I bought these tires a few months back and only have positive things to say about them.

 

I have 400 miles on the Envigors now. The noise I mentioned in my last post was annoying enough that I brought it back to the shop. They rotated front to back just to see if there was a defective tire and checked the alignment. The noise is still there (maybe even a little worse now).

I'm a little concerned about the alignment specs they used because the heading on the printout says:

MINI:R55 Clubman (2008 - ):One/Cooper/Cooper S (Series/Sport Suspension) with 16" Wheel

I have a 2008 R56 Cooper S with 16" wheels (no sport suspension)

The alignment specs they used are:

Front
Camber -0.7 deg each wheel
Castor +4 deg each wheel
Toe +.04 deg each wheel

Rear
Camber -1.6 deg each wheel
Toe +.18 deg each wheel

Does anyone know if these are the correct stock settings?

TIA

 

You cannot really adjust castor.

Toe should be as close to zero as you can for both the front and rear.

Not sure what you are using to get front camber, but the stock front camber is near zero. However, more negative camber is better for initial turn in. You can adjust camber up to -2.0 without much substantial tire wear as long as you like twisties. I would stay around -1.4 for rear camber, near stock specifications.

 

Do you have the stock settings with tolerances? Based on the settings I listed in my previous post, it sounds like front and rear camber are OK. Is the toe of .04 front and .18 rear close enough to zero?

Could any of these adjustments have an impact on road noise? The noise I have is like a low whine, and it's worse going around curves.

 

This thread is about Yokohama Envigor tires.

Search for info on stock alignment for your 2008 MINI. You're doing fine and your noise is not related to alignment. Noise from your tread (worn?) most likely. Old tires have hard rubber and are often noisy.

 

I'm in Chicago, I'm considering Bridgestone Potenza Grid 019 vs Yokohama Avid ENVigor in 215 45R17.. It snows pretty bad here sometimes, probably similar to PA, maybe worse. At least it's flat here. What would you or anyone else suggest?

I need to buy these ASAP...thanks!

 

For snow AND ICE, get Blizzaks. For deep snow Dunlop Wintersport M3. I have one set on each on my 2 Mini's so I have had the opportunity to test them. All Season tires are great for rain but start to lose traction when the temperature drops into snow. Both those snow tires are very quiet.

S.

 

I have the Grids and my father has the ENVigors (both Minis of course). Both work extremely well. The Envigors are a little "softer" in terms of cornering so I can definitely corner a little better in the Grids but the treadlife of the ENVigors will last a little longer than the Grids.

 

I was going to replace my All Season General Altimax HP (once they wear out) with the ENVigors on my MCa, which is just a cruiser and not a high performance ride. Comfort is the goal with the MCa.

S.

 

yes the ENVigors will provide more cushion on everyday driving.

 

thevastdifference: New Grid 019s were on our Mini when we bought it used several months ago. We like those tires, but from the info at Tire Rack, I think I'd prefer the ENVigors.

 

Since the roads you will be driving on are flat, I think you will be able to manage OK with either.

The Grids were a more enjoyable tire when driving spiritedly. They gripped better than the ENVIgors in my opinion and the tread life was fantastic.

The ENVigors surprised me because they were the quietest tire I have put on so far out of the stock run flats, 2 sets of summer tires, 2 sets of all seasons, and winter tires. It was really nice. The decrease in noise isn't that huge compared to the Grids though.. Road noise really bugs me and the Grids were fine.

 

I have brand new Envigors. Most people on here have commented that they are quiet but I find them to be very noisy on most roads, even noisier than the original runflats with 30k miles on them. I'm just trying to find out if there could be another reason for the noise.

 

It sounds like you may have one or more defective tires, or some other issue with your car.

