The mini is technically my wife's, but I'm getting to drive it for a while. Earlier this year, she replaced the front tires, which were too worn to pass inspection, and went from runflats to Nexen N5000s(?). The rear still has Dunlop runflats. I know nothing about the Nexens, so I'm not sure if I want to go ahead and put them on the rear wheels too, or just wait and replace all 4 with something better down the road.

Does anyone have any experience with or opinions about Nexens? I'm still getting lots of tire noise, which could be from the rear tires...and can't really say I've noticed much softening of the ride...still brutal on bumps of any size. The wheels are 17", btw.

Thanks!

 

I don't know much about Nexen N5000s, except that Nexen calls them ultra high performance A/S radials. I'd be concerned about driving on different kinds of tires at each end, however. I'd make the switch from RFs with all four tires instead of just two.

 

I agree. I've always replaced tires in sets of 4, except when I was a poor college kid (driving a diesel rabbit!). This was just what she had to do to pass inspection...and she already was looking at about $1K in repairs.

 

Hankook Ventus V12 Evo's!

 

Do not ever run Run flats on the front and non run flats in the rear! This sets up an oversteer problem and can get you into trouble quickly! keep the run flats in the rear untill you can get them replaced.

Skyhawk940

 

While mixing run flats and non are not suggested, most tire manufacturers do suggest putting the new tires in the rear if only two are replaced. When you put the new tires with more grip in the back, you are less likely to oversteer especially in wet conditions.

Am I misunderstanding your rationale for changing the worn tires which are runflats to the back?

 

Performance of the car, with the kind of driving I do, has been fine with the Nexens on the front and the runflats on the rear. I've been trying to get some real information on the Nexens, and am very frustrated. I find NO independent test results, only opinions in forums. Those seem to break down along the lines of (1) those who have driven them, and like them for what they are, and (2) those who flame any reference to inexpensive tires, even if they have never owned them. In other words, there's no useful information at all out there, as far as I can tell, which I really find to be amazing.

I'm stuck with the original decision: spend $200 for another 2 Nexens, or spend $500-700 for 4 of something tried and trusted. My sister just got a set of Continental Extreme Contact DWS on her Mazda M-5, and likes them. I would either go with those, based on the opinions posted here, or with a set of Michelins.

There are other things I'd rather be spending my money on, like a pulley, etc., but I recognize the importance of the tires. I just would feel more comfortable if I had SOME info on the least expensive of my options.

 

Given your username, have you considered Yokohama S.Drives? Reasonably priced and a nice handling tire.

Sorry, couldn't help it. I don't know anything about Nexens, though I believe I saw them featured in a Wal Mart commercial for $27 recently which makes me uneasy.

 

Don't know anything about the Nexens. But looking at TireRack, they've got both Kumho Ecsta and the Hankook Ventus V12 Evos in the $80 per tire price range. In addition, Hankook has a $60 rebate special going on if you buy a set of 4.

Sounds like if you went with the Hankooks, you could get a well reviewed tire on all four corners for not much more than what you are looking at for a couple Nexens.

 

Unless his wife or the OP pushes the car too much, I doubt they'd get into that kind of trouble. On the other hand, if they do some spirited driving, I would consider replacing. I've seen people drive on four different tires and do okay

 

The Hankook Ventus V12 Evo's are a fantastic tire and very highly rated by Car and Driver. And far above the rating they gave the Yokohama S Drives.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...mparison_tests

 

Not sure of what the definition of "spirited driving" is. I never track this car, only using it on the street. Under street conditions, while I sometimes push it and zig or zag, it feels crisp...but I don't have anything to measure it against (my wife had already had the 2 front tires replaced when we traded cars due to her pregnancy).

I do have a couple of questions, as I research possible replacements. The car has 17" wheels (OEM), and the stock suspension (as far as I know). I read lots of posts from people who have gone from the 205/45R17 tires to 215/45R17, saying that they have no rubbing. There's at least one post, however, from someone saying they get rubbing with that size. I think my wife is likely to kill me if I do something like spend lots of money on tires that rub...so how can I be sure that I'm not going to have any rubbing issues? I'm going to assume that going up to 215 will not be an issue (and gives a crazy price reduction on certain tires).

