The Tyre Recommendation Thread

[Rudolph Hucker]

For 17" rims, I prefer 215/45/17 it's wider so gives the rims more protection from the kerb and taller so gives a less harsh ride but it does put the speedo out a bit on the safe side, I use a 'Talex' GPS based speed camera locator which gives an accurate speed readout so o problems!
As for brand, I have used 3 sets of Toyo T1R in that size with no problems but am now using Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2. The '2' is important as is an improvement over the original, so I'm told. They seem very good but impossible to tell without actualy doing a back to back test.

[Rudolph Hucker]

If you want to keep the speedo accurate you can fit the lower profile 215/40/17 which are near enough the same rolling radius.

[george_talbot]

Just thought I would give a little review and support for runflats.

I recently upgraded my wheels on my mini to the R98s, I wanted to get runflats as that is what the car is supplied with and no need to carry a spare wheel or puncture repair kit.

I had been in my friends minis and one had the awful Pirelli Euforias and the other had Dunlop SP01s both in 205/45/17. I was impressed with the Dunlops grip but the ride was a little harsh.

After reading postitive reviews about the bridgestone runflats, I looked into buying a set, at £170 a tyre they were not cheap but managed to get them for £150 a tyre.

So far, I am really impressed, they have good grip but the ride is not as harsh as the dunlops or the Pirellis, the road noise is also very good, went from 16" goodyear rf and now it is much quiter.

I know many of you get rid of your run flats but to anyone who wants to stick with them, I can only recomend getting the Bridgestone RE050A POTENZA RFTs.

[Edwin]

Got Pirelli P7000s in 215x35x18

[MINIman1187]

Hankook Ventus v4. 215/45/17. Great tire and a definite improvement over the run flats. Smoother ride, better cornering, and good wet weather performance. Makes the MINI look aggressive with the bigger tires too. Highly recommended!

[AMCQ46]

I have already posted details of this in the Mini Convertible section, as initially I thought it was a chassis problem, but as it has turned out to be tyres, I thought I would post here a summary to make sure others can fix the same problem faster than I did:

the car is a 2009 MCS Convertible that I recently bought 2nd hand from Mini in Coventry, fitted with the standard 17" rims. When inspecting the car I made sure I checked the condition and wear on the tyres, but have to admit I didnt check the make, and also when test driving I felt the ride to be a bit harsh, but nothing too dramatic.

The problem came when I get the car home and start to up the pace on my local A & B roads.......the car is dangerous on bumps at speed!

straight line or in a bend, hitting a bump at anything above 60 [ish] it felt like the wheels were lifting off the road and the steering would fly right or left as the resistance against the road was lost.............driving with one hand to change gear is not an option!

So my instinct is it is a chassis problem, alignment, springs, dampers, bushes etc etc. So send the car back to Mini to check out. they say alignment is a bit out at both ends and one wheel is slightly buckled, so the fix all that and rebalance all wheels, tell me its OK.
I take it for a drive and its just as bad!....part of the problem is that they wont allow their technicians to go above 60mph and I am droping the car off in the midle of a city at morning rush hour, so impossible to get them the experience the problem..........but the good thing was they gave a new MCSC with 17" wheels as a loan car, and I got to take it down my test roads at the required speeds, so now I know what is normal harsh ride and what is specific problem in my car.

I did more digging, posted the question on this Forum, did searches but still wasnt comming up with anything, but a clear difference between the "good" and "bad" car was the make of tyres. My car was fitted with WANLI runflats, and I had never heard of them, the demo car was on Dunlop SP01.

OK so WANLI is a budget Chinese tyre maker!!!!!! but the reviews on the internet for the version I had fitted were good, and I was happy with grip wet & dry!

Any way, it was the easy 1st step in the experiment to get MINI to swap wheels & tyres with another car and let me test again. Result....problem fixed, I can now attack bumpy bends and there is a safety margin

Root cause - the sidewalls of the WANLI tyres are so stiff that they transmit the road impact without absorbing any of it and overwhelm the standard damping, hence the wheel IS lifting off the road.

So I now have the Dunlop RF and although the wheels stay on the ground now and my 1st problem is fixed, but I am now dissapointed with the wet grip compared to my China rubber!

so anybody else think the Dunlop SP01 is bad in the wet?

