good choice too, being a lightweight wheel, though maybe a bit of a bugger to keep halfway clean in winter?

Your car is not 'set up for runflats' and it will work just fine on non-runflats. If the car had come from the factory on non-runflats, it would get an emergency pack in the boot consisting of a tyre compressor, a jack and a cannister of tyre sealant. I presume you get a jack, even with runflats. So you can either buy a tyre compressor and sealant, or trust to luck and the AA/RAC.

I've gone through a couple of sets of winter tyres and my opinion differs from most peoples' - if you fit your winter tyres for the winter, and not just when it snows, then you will be driving on wet or dry roads 95% of the time and I prefer to pick a winter tyre that works well in these conditions. As far as I can tell, any decent winter tyre will be absolutely brilliant in snow and slush, by comparison with summer tyres, so picking which one works best in snow isn't important.

I can't see the logic in waiting for snow to fit winters - to me, at least half the benefit is being able to drive safely/quickly on roads that may be icy and might not have been gritted. So that means having the winters on the car for four months or more, hence you want them to work well when there isn't any snow. Last winter I didn't get much use from my winters in snow/slush an could have got by on summer tyres - but I had two cases of finding a minor road covered in ice and the winters saved a crash both times. One of the roads had a 5-10 metre drop off the edge, so the winters probably saved me rolling the car over.

I have a set of part-used 16" Nokian WR G2 winter tyres which I'll be selling cheaply once winter starts, but they are already on a set of 5-star wheels so may not suit you. These Nokians are the nicest winter tyre I've yet used, but then I've only tried them and some Pirellis. The Nokians are little short of unbelievable in slush - I can drive on and off the mounds of slush between the wheel tracks and I can't tell when I'm driving on slush and when I'm driving on bare road, whereas summers would be twitching violently in these conditions.

I still want better wet/dry road performance from my winters so this year I'm going to treat myself to a set of 17" winters, which is why the Nokians will be for sale. Like you, I've even bought some wheels for winter tyres before my new car arrives!
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Old Jul 3rd, 2012, 09:42 PM
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Thanks for the replies guys. I'm glad to hear The I don't need to budget for pressure sensors on the spare wheels!

I have to agree angib, we ran winter tyres from December to April on our other car. Typically, after the heavy snow of the previous 2 winters, I only had 1 day of snow to test their performance in the white stuff. They were excellent, a climb up a short hill closets hope had us passing stranded and spinning cars without a problem.

The rest of the time I was reassured that the tyres would be performing at their optimal temperature. It also meant my cheaper wheels and tyres were being exposed to the salt and grit rather than my summer set.

I'll keep an eye out on eBay and the classifieds. I'm assuming that both 195/55/16 and 205/50/16 will fit.

I ran Pirelli Scorpion ice and snow on our other car with no problems.

Seem to be seeing Vredestein Snowtracs and Dunlop SP Winter Sports coming up in the correct size as well as the Nokian WRs. Does anyone have any experience of these?
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