I'm getting some Rota RB 16x7 wheels and am looking to set them up as the quiet comfort set. I have a set of CenterLine RPM 17x7 for twisty fun.

I seem to be hearing that General Exclaim UHP is a good choice. Is there anything that is quieter without giving up a lot of handling?

What about tire sizes? I was looking at 205/55-16, but would listen to arguments for 195, 205, or 215 with as close a ratio to the stock O.D. as possible. I understand that with 205, the choice is either 55 or 50, one being a little over stock O.D. and the other a little under.

 

Sumitomo HTR+
Yok Avid

 

OK, 16x7 rims with stock suspension. When possible, try searching for tires that are as close to stock size tire diameter first so try 205/50-16 But 205/55-16 is a bit taller than stock at 24.9" while stock is about 24.3-24.4" tall. With stock suspension you have more wheel gap so 24.9 will work but you decrease the gap by 1/2". If you have plans for any lowering then 205/50-16 is best. If you routinely need to haul heavy loads or carry four people then 205/50-16 is best.

For Ultra High performance Summer tires-
General Exclaim UHP is good on handling, very good on comfort and great on value and weight.

However if you really want comfort and long treadlife then
see
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...ay.jsp?ttid=86

Grand touring All Season
Michelin Primacy MXV4 620 treadwear
205/55-16 $125 H speed rated 23 lbs (H speed rating works for street use on any MINI)
205/55-16 $141 V speed rated 23 lbs
(195/60-15 and 225/45-17 [a bit tall at 25" tire diam] as well)
or
Bridgestone Turanza Serenity 740 treadwear
205/55-16 $118 H speed rated 25 lbs (works for street use on any MINI)
(also in 195/65-15 and 225/45-17)

and
Goodyear eagle ResponsEdge 440 treadwear
205/50-16 $123 V speed rated 23 lbs
205/55-16 $111 V speed rated 24 lbs
(also in 195/60-15 and 215/45-17)

You'll maximize your comfort and still get pretty decent handling tires for daily use.

 

Is there anyone out there actually running 205/55-16 tires? If so, I would like to hear from them.

I know when I was looking for replacement tires, nobody suggested that size.

 

(deleted)

 

Thanks all. I think my biggest concern is noise. That bothers me on long trips more than ride comfort. So, top concern is a quiet tire. I'd still like as much good handling as possible, but willing to give some up. Ride comfort would be third. Tread wear is not a big issue. I don't have a daily commute, except the internet, and I'll have two sets of wheels/tires to wear out before they get old and brittle. The 17s will probably get the most twisty wear.

I believe that the Dunlap 205/45-17 that came with my R56 MCS have an O.D. of 24.5". So I guess even stock varies a bit. I was seeing that as exactly half way in between 24.1 (50) and 24.9 (55) of Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 (do they have an R2-D2?)

So, I was figuring that the 55 would be just a little more comfortable with that extra 0.4". However, I'm open to the argument that 50 might be better for other reasons.

I have no intentions of lowering the MINI. A Ferrari mechanic once told me that lowering a car was a really bad idea because it changed the steering geometry, but we were talking about a 1957 Alfa Romeo. Anyway, that sort of stuck with me. Besides, If my car were any lower, I probably wouldn't be able to get it up the driveway. It is a 30 year old concrete switchback that climbs about 400 ft in altitude and is shared by six houses. We've had meetings about resurfacing it for years...

Kenchan,
Which Yokohama Avids did you have in mind? What do you like about them? What do you like about the Sumitomos? Hmm, both Japanese names, Ken-chan... Are you otaku? In which film does Madoka drive a CR/W Mini Cooper?

 

Quiet tires that handle well. In 205/50-16.

In Ultra High Performance Summer tires

General Exclaim UHP $66 380 treadwear
Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 $136 240 treadwear
BF Goodrich g-Force Sport $83 340 treadwear
Kumho Ecsta SPT $87 320 treadwear
Avon Tech M500 $86 280 treadwear

In Max Performance Summer tires
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 $119 280 treadwear
Dunlop SP Sport Maxx $101 240 treadwear

Best test is to find a MINI that has the tire you want to consider and go for a ride.

 

im running the H4's on my LegacyWgn and had good experience in the past
on my nissan sedans.

probably would do the W4's if on the MCS. but the reason why i went
with the sumi HTR+'s this time is be because they are quieter over
concrete surfaces. I use to run them as winter tires on my WRX a while
ago and had good experience.

i usually only run summer tires on my hobby cars but the noise was starting
to catch up to me and me not driving so aggressively these days i went
with a quiet tire that i know grips decently and comfy.

no, i am not a otaku and i dont know wtf you are talking about.

 

For all out quiet comfort 215/50/16 Avon M500 Tech, for good turn in and comfort + quiet+ tread life, Avon 205/50/16; the Avon 215s are the same rolling diameter as stock 195/55/16 no matter what a tech sheet says.

 

Michelin Pilot Exalto's...

 

Avon was my other candidate...but those aren't readily available around
here locally. when buying a/s tires i want something i can buy at my
local tire shop in an emergency.

if i have time i will ofcourse buy from tirerack, where i buy all my wheels
and tires. (alex da man).

 

Well, this is depressing. Two recommendations for Michelin Pilot Exhalto PE2. I have these in 205/45-17 on my CenterLine RPMs. They are not quiet on the rather horrible road surfaces around here. I was hoping there was something significantly quieter.

 

yah, people think they have quiet tires just because their first 25% of wear
was quiet. hell, my S03's were quiet when new.

tire noise starts at around 25%. check Sumitomo HTR+'s reviews at TR.
you will find that people with over 20K miles are still enjoying their quiet
tires.

