[JME]

I need your opinion to help select new tyres for my Mini. The problem is that last time I got new tyres people said "buy ES100 Yokies, they're great". In their opinion they were, but not in mine.

The problem is that people can only provide an opinion on tyres relative to one another, and only then on one car (Yokie ES100 work great on WRXs, but not on Minis).

But I have a cunning plan to address this problem. What I need is for people to reply saying "I replaced Dunlop X with Toyo Y and the Toyo had better traction". If I get enough replies I can create a list of tyres ranked from sticky to slippery.

OK, I know this won't address all the problems. It can't rate wear (tyres wear differently depending on driving style), it can't rate noise (everyone's idea of noisy is different), it can't rate cost (tyre cost varies from country to country) etc. But at least it can give me an idea of relative adhesion.

What I need is for people to reply stating with what tyres they have had on their Mini including as much detail as possible and I'll put it in a list below. See the first reply to this thread as an example.

The rules:
The tyres must have been fitted to a Mini (diffent tyres work differently on different types of cars)
They must have been fitted for an extended period (driving someone else's car doesn't give enough information to the driver unless it was driven for a prolonged period)
They must be road tyres (track tyre technology changes too fast)

Tyre List (stickiest at the top)
Toyo T1R
Bridgestone S-03 Pole Position
Eagle F1 GSDIII
BF Goodrich G-Force Sport
Yokohama AVS ES100 205/50R16
Are stickier than -
Pirelli Euphoria
Dunlop SP9000
Dunlop SP3000 195/55R16

[JME]

I had Dunlop SP3000 195/55R16 and I replaced them with Yokie AVS ES100 205/50R16 and they were only marginally stickier. I had expected them to be much better than the runflats.

[MickyD]

there's always this thread:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/wheels-ty...australia.html

[carreracat]

Replaced my runlats with Goodyear Eagle F1 GSDIII about 1000km ago. After the tires had covered about 200km the improvement in grip was noticable. The runflats would let go much quicker where as the Goodyears are gradual and controllable.

[JME]

Quote: Originally Posted by carreracat

Replaced my runlats with Goodyear Eagle F1 GSDIII about 1000km ago. After the tires had covered about 200km the improvement in grip was noticable. The runflats would let go much quicker where as the Goodyears are gradual and controllable.

If possible, can you tell me what size the Eagle F1s are, and if you remember, what brand of runflats you had?

Many thanks, as the Eagle F1s are on my 'maybe' list.

[JME]

Quote: Originally Posted by MickyD

there's always this thread:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/wheels-ty...australia.html

As discussed in the Australian thread:
"Yeah, maybe. But the information in that thread is not detailed enough. I'd like to get enough information from enough people that I can list the tyres from sticky to non-sticky. Just stating that one tyre is stickier than another is not enough. Having said that, tonight I'll try and glean what information I can from that thread and put it in a table."

[minigolf]

How do we know we're all using the same sticky meter?

Other than that, below is a link to what I've found to date with the tyres I've had:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/2502018-post9.html

I've done about 1400kms on 16" run flats (195/55/16 Goodyear ECO NCT5s) and really they're so crap in comparison to the 17" tyres I've had that it's not worth mentioning them. Oh that and I've done about 350kms or so around Wakefield and Eastern Creek which has rendered them pretty useless anyway.

[Adrian_T]

Replaced Euforis on 17's with Toyo T1R same size

Lots Stickier as shown by lack of TC light pulling away and lots less ABS activation.

Oh and they go round corners well too.....

[Neil the Hat]

I am on Toyo T1Rs too, have to be one of the most stickiest tyres I've had on a car.

[AndrewH]

You could also try looking at the wet and dry handling ratings people post for each tyre on http://www.tirerack.com

[woodman]

i would say toyo t1r or the goodyear gsd3 they both work realy well on small hatchbacks

[carreracat]

Quote: Originally Posted by JME

If possible, can you tell me what size the Eagle F1s are, and if you remember, what brand of runflats you had?

Many thanks, as the Eagle F1s are on my 'maybe' list.

