I live in San Diego where the weather is always pretty nice. It never freezes, but we do get some nights down in the low 40's.

What type of tires are people in SoCal running? Is it ok to run performance summer tires all year long, or is there a temperature cut-off point where performance is lost?

I gotta get rid of these run-flats already!

 

Even in NorCal we run summer tires all year long.

I've heard "close to freezing" is bad, it probably depends on the tire. If the MINI ever dinged its 37degree chime at me I'd get nervous and drive a little more carefully. Come to think of it, he did do that once, and I never thought about the tire issue.

The only time I have worried about it was visiting LA at new year, I avoided the grapevine on the way there becuase the weather forecast up there was for freezing temperatures. On the way back the temp dropped to 39 degrees unexpectedly and I was watching it carefully. I didn't notice any problems at that temperature, but I didn't push it either. The tires were warmed up by the time it got that cold, which probably helped. Starting with cold tires in cold temps is probably the worst it gets.

 

Hiya John...

Fellow San Diegan here... who finally listened to everyone's advise and ditched the runflats after about 6k miles on the Mini...

I found a great deal from a fellow Mini owner on some discontinued Bridgestone RE-01Rs, and have been running them for about 6k miles so far...

They're great, quiet, and stick like the dickens. I actually got to break them in up at Laguna Seca a few months back...

I hear the Bridgestone RE-11s are the new replacement for them... another "extreme performance" summer tire... but figure these'll only last about 10-12k total before needing to be switched out for something else.

Bottom line, it seems like everyone is playing leapfrog these days when it comes to their high performance street tires... but I'm thinking most/all of them are an improvement over the runflats!

 

I definately plan to ditch the run-flats... they're a bit to hard for my liking.

Right now i've got a few options i'm considering. I'll be putting 205/50R16 on stock S-winders. I thought about buying another set of wheels but I don't mind the look of the s-winder and they're already semi-light at ~16-17lbs. I don't plan to track the car (not yet at least) and I drive about 12-15K per year. The tires i'm looking at include (w/ tirerack pricing):

Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star - $106ea
Bridgestone Potenza RE760 - $102ea
Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval - $104ea
Sumitomo HTR Z II - $69ea
Yokohama S.drive - $89ea

From everyone's reviews on NAM and what I see on tirerack, the Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 is a darn good tire, but I didn't put it on my list because they're $147ea which seems a bit pricey. I realize they will last longer, but If I don't like the performance i'm stuck with them for 30K+....

Any recommendations? Based on my research here's what i've concluded thus far.

Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star - A top notch tire for road or track use but i'll probably only get about 10K miles on them before they're toast.

Bridgestone Potenza RE760 - Comparable to the Michelin PE2, however, the wet performance is not as good. Will likely last 20-30K.

Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval - A pretty good all around tire with good wet/dry grip. I haven't seen many reviews out there other than from muscle car guys.

Sumitomo HTR Z II - Good dry grip, but i've read complaints about these getting very noisy. Will probably last 10-15K.

Yokohama S.drive - Decent dry/wet grip but not these best out there. Will probably last 10-15K. Possibly sidewalls are to soft?

If i've made any wrong conclusions above please chime in an share your experiences since i'm basing these conclusions off other's experiences not mine.

 

I never worried about temperatures. I've had my Falken 615s for more than a year and we had a pretty cold winter, low 20s and snow, here in Memphis. I kept them on the whole time and they're fine. So I wouldn't worry about temps for tires in SoCal. In the rain, they can get a bit sketchy, but only where there's lots of standing water. They're also about $90 and last for more than 20K miles.

Kumho Ecsta MX and the new Ecsta XS. They've both been good tires according to autocrossers. But I don't know how long they'd last.
Hankook Ventus R-S2. Again, good tire according to autocrossers, but not sure of their lifespan.

 

So I ended up ordering the Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sports. Can't wait to get them mounted and out for a run. I'll report back how they feel compared with the run-flats.

 

I liked the RE760s' until I switched over to a tire that is almost half the price. I love my HTR Zllls' way better. However, you won't be dissapointed.

 

I've got RE-01Rs that I use for autocrossing. I've driven a few hundred miles on them to and from events and like how they perform at the limits and have used them for 3 events. Fast tire wear is the trade off.

I really like the Nitto Neo Gens which are Toyos as I was told by one manufacturer. They are extremely cost effective, sticky, and aggressive treads. For more comfort and less road noise but in much more limited sizings, the new Nitto Invo's would be high on my list.

I've driven 35,000 miles on 17" Neo Gens and just bought a set in 15's for my daily driver MR2.

See them under Street tires at nittotire.com

Richard

 

Got the RE760's mounted today and they are great. The ride is so much smoother, they've got great grip, and so far they appear to be very stable in corners. Steering is much more responsive and I feel a different level of connection to the road. Overall a good pick in my book.

Goodbye runflats!