[Poprin]

OK there I was with two barely legal front tyres. I had Bridgestone run-flats all round and had found them to be... sh*te. So exhaustively read forum posts and articles on the internet about run-flat, non run-flat and what tyre to buy etc. In the end I basically had come to the conclusion it was either 2x Conti sport contact 3 run flats (£167 each) or 4x standard tyres. For the standard tyres I was considering the Falken 912 (£97 each).

The ride on my Mini has always been poor, I too experienced the 'bump steer' that AMCQ46 mentions in his post. Driving on the Bridgestone run-flats was akin to driving Fred Flintstones car with concrete rollers instead of tyres.

So I nervously chose to take the plunge and get 4x Falken 912 (205/40/R17) as I had FK452's on my old E46 and had been impressed. Falken did not let me down, they are excellent. The ride quality is noticeably better, no crashing through bumps, no bump steer, less road noise. In every way they are better than the run-flat Bridgestone’s. It's like I’ve bought a new car the difference is that noticeable.

If you always buy expensive brand tyres, read some reviews about Falkens and take the plunge and give them a try. I honestly don't notice the difference between the mid-range Falken and the more 'well known' costly brands.

[Macguyvic]

Installed the Kumho Ecsta SPT a couple of days ago. Never drove on the Dunlops new but they were rough, hard and followed every line in the road. The Kumhos transformed the ride quality yet still stick like velcro in the twisties Time will tell.

[DanJackGrant]

Has anybody experienced any tyre rubbing on the wheel arches when fitting 215/40/17 ? Looking to fit some and don't want to regret it !

[Flu]

Has anyone done 225/35/19's on 19 X 8.5 wheels? Im looking for advice on whether this setup will rub the fenders. THX!

[Macguyvic]

Updating the tire report. Early January I installed a set of Kumho Ecsta SPT on my 08 S. While they really transformed the ride quality, I have to say I hate the tires. Every time I take a turn it sounds like the rubber is coming apart. The tire has oddly wide grooves along either edge of the tread pattern. Worth mentioning is the tires also feel like they are rolling over the sidewall even as short as it is. This is compared to the Dunlop's that proceeded the Kumho's. The traction however, is good. The noise is unacceptable. Do not buy these tires for a Mini Cooper S on 17 inch wheels.

[Jollynut]

Hi guys,

Has anyone ever used Michelins on a MINI?

I've had a couple of sets of Goodyear Eagle F1's and they are great to drive on, but they wear out fast - well, they did the way I drive!!

Then I used Goodrich G-Force - they lasted much longer, but they are very noisy.

A friend of mine who is a car expert, but not a MINI expert says that Michelin are the best tires and if there is no knowlegde of them not working on a MINI, it might be worth trying a set of Michelins. I just want a good set of summer performance tires for my 05 MCS on my 17" rims.

Thanks for any input.

[Rudolph Hucker]

Quote: Originally Posted by DanJackGrant (original)

Has anybody experienced any tyre rubbing on the wheel arches when fitting 215/40/17 ? Looking to fit some and don't want to regret it !

No problem with that size, I have 215/45/17 (S Spokes) on my MCS with no rubbing at all and the speedo is fairly accurate.

[Rotorhead]

Should be getting my Cooper SD any time now, and not that it's fitted with Hankook Ventus from new! (Forgot to check whether they are run flat though... Just assumed they are). Although the test drive was only 15-20 miles on town, country & dual carriageways, they seemed pretty smooth.

Certainly less crashy than the Bridgestones on the Coupe Cooper SD they've loaned me in the meantime!

[Angib]

Michelin only make good tyres - but I don't like them.

They all seem to have the failing of requiring very smooth drivers - if you are rough with steering or braking inputs, they break away much faster than if you're smooth. Not a big deal on braking as if you brake a 2nd gen quickly the brake assist will take it straight up to lock-up anyway, but I've always found it annoying on cornering where any twitch over a bump has the tyre sliding at well below its cornering ability - they feel like driving with very ultra-heavy wheels.

My suspicion is that Michelin's test drivers are sure to be super-smooth and they haven't thought to optimise the tyres' design for ordinary drivers. Plus I bet they've still got the habit of driving older French cars with really soft suspension - I grew up driving a Renault 16 where you had to be smooth with the steering or else the door handles scraped on the road.