Hi there....

Have a clubman with sport tires on it (just got the car).

My plan is to get a winter set of wheels and tires for the Michigan winters (November through March).

Considering that these will only be used in months with snow:

1. What winter tires are recommended; again since I won't be driving them in "good" weather more agressive tread is ok. Run flats are not manditory...actually I would like to avoid to save costs.
2. Suggested wheels; still want it to look nice but not as concerned since there will be snow on them. Prefer painted as alum/chrome will be sure to suffer with salt and I can always paint/touchup silver.

Thanks.

Jeff

 

I have run the General Altimax Arctic in 205 55 16 for the past 2 Winter Seasons, they have been excellant. I am about 1000 feet above sea level with a very steep driveway, they have performed very well. I will say they are much better on wet and deep snow then Ice, but either way when these wear out I will get another set if they are still available.
You may want to check with Alex at Tirerack, he can give you excellant advise

 

I've had great luck previously on an RX-8 and on my current JCW with Dunlop SP Winter Sport M3s. Blizzaks are also a good choice, I had them several cars ago, the WS series is more aggressive and the LM series is more balanced between snow/ice and better dry handling in the cold. Really I think most of the winter tires out there perform very well, so I'd check out Tire Rack and look for any specials or discounts or as mentioned contact Alex and see what he recommends for you.

 

X2 on the Blizzaks - You can climb mountains with them......

As for wheels, check your local Cragslist and club sites for take-offs.

 

I rode with Blizzaks on previous vehicles & really liked them.
This will be my first winter with the MINI & I'm contemplating getting non run-flats for winter tires.

 

I highly recommend the non-runflats. I got them for my winter set last year and just replaced my summer tires with non-runflats as well. Much more comfortable and quiet ride and less skittish over bumps as well. I took the tool tray out of the rear storage well and was able to fit the jack, lug wrench, a 12v compressor, plugging tools, gloves, a bottle of Slime and a couple microfibers all into that well area without the styrofoam piece. Since most places won't repair runflats, I don't see their advantage unless you really don't want to get your hands dirty and would rather just call roadside and then buy a new tire at 3 times the cost of a standard tire. The instant, massive damage situation is super rare. With TPMS, you're gonna get a warning before the pressure drops to a dangerous level anyway.

 

Hey, a couple of more questions...

As a refresher I have a clubman S with 17s now.

A couple of folks have told me to goto 16 and even 15 for winter. I don't understand the beneft - can anyone chime in? Also with something smaller that 17 fit on a clubman S with sport package? I recall reading something about needing certain diameter to fit over the brakes?

Thanks!

Jeff

 

You won't be able to use a 15" wheel because of the brakes. Going with a 16" as opposed to a 17" does have benefits:
-Lower cost
-Taller sidewall is more pothole friendly
-If you go with a narrower tread, you'll dig in and have improved grip in snow, as opposed to a wider tread that will tend to sit up on top.

I'll also give a nod to the General Altimax Arctic. I ran a set last winter, and was very happy with them. I've used Blizzak and Hankook Ice Bears in the past as well.

Be sure to check the marketplace, as you can save hundreds for a setup instead of buying new... These for example: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ate/1249768814

 

I do have a few 15's that will work...

 

Alex, Now I know that 15"ers won't work, and even 16"ers on my Brembo Braked JCW, but what in our estimation would be the best Winter tire for an Iowa winter? Yes, I will be driving this car year round. One summer car is enough. That's my 38 Ford Mopar powered hotrod. I've been thinking about going to a 215 x 45 x 17" in the Blizzack WS 60.

 

We have used the Dunlop Winter Sport M3 (M2's before that) for about 12 years now. MO winters deal with a lot of transition from snow to ice to water to ice daily during the winter. These tires have always worked great on two (soon to be three) MINI's, Audi, M-B, and Subaru's.

We use 215/45-17 on our JCW Clubman.

 

in 215/45/17 there are 2 very good options.

Bridgestone LM60 or Dunlop Wintersport M3.

Alex

 

Jeff,
I wanted to tell you about my winter tire experience and give you what worked best for me. I have tried many combinations over the years from 15, 16 an 17" wheels and tires, from the blizzaks, to the Dunlop snows to the Pirellis. I have found the best combo on a Mini to be a 17" wheel with the Pirelli Winter 210. I had this combo on last year on my JCW 06 and it went like a polar bear. We had the worst snowfall ever recorded in Pittsburgh. These tires stop and go in snow and ice. They also ride very good on dry roads and you hardly notice you are on snows. I had an extra set of wheels that I mounted them on and kept my summer tires on separate rims. I prefer stock Mini factory rims as I am a performance driving instructor for our local road course and from time to time people who have fitted non-factory rims have run into problems with the plastic spacers circles that make various wheels fit on a Mini. Factory rims don't have these inserts and I don't recommend them. They crack, melt and warp over time and especially on the race track. Hope that helps. -V

 

Inspecting the condition of your wheels and hub centric rings should be a regular part of your pre track routine. Hub rings are temprary, and spares can be purchased.

Alex

 

Alex i lost your email...what size did you recommend for 17 x 7 1/2 on Blazzak 215/45/17 will these fit?

 

I've got Nokian Hakkapeliitta with spikes on oem crown spoke 17". Works great in Norway.

 

215/45's work well on 7.5's!

 

thanks Alex

 

whats the diff between Blizzak Lm 60 and the Ws 60 and Ws 70???

