Live off of a county road that is hard surface with lots of repairs yielding rough surface. Looking for pros & cons with respect to ride comfort the rough rough roads and difference in handling.

Many Thanks,

 

A search should reveal several threads on this question; and at least one very recent one. In that one, the OP decided to go with the 16s for his S.

If you plan to stick with the OE tire sizes, the 16" tires have somewhat more sidewall, so should provide a more compliant ride, and better resist damage from potholes.

The 17s are .5" wider, so should provide somewhat better cornering grip with the OE tire size in the dry. The 17" wheels/tires also weigh a bit more than the 16s, but some prefer the looks of 17s over 16s.

If you plan to buy lightweight aftermarket wheels, most of the 16" wheels will be 7" wide anyway, but there will be plenty of lightweight 17s as well.

 

Understood ... My conundrum is that I prefer good handling but want to avoid extremely harsh ride. Had an 01 BMW Z3 Coupe with M suspension which I really loved but was a bit harsh on rougher roads.

Would most likely replace the MCS RFT with non RFT. Did this on my wife's C5 Corvette and seemed to make the difference. However, the Corvette is a heavier car.

Would depend on roadside service in event of a problem. Also carry an inflater and as last resort use a sealer and look forward to replacing the TPM.

 

Everybody has an opinion on this one. I am sure that you could get 16" runflat tires that ride harsher than 17" all season tires. I traded a justa with 15" wheels for a MCS with the sport suspension and 17's. I definately feel the road more with the 17's, and surface imperfections are more noticable. Rounded bumps dont feel that much different between the two cars, but the 'sharp' bumps (potholes, breaks in the concrete) are more noticeable with the 17's. I have potenza G019 all season tires on the car. They ride noticeably better than the Conti runflats that were on it, but the initial turn-in is also much less crisp.

Again, my car has the sport suspension, I don't know how much different this rides than the standard suspension.

My opinion, if you live on roads with lots of repairs, find a nice performance tire on 16" wheels. Again, everyone has different opinons. Its a MINI, you will like the car a bunch either way....

Mike

 

I went from 17" all season to a 16" that had run flats on them and the 16's are much more comfy ride, handling is a slight bit less responsive, but the ride to me is worth it. I will be ditching the run flats shortly.

 

I have runflats on 18s and they're not that bad even with the horrible roads here. It really comes down to how comfy or how much handling YOU want. I'm used to mine and wouldn't change a thing.

 

I am on my 2nd MCS, had a 07 with 17's and now have an 11 with 16's.

I can tell you that on the 07, the 17" RF's were very harsh on the road, and replacing them with non-RF Potenza g019 was a huge improvement.

Fast forward to now, my 11 still had the RF's on it. They are about equivalent to the 17 Potenzas I had, so am looking forward to getting non-RF's in the future. I live in New England where the roads get pounded by winter weather, so ride comfort is a must for me.

 

In Summary I gather that 16" run flats are are similar to 17" non run flats as far as ride is concerned.

However, would assume that the shorter sidewall of the 17" NRF would improve handling.

Appreciate the posts

 

I will be putting my snows on in a week or two, I will let you know what I think. My summer tires are 17" Potenza G019 (non RF), my snows are 16" goodyear runflats. I am getting used to my 17" setup now (had the car 3 weeks, 2 weeks with these tires), so I should be able to give an opinion.

Mike

 

Thanks ... looking forward to your assessment.

 

My car is an 08 MCS, with sport suspension. This is my daily driver, and the only mods that I did were add a catch can and a 19 mm rear sway bar. My drive to work is about 20 miles each way, mostly through suburbia, and then some city driving. The lovely Buffalo area does not sport the best roads around, and on-ramps are about the best opportunity that I get to be fairly legal in faster turns.
I got the car about a month ago, and put a set of 17" challenge wheels on it. They came with Bridgestone 205/45/17 G019 grid all season tires (non runflat). I used 38 psi, per the sticker on the door pillar. The car rides stiff, but there is an unsettling feeling on quick turn-in. My gut feel was that the tires were sloppy, and going to 42 psi helped without significantly hurting the ride. On faster turns (ok, 50-70 mph is not that fast), the car is really well planted, much faster than me.
This weekend I put the 16" set of wheels on, with Goodyear runflat snow tires on them, 195/55/16. I set them for 38 psi. Immediately, I noticed that the turn-in response was dramatically better. My quick 'juke' of the steering wheel back and forth made my head shake. The car truly felt like a go cart now, not just a nice handling machine. After about 75 miles I have not noticed a significant change in the ride of the car. The car is still stiff, and it seems like I could notice if that was a quarter or a dime that I ran over.
After running the car for a month, I truly enjoy it. It is only more obvious after I get in my wifes SUV how a MINI changes your views on all cars.
In summary, for my needs, I would prefer a 16" runflat to the 17" tires that I have. If I had my choice of tires on the 17", I would probably pick a more performance oriented tire, which may change my outlook. I really like the steering response of the 16" Runflats compared to the 17" marshmallows. I know a bunch of people don't like runflats, but I don't seem to mind. I would probably not like 17" runflats compared to 17" all seasons, but I can't make that comparison. Bridgestone supposedly has come out with a less stiff runflat, which sounds interesting.
My only problem is that the car looks so , um, pedestrian without the Challenge wheels on it. Lifes little problems...

Mike

 

I have over 100,000 miles on my 1st MINI, a 2007 R56. It has 16" wheels and is a JOY to drive for extended trips (13+ hours).

I just ordered my 2nd MINI - it will be a 2012 Cooper S Convertible. I originally ordered it with 17" wheels, but after reading all of the threads concerning the harsher ride with 17s, I went back to the dealer and drove two identical convertibles - one with 16s and one with 17s. What a difference!

16s provide the same ride I have now - responsive, yet very smooth and easy on the body for the long haul. With the 17s I could literally feel every bump and expansion joint on the highway along with more road noise. I changed the order back to 16s.

It should be sweet! Spice Orange, black sport stripes and black rims!