 

I have had the yoko avid envigors for about 6 weeks. I like the ride. It is softer than the gy eagle rsa runflats i had. 8 out of 10 in dry conditions. Not as bumpy. Indy has seen alot of snow. I would give the avid envigors a 6.5 out of 10 in the snow. Decent traction but far from great. I can't imagine how bad it would be on summer tires. If you see much snow and can afford it I would recommend the summer/winter tires approach. These are acceptable for the snow but that is about it. I would like to run summer tires until it's getting down to below 40 at night and then switch to these yokos or perhaps a winter tire if we continue to get so much snow.

 

I've got 3000+ miles on mine and they don't make a sound! EllCapitan sounds like he's on track Playtowin... Take 'em back. These are great tires and you must have some lemons on those rims. Hell, maybe it's your rims or bearings. Either way, sorry to hear that you have had some bad luck with the Envigors. Good luck.

 

I was considering these for the winter, but a friend who has them told me that traction in snow is less than acceptable.

I went with dedicated summer/winter tire solution. The only issue is that I can't affort a second set of JCW wheels at the moment, so I pay $100 each time I switch sets. (I'm saving up for the new black JCW wheels that are available on the 2011 models).

Thanks for the honest feedback.

 

No tire will do everything perfectly, it's going to be a compromise of sorts depending on what your needs are.

For those that do have cold weather but minimal or occassional snow the ENVigor is not a bad choice.

From tirerack some owner ratings for Ultra HP vs HP All season tires tells the story of which tires would give better snow handling and traction if that is of importance to you.

UHPAS
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...jsp?type=UHPAS

HPAS
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey....jsp?type=HPAS

In 205/45-17
AVID ENVigor $114 each 560 treadwear 22 lbs, V speed rated
Continental ExtremeContact DWS $104 each 540 treadwear 20 lbs, W speed rated

In 215/45-17
AVID ENVigor is W speed rated and UHP not HP All Season
$106 each 24 lbs
This size is for W speed rated (handles heat better at higher speeds) which is not as comfortable riding as the H and V speed rated versions. You would choose it based on size but you can use the 205/45-17 size which is fine for both MCS and MC. Tread design is same with various speed ratings.

In 205/50-16
AVID ENVigor $97 each 21 lbs
ExtremeContact DWS $100 each 19 lbs

In 185/65-15
AVID ENVigor $73 each 19 lbs, H speed rated

 

I'm due for service so I'm going to have the dealer rule out anything else like bearings. If they can't find another reason for the noise, I'll try to take them back. Thanks.

 

Has anyone compared this tire to the michelin pilot exalto A/S tires ?

 

Thanks for the information on the different speed ratings of the Envigor depending on size.

BTW - your dashboard looks awesome.

 

Going to Thunderhill in the morning. If it's still raining hard like tonite, it'll be nice to finally see how these things feel in the real wet. Track time on Sunday is supposed to be without much water so that'll be another chapter to write. I'll drop back in Monday or Tuesday and let you guys know the results...

 

Let us know how they handle on the track for sure. Mine came in from tirerack this week and I plan on putting them on today.

Kevin

 

These are 3 season tires. I have no complaint in dry/rain conditions...but in the snow I feel like I have no control. Mustangs are passing me up on the highway and the car feels like it will spin at any moment. Boo on Yokohama for marketing these tires as all season...never again! I should have purchased the Continental DWS or went back to my old stadby...Dunlops!

 

My tires have been alright so far, about 3000 miles also by now. Snow I would have expected better but they are an overall improvement from the OEM run-flats in that category too. Seem to be quieter than the old tires and do soak up the bumps better but I think I still want it to be quieter. I'm going to start with a few layers of sound deadening in the wheel wells when the weather clears up.

Also, I went and got an alignment and that seems to have helped out my mileage greatly too strangely enough, When I put them on and was having issues with them sucking down gas the car seemed like the alignment was fine, No excess noise, no wandering either way. But I guess something was out of alignment and causing enough extra resistance to make a difference.


Also *shakes fist at JCB* Damn you and your nice weather and race tracks! why must it be 34 degrees here in New England!
Have fun and let us know how they are at the limit!