Tyres for 15's

[McKenzie]

I have just bought a 2007 Cooper which is running 175/65/R15 Continental ContiPremiumContact 2's .... I've only had the car a couple of days and the ride & handling seem fine, but I would be interested to hear from others running on non runflat 15's as to which tyres they feel suit the Mini well, at present I dont have any experience driving the new Mini on any other tyres so have nothing to compare my present set up with.
Appologies if this has already been covered elsewhere.
Cheers
Steve

[Caveman]

You won't find a huge selection of tires in this size.

The Tire you're running now is classified as a Grand Touring Summer Tire. If you're looking for a Performance Summer tire in this size there's the Pirelli P3000E.

[McKenzie]

Quote: Originally Posted by Caveman (original)

You won't find a huge selection of tires in this size.

The Tire you're running now is classified as a Grand Touring Summer Tire. If you're looking for a Performance Summer tire in this size there's the Pirelli P3000E.

Thanks for that Caveman...I suppose another choice would be to go for 195/60?R15's ???

[Caveman]

Quote: Originally Posted by McKenzie (original)

I suppose another choice would be to go for 195/60?R15's ???

That fitment will work as will 185/65-15 or 185/60-15. Most 205/55-15 tires will also fit on 15x5.5 wheels.

You might want to read The Tyre Recommendation Thread.

[Cooper S Jon]

195/60 or 185/60 would be ok,at that size they are +/- 6mm(+/- 1%) diameter of the 175/65/15 diameter..

[Angib]

I found that 65 aspect ratio tyres are very much economy models - even if you buy a premium brand, they will be designed for fuel economy and long life, not outright grip. So if you want to hoon about, changing to 185/60 would get you into slightly more sporty models of tyres, but only slightly.

I went from stock 15 size to stock 16 size (195/55-16) for my Cooper by buying some old Mini wheels and loved the extra grip. The bigger wheels do knock a little off the 'peppy-ness' but I thought the extra grip was well worth it.

[Caveman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Angib (original)

I found that 65 aspect ratio tyres are very much economy models - even if you buy a premium brand, they will be designed for fuel economy and long life, not outright grip. So if you want to hoon about, changing to 185/60 would get you into slightly more sporty models of tyres, but only slightly.

YUP ... you really have to go with 55 aspect ratio or lower for performance tires.