Runflats were stock Dunlop 9000, the Eagle F1s are 205/45/17, as I said I'm impressed with the grip but looking at them after 1000km I'm not sure they're gonna last very long!

[woodman]

tyres are a compramise tho if you want performance you dont get mileage if u want mileage you wont get performance (its in the tyre buissiness rule book :d lol )

[snid]

I'll not bother with the snow tires. I'll also not bother with the track tires as they are not really usable on the street.

Original tires were the Gooyear NCT-5 runflats.

Replaced with Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position.

Replaced with Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3.

Replaced with BF Goodrich G-Force Sport.

From stickiest to least sticky:
Bridgestone S-03 Pole Position
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3
BF Goodrich G-Force Sport

The Bridgestones are the stickiest, but also the most expensive (here). I don't think the little extra stickyness is worth the price increase over the Goodyears, and the Goodyears may be a little better in the rain.

The Goodyears are the winners in my book. Almost as sticky as the Bridgestones, and a good bit cheaper. Great in the rain. Obnoxious boy-racer tread pattern, though.

The Bridgestones are a good step down in stickyness from the other two, but still much better than the runflats, and they're much cheaper than the other two. I'm using them now because I have a second set of wheel with track tires on them for when I want to play. I'll probably go with the Bridgestones again when I need another set of street tires since I don't need tons of stickyness on the street... I go play on the track.

[minigolf]

Quote: Originally Posted by JME

If possible, can you tell me what size the Eagle F1s are, and if you remember, what brand of runflats you had?

Many thanks, as the Eagle F1s are on my 'maybe' list.

If you're thinking of the F1s Jamie, just try and double check their country of origin. I had some German made GSD3s on my GTI, but others in the VW/Audi fraternity I keep in touch with have had GSD3s sourced from Thailand. I was very happy with the tyres on my Golf, but the people with Thai sourced rubber have been less than complementary.

On my GTI their biggest weakness was a weak/flexy sidewall, but wet and dry grip was sensational.

That said, AndrewH had some GSD3s, made in Thailand, on his old MINI and he seemed happy enough with IIRC.

[JME]

To everyone who has contributed so far - a great big Thank You!

Quote: Originally Posted by minigolf

How do we know we're all using the same sticky meter?

We don't know, that's why all you can say is that Tyre X is stickier than Tyre Y. But some one else can say Tyre Z is stickier than Tyre X, ipso facto Tyre Z is stickier than Tyre X which is stickier than Tyre Y. I just need to get enough repsonses.

The reason I'm after Mini specific info is that I bought two sets of Yokie AVS ES100s in the same size from the same dealer at the same time. One set went on my Mini, I wasn't happy with this set at all. The other set went on my Mitsubishi Starion that has 260rwkw and the tyres work brilliantly, to the extend that I used them when I went to Sydney for a two day course to upgrade my CAMS licence. Clearly tyres perform differently on differen cars, hence my need for Mini specific info.

[carreracat]

Just been up my favourite car park entrance which is a spiral ramp going up 7 floors. The Dunlop 9000 runflats would start to squeal at about 35km/h and the Goodyear Eagle F1 GSDIIIs started to squeal at about 45km/h.

So there you have it 28.571428571% stickier!!!

[Ryephile]

Kumho MX's are stickier than Toyo T1-R which are sticker than Yokohama Parada Spec-2 which are sticker than Pirelli Euforia. How's that? LOL

[smc]

Quote: Originally Posted by carreracat

Runflats were stock Dunlop 9000, the Eagle F1s are 205/45/17, as I said I'm impressed with the grip but looking at them after 1000km I'm not sure they're gonna last very long!

Performance tires have short life span mate however the grip really impressed

[Themikanic]

Hi, I'll be coming up to replacing my 17 inch Dunlop runflats, with new runflats in the next few months.
Yes, I've been very happy with them & see no reason to change.

I am hoping for some replies in favour of runflats & which brands etc. I am also entertaining the idea of slightly larger/wider diameter runflats, should these be legal & available.

Mike in Australia,