 

I have 15x7 SSR wheels with Michelin Exalto PE2 in 205/55-15, which replaced the 15x5.5 OEM wheels with Continental Eco Contact 3 175/65-15. I don't find the Michelins to be noisy, but the OEM setup was definitely quieter.

I've heard from several sources that the Michelin Exalto PE2 is one of the quieter performance tires. If noise is a primary concern, I think you'll have to make some compromises on performance. The all-season version of the Exalto seems to be highly rated for noise on TireRack.

 

Actually it's not depressing.

45 series tire is key for your Centerlines. It's a stiff sidewall.

55 series tire is an option but it's tall.

50 series tire is fine. Now go after a tire that is likely to be more quiet than the Exalto PE2. Everything is relative.

I had 215/45-17 Yokohama AVS ES100 early on and those were a lot better than the runflats. Then I changed to Bridgestone Potenza S-03s and they were way way better than the ES100s for smoothness and quiet ride but it's all relative. Your Exlalto PE2s are probably a lot more quiet than my S-03s now.

Go for a ride in any MINI with 205/50-16 or 206/55-16 tires. See what you think about the noise.

So for any tire- consider the tire AND consider the size/sidewall.

Finally like you mentioned you have horrible roads. This is also key. All the more reason for 55 series tires. 45 series sidewall on rough roads is jarring. We have mostly smooth roads but some are very rough and it's unpleasant to drive my MINI with 17" wheels on those.

Right now I have 175/65-15 tires on stock 15" wheels and everything is smooth. Road noise is OK, they are just stock conti tires.

 

By the way, some people have posted that you can significantly reduce road noise by applying Dynamat to the back side of the wheel well liners.

 

You're somewhat limited by tire sizes.

In Ultra High Performance All Season tires

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=87

Pirelli PZero Nero M+S
205/45-16 $100 400 treadwear 24 lbs 23.2" tire diam.
205/50-16 $108 400 treadwear 24 lbs 24.1" tire diam. (consider this one)
205/55-16 $106 400 treadwear 21 lbs 24.9" tire diam.
205/55-16 $106 400 treadwear 23 lbs 24.9" tire diam.
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S $144 400 treadwear 25 lbs tall at 25.2" tire diam.
Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS $114 400 treadwear 24 lbs 24.9" tire diam.
Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season $122 420 treadwear 24 lbs 24.9" tire diam.

 

Dynamat or similar in the doors, under the rear seat, under the floor carpet, under the boot and in the rear fenders are all good places to help with sound deadening.

This helps your music to sound better and keeps road noise out but it adds weight and does require some disassembly of your MINI. Most audio shops can do it or you can do it yourself or find an audio upgrade minded MINI enthusiast to help you.

I have three layers of sound deadening in each front door- outer door metal, inner door metal, inner door plastic panel.

The other way to reduce road noise is to get a big amp for your stereo and drown out everything- this works well too. I've got about 675 Watts for my stereo on tap. Gotta drown out the exhaust noise too.

 

Dynamat? You mean like this:





I've only done the back half of the car. The wheel well liners is a good idea. I'll have to look into doing the fronts.

 

Yes, I had seen your pictures before.

Add some for the front doors and maybe the floors. The doors are important.

Sometimes I pull out my rear seat and the noise is much much louder.

 

Rumor is that the doors on the R56 are impossible to Dynamat because of the window mechanisms. Too hard to get past them to apply it.

The rear seats will be permanently removed from my MINI. That is why the extensive sound insulation in the back. Reducing the source of the noise would be a big help. That is why the pursuit of quiet tires.

 

I like the ride of my Kumho ASX all seasons. I run 195-50-16 on my Cooper and 205-50-16 on my MCS.

 

Yes, I just talked to an R56 owner who tried to sound proof the front doors. He confirms that the rumor is fact. The middle inner door panel doesn't even come off like in the R50/R53 so you can't remove it, add the dynamat and put it back in. I suppose if you ever had an accident the entire front door would be replaced as a unit. Anything wrong with the window unit might need the dealership to make the repair-not so simple. Maybe a long warranty would be wise.

OK on the dynamat for the rear- no seats? Check. Ok then if no seats you would need good quiet tires.

I had searched long ago for quiet tires and the Falken Azenis ST-115 came up-
http://www.epinions.com/Falken_Azeni...splay_~reviews
I have talked to people that sell the tire and it's not much good for high performance driving or treadwear but it tends to be less noisy.

 

Interesting reviews. It seems to be a love it or hate it tire. Lots of comments about them being quiet, but there seems to be mixed opinions about whether they become noisy with a little wear.

Since I don't care too much about tread wear, they might be just right for me. I'm just a little concerned about the comments that they get loud after 1,000 miles.

 

No one mentioned this one so I think I will throw it out there.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....e1=yes&place=0
ContisportContact2s. These come standard on new M5s. I ran them on my old M3 sedan. Nice ride, very precise handling. They didn't get noisy until the last 5k miles of tread was left (20-25k miles on the tires). I would go for the 205/50/16 for $120 a tire.

Did your car come with the Dunlop runflats? I drove on R56 with them and could not believe how noisy they were. I don't have any experience with the Michelins you have now, but past Michelins I have had were never very quiet.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....e1=yes&place=1
The Goodyear F1 GS D3 is a pretty quiet/nice riding tire as well. I ran them on my last MCS. I don't think the handling is as good as some other high performance tires, but they are still very good. They ride nice and are quiet.

Good luck!