Tires, Tyres, Tars

Started by MiniDave, November 27, 2018, 03:22:18 PM

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MiniDave

I'm going to need some come spring, for my 2009 Clubman S.

Currently has Michelin Pilot Sport A/S3 in 215/45-17 size. I bought these tires because they were highly recommended by both Tire Rack and Consumer Reports, and they were on big time sale - I figured with that diverse a reporting group I should be able to trust the results. To say I was disappointed would be a substantial understatement. They have no traction on hot days, and even less on cold days and yesterday when I tried to drive around the hood in the snow it was damn near undriveable. They are warranted for 60K of tread life, mine have low 20's and are substantially worn - which didn't help in the snow, I'm sure.The only area it hasn't disappointed is in smoothness - they do stay balanced - although I didn't rotate them frequently enough and they got noisy on the back - a common issue with MINIs.

So far on my two MINIs I've had...

2003 Cooper S JCW

some OEM Dunlops (Parada?) that were great on track but noisy as hell.

Kuhmo Excsta ASX - great tires, quiet and smooth, good in everything and not expensive - lasted 20K miles

Conti DWS - Also did well, also only lasted 20K despite being warranted for 50K - however you only got credit against another set of the same tire, and the cost was such that it was as cheap to buy something else.

Nitto Neogen -  replaced the worn Conti's, but I sold the car shortly after that so I don't know how they did - they were inexpensive tho

2009 Clubman S

OEM Conti runflats - removed and sold at 3K miles

Conti DWS - again, only lasted 20K miles, funny too cause the same tire on the Audi has lasted far longer.

Conti DWS - again, tired of replacing at 20 K miles,

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S3 - as described above.

So, what to get? I don't want summer only tires as I drive it year round and don't want to store a set of winter wheels/tires - so they pretty much need to be all seasons.

Requirements - decent summer traction - although not as important as when I used to run this on the track! (Maybe that's why they only lasted 20K? Nah.....)

Decent rain or wet performance

OK in winter and snow.

I don't drive near as many miles as I used to, so the 20K thing isn't as important as when I was driving a lot.

Quiet and smooth driving - very high on my list - I hate noisy, rock hard tires. Given the very good handling of a MINI, they need to not compromise that - so they need to be "High Performance" or better.

I'm not into Bridgestones - had them on the Lexus and they were fantastic - for about 10K - then they got LOUD. Don had the same experience with his on his MINI this year....pass.

So, whadya like?
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

94touring

I ran kumhos on mine and liked them.

BruceK

#2
Quote from: MiniDave on November 27, 2018, 03:22:18 PM
Conti DWS - Also did well, also only lasted 20K despite being warranted for 50K - however you only got credit against another set of the same tire

Say what?!    That's crazy. 

Never heard of the must-stick-to-the-same-tire to receive a rebate on treadwear warranty coverage.   In the Southwest and West there is a huge chain called Discount Tire (also known as America's Tire in California).   I've been buying tires from them for nearly 30 years and I'm a very satisfied customer.   Although I only average about 5K miles per year on my MINI, about 4 months ago I changed out a set of Yokohamas that I had worn out in a little more than 20K miles.  The Yokos were warranted for 40,000 miles and I got a nice rebate on them which I rolled into the purchase of a set of Cooper Zeon RS3-G1 tires.   I had done some research and the Coopers seemed to be a good overall value.  The Zeon RS3-G1 was not a tire that they normally carry, so my local Discount Tire store had to special order them.   I've only had them for a couple of thousand miles so far, but I really like them in both the dry and especially in the wet.   Sorry, (but not sorry  ;D ) I have not experienced them in snow.

Buy the way, I went through several sets of Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires on my wife's old Volvo. I've had colds that last longer than those tires, and after the second set I swore off buying any black round things from Continental, forevermore. 



1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

I've had colds that last longer than those tires   ;D

One of the advantages I have is the use of the Audi when the roads turn to shit.....
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

ve9aa

We're running Generals on both BINIs.....all 16 tires (2 sets all seasons, 2 sets winter/studded).

We're pretty happy with'm.  They are Altimax's I think.

I don't know if you have them south of the border or not.

Before that we ran Firestones, which seemed a tad smoother, grippier, but they only lasted maybe 40k or so

The original Conti's were cr@p. Loud, rough riding , wore horribly.

YMMV
Mike in NB

30 minutes in a Mini is more therapeutic than 3 sessions at the shrink.

BruceK

So... what are you considering? 
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

I decided to put it off till spring, these have enough tread to get me thru everything but snow - and when it does that I'll take the Audi. So I'll have a little more time to consider. Don needs new tires for his 2006 JCW and he always buys his thru Costco, I may get in on that with him....you never know what they'll be carrying from one month to the next. He has his Blizzaks on till spring so we'll both be due about the same time.