Also, I'm hoping to talk my wife into letting me get a pulley installed. With the stock hp/torq (and with DSC engaged), I don't think I can spin the wheels if I tried to. Is this an issue when a pulley is added (i.e., do I need to lean towards stickier tires to avoid having them spin)?

Thanks!

 

Good point about the S.Drives!

This is the kind of comments that I find in searching other forums: concern because of pricing or retailer. I have looked at Walmart.com, and don't find them listed, so I don't know if they were selling the N5000s, or a lesser Nexen tire. I would have to say that from what I have seen with them on the front, they seem to be very good cheap tires...i.e., not comparable to something like a Michelin, but not a bad daily driver...but I don't like the "unknown" factor.

I really wish I had been the driver at the time the car was inspected: I would have researched tires to death, instead of just buying what the shop had.

 

I've seen some good recommendations for these tires. I'm leaning towards an all-season, however. I don't think I could get away with summer tires as my only tires, and am not sure I would want to keep a set of winter tires and a set of summer tires. Let me know if I'm missing something here.

 

I think most of the folks in NC who run summer tires are able to do so year round, even including during the sporadic frozen precipitation event. Just have to recognize you are on tires not really geared toward those elements and adjust your driving appropriately.

If you go all season, seems like the Conti ExtremeContact DWS are popular along with Yoko Envigor tires. I have not checked to see what may be available in an A/S in the $90-$100 /tire range.

 

I would almost certainly spend more than 90-100 per tire. Good to hear about the possibility of using summer tires year-round around here. When it snows, I only need to be able to get home, in most cases...

I suppose another possibility would be to store the 2 nexens, buy 4 summer tires, and if I decided I needed better traction in the winter, get 2 more nexens at that point. Still not wild about the idea of storage of 4 tires at all times, though.

 

Too funny: I just saw a banner ad for Nexen N5000s at the bottom of one of the forum pages!

 

Thanks for the responses! After a ton of reading, and a few questions for Alex, I've placed my order for a set of Conti ExtremeContact DWS, sized 215/45R17. Looking forward to them!

Which reminds me: anyone in the Charlotte, NC area interested in two lightly-used Nexen N5000s at a great price?

 

Fantastic choice. If you find them a little soft, just add 1-2 psi pressure and they really firm up nicely without being too harsh.

 

Great Choice!!!! I was scrolling to the bottom here to tell you about those. I really like them, but in South Florida not really needed. I want the Conti DW, but will try the Ventus V12's first, a set of 4 is nearly $200 less. Besides, I was sold on these when I saw a Ferrari pull up next to me at a light in Sunny Isles Beach with them on.

If it's good enough for a Ferrari, they will do in Mini S Conv.

 

The Contis arrived at the installer yesterday, and I had them mounted today:

Wow! So quiet compared to the runflats that were on the back! I'll reserve judgment on the handling until after I'm through the break-in period. All I know for sure is that I now will need to work on getting rid of some of the rattles that I couldn't hear before, but can really hear now!

 

I added a little air, getting up to about 38 psi, which has helped. Still hoping/expecting improvement as they break in. At the moment, however, I'm not feeling great about things. I mean, I love my Honda Pilot, but I don't want the mini to handle like it! In comparison, my previous tires made the car feel like it was running on rails...which is what I expect from this car.

 

I can practically guarantee that you'll just love the V12's. Absolutely a fantastic tire.

 

If I followed the thread/posts correctly, you went up a size,so you have a taller sidewall. And the tires (well half of them) will have more flex since they are non-RF. So they probably are not going to feel as snappy as before. Big variable now will be differences in the grippiness of the tires. I have found my new tires take a good 500-1000 miles to break-in.

 

They will definately not feel the same (as "snappy") as runflats because (as mentioned) the sidewalls are more flexible. I noticed the difference immediately. However, after a quick dash on some mountain roads, I absolutely knew they were a huge improvement. They were more forgiving, more compliant, stuck like glue, and were extremely predictable right up to the edge of traction. 'Love my V12's.