 

--We got our first snow yesterday morning in Vermont, so I figured it was time to get working on getting new snow shoes for my MINI. I've been researching for the past two months and my findings are:

Winter/Snow Tires:

General Tire Altimax Arctic - A lot of people have a bad taste in their mouth from previous experiences from General, but rest assured this tire is actually a product of Continental buying General out and their european sister company's design who makes the Gislaved Nord Frost 3. So they basically took this really great German made winter tire and stamped General on it to distribute in the U.S. Lots of MINI owners love this tire in snowy cold weather climate and it outperforms just about all the other snow tires out there. At $65 a tire and awesome deep snow and ice performance these are a no brainer.

17 inch to 16 inch All Seasons:

This category was a little tougher as most people who are in cold north typically fit their rides with dedicated winter/snow tires. All Seasons are typically most effective their first two seasons, after which a mountain/snowflake rated tires should be picked up. The two tires that I seriously considered for my stock 17's were:

Continental ExtremeContact DWS

and second place goest to:

Yokohama AVID ENVigor (H&V)


What I ended up ordering was something that met my need for a set of tires that would keep me safe for at least 1 more winter as I may be moving south next year, and yet still be usable at my new home in the south.

I opted to get an all season tire that was rated just as good and sometimes better than some winter/snow tires.

Enter the Hankook Optimo H727

From what I have read these all season tires have no problems negotiating snow fall as high as 6 inches, yet still perform really well year round when temperatures go above 65 degrees. The clincher was when I read a post from a fellow Vermonter that posted these tires were great in the snow and ice. And in a place where 39 inches of snow is "no big deal" you need a decent cold weather tire. People who posted results were from Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Dakota and various parts of Canada. While there were no MINI reviews posted I did pay attention to lighter front wheel drive reviews like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.

Consumer reports rated this tire to be really high in quality and great on performance in wet and cold weather while still being great on dry roads.

The consensus seems to be that this tire constantly gets overlooked because no one trusts a Korean/Chinese manufacturer and also because a lot of retailers and even shops are not pushing them as they want to sell their more expensive tires first. At $69 a tire and with a $40 rebate off of a set of 4 these are really affordable tires.

My previous winter tire was a Green Diamond Tire Icelanders which are from Iceland and had glass shards imbedded in the tread for ice grip. They were ok, and inspired enough confidence for heavy snow but didn't exactly turn my MINI into snowmobile or snowmachine as they call them in these parts. I often saw the traction control light blink on and off as I accellerated on icy roads and going up icy hills.

The new Hankooks will be 195/60/15 on my Holeys this winter. I don't commute very far to work but I do have 2 hills to climb and a very busy main street to navigate where it often looks like a giant slushy/slurpee machine dumped it's payload on daily in the winter months.

I will report back on this forum to let you know how they do this winter, and I hope to be one of the first MINI drivers to post on Tire Rack for winter performance for reviews of this tire.

Wish me luck everyone.

~p

 

For snow and ice tires the narrower the better. You would definitely want to go one or two sizes narrower than your stock summer tires.

My summer tires are 205/50R16 and winter are 185/65R15. Summer wheels are 16"x6.5", winter 15"x5.5". They are both within a few percentage points of the same diameter so no problems with the speedometer. I have been running the predecessor to the Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5, with studs, for several years and have been very happy with them. Just point the car in the direction I want to go and ease on the gas. No worries!

Almost takes the fun out of winter driving

Another tire that seems to be getting excellent reviews is the Hankook Winter iPike W409
It comes in at a much lower price than the Nokians which they seem to have copied.

 

Looking at this, I would really love to use 15" or even 16" wheels and tires, but with Brembo Brakes on my 2011 JCW, that is not possible. So, what are the best recommendations for that scenario? I, also don't want/like the spongy feel of some Winter tires, in otherwords, a decent handling and steering tire.

 

I use the Dunlop WinterSport M3 in 215/45-17 on stock size wheels. They loose just a bit to summer tires but are way better for the normal winter we get in Kansas City. Des Moines gets a bit more snow than we do but are like us a lot. Mornings have black ice and frozen slush, mid day and afternoon water everywhere and freezing back up at night. However +75% of the time it is dry but cold. This is why I prefer a performance winter over a more snow/ ice winter tire.

 

It was 35 degrees tonight when I left work. By the time I warmed up my MINI it dropped to 32 degrees. I made a b-line home to put my new Hankook's on before a storm drifted over us and dumped a load of snow on us.

I had ordered the tires online from Tire rack and had them shipped to Tire Kingdom. They mounted, balanced them for $58 and I was pretty happy with how fast and friendly the service was.

I still had my summer run flats on until tonight. When I took my MINI out for a test drive tonight on the new tires it had dropped to 29 degrees.

First impression: Wow! These tires make my MINI feel like I'm not riding on sport suspension. It soaks up the bumps and is really responsive. My previous snow tires were 185/65/15 and while they were way softer than my run flats, they didn't give me the comfort and confidence these new tires give me. The way my MINI responded to the taller configuration wasn't great either. I always felt like I was in the wrong gear especially on turns and the engine seemed to rev higher up hills. With the new 195/60/15 tires there was none of that behavior.

I can't wait for the first big snow storm to test out their snow handling.

Will report back after the first good dusting.

 

Well, got my Winter tires ordered thru Tire Rack and Alex today. Finally went with the Michelin ICE in a 215x45x17". I had thought that the 205x50x17" would work, but Alex noted that if I decided to do any lowering, that these might bottom out as they are about one inch taller, whereas the 215's are only .4" taller. These will work fine. They are suppose to be one of the best on ice, and that is my main concern. Lots of good tires out there that are good in snow, but ice.......well these should do fine.