He bought Bridgestones last time - rotated them faithfully every 2500 miles and they still got unbearably noisy before they were 2/3 gone. Terrible tyres.....won't do that again.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

MiniDave

#7
So, I'm back in the market for tires again for the 2009 MINI - I got tired of replacing expensive tires at 20K mile intervals, so this last time I decided to just get cheap, no name tires (Riken Raptor? I think I paid $70 each) and they're wearing like iron. They now have 20K and I can't really see any wear on them!

The only problem is I can't stand them!

The noise is unbearable and traction is well......abysmal. They don't squeal around corners or anything, but pulling away from a light on a slight uphill grade guarantees the traction control will be lit up till I get rolling.....and it's even worse when it gets wet. I didn't drive it in the snow this winter - I probably couldn't have done!

I hate to waste the money when they're not really worn at all, but they're so loud they have to go.

So looking online at the usual suspects - Tire Rack and Discount Tire (we have them locally now - I used them when I lived in California - we also have Big O too) I noticed several things - these things are friggin expensive now! Also, a lot of the names within the brands have changed, and third I'm not sure whether I want to stay with the 215/45 I've been running, or go back to the 205's it came with looking for a little better ride.

Looking for input, so give me what you've got.....

The alternative is to run them another 20K or till they wear out and just wear ear plugs!
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

cstudep

Cant help you specifically on your car/tire combo. But generally speaking a shorter/stiffer side wall = more noise and usually rougher ride but better handling. A more symmetrical tread pattern is also generally more noisy so look for something that is more asymmetrical. I would guess that what you have are probably already more asymmetrical since most "performance" oriented tires are made that way. Wider tires also generally make more noise since the contact patch is larger.

Supposedly there are some tires with tread patterns that produce different tones in various areas of the tire so that they cancel each other out and make less noise. Probably not really relevant but Kind of cool that they put that much effort into it guess.

I guess in the end it's all a compromise somewhere, and that is why most people with more performance oriented cars have winter tires and summer tires if they are going to drive year round.

Your comment on the price is spot on for sure. My truck came with giant ass mud tires on it when I bought it and I wish I would have swapped them out 3-4 years ago like I wanted to when tires were more reasonable. They are so noisy it drives me absolutely insane to drive it anywhere, but at nearly $500 a tire these days for replacements I am going to drive them until there isn't much left!

MPlayle

I had good results from Kumho and Falken brand tires on my 2009 Clubman-S and 2002 Cooper-S.

94touring


BruceK

#11
Last time I bought tires for my R53 I went with Cooper Zeon RS3 from Discount Tire. That was about 5 years ago and I'm very happy with them.  I have probably only put about 20,000 miles on them since then and they are holding up very well. They're quiet and grip very well.  No problems in the rain or when it's cold outside.

I don't think you're going to change any ride characteristics at all going from a 215mm width to a 205mm width. That's less than 1/2 inch of difference. As I remember, one advantage of going with the 215mm is the prices were actually less than the 205s for lots of different tire models.

Tire Rack is now owned by Discount Tire, but they continue to test and compare lots of different tires and publish the results on their website. So you can get a good idea of the characteristics of any tire you are considering.

One advantage Discount Tire has that other competitors may not have is that you get free tire rotation throughout the life of the tire. And free tire repair.  In fact, they will rotate tires that you did not even buy from them.
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

Brit_in_TX

Quote from: MiniDave on April 16, 2023, 05:15:14 PMSo, I'm back in the market for tires again for the 2009 MINI - I got tired of replacing expensive tires at 20K mile intervals, so this last time I decided to just get cheap, no name tires (Riken Raptor? I think I paid $70 each) and they're wearing like iron. They now have 20K and I can't really see any wear on them!

I am in a similar situation with my truck.  The dealer put some new tires on it when they put it on their lot and they are some random cheap brand that seem to wearing like iron.  Like you I also hate them, especially in the wet.  In the wet there is zero traction and it more like driving on ice.  I keep wondering about a replacement, but there are so many options and the price of tires for the truck is somewhere between $230-350 a tire, so it is a large amount of money to take a gamble on. 

Also the reviews I have read often some really polar opposites, either loving them or hating them. 

MPlayle

When I dealt with this issue on my 2002 MCS, I found that the tires with the high mileage ratings (50K-75K miles) had the exact issues you are describing.  They get the high miles rating by using mostly hard compounds that are long wearing, but poor on traction. 

I took to using tires rated for 30K-45K miles and got much better results over the expected lifetime of the tire.  My reasoning was: if I have to replace a 60K mile tire at 30K miles because it is too hard to retain traction, I might as well go with a 30K mile tire that retains decent traction throughout its lifetime.  The Kuhmo and Falken tires met that criteria and have good reputations these days.

MiniDave

I'll probably let this slide till after the Arkansas meet up......there is plenty of tread on them so I'm not worried about wearing them out before then!
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad