Greetings....

My wife and I are in the "build" stage of our "Caribbean Fun Car" (F57) (we are in our early 60's and need some new excitement in our life...... looked at purchasing a Harley but opted for something safer). We have owned two prior Mini's (Justa's) (2005 & currently a 2009) and therefore are familiar with run flat ride issues, etc.. Tire Rack has been our choice of replacement tires for all of our vehicles....

Question 1) - Trying to decide between stock 15" wheels or 16" wheels. Currently, we have 16" wheels on our 2009 Mini on which we run Blizzaks in the winter and non-run flats in the summer. Judging on the tire selection on Tire Rack's website for both wheel sizes, it appears there are far more tire selections for 16" wheels. Ride comfort is a priority however having a greater variety of tire choices is also a consideration. What is your opinion on the 15" wheel option not considering the more appealing wheel choices in the 16, 17, and 18 inch size ranges?

Question 2) Since we currently have an extra set of 16" wheels with Blizzaks for our 2009, would the bolt pattern be the same for the new 3rd generation F57 Mini? The reason I ask is that I had planned on selling the Blizzaks with our current Mini. If they would fit the F57, I would prefer to keep them although the TP monitor sensors would most likely not work with the new 2016 F57.

Thanks for any additional insight you can provide....

 

With respect to ride quality 15" would be king. The best ride quaqlity option in 15" would be in 195/60R15. The same top grand touring tire is offered in 195/55R16. Michelin Premier AS.

The 17 and 18 in sizes , due to their lower tire profile wouldn't offer comparable ride quality.

The wheels aren't compatible. Your old Mini is 4-100 and the F57 is 5-112.
The tires may be cross compatible. Your correct on the sensors they are different as well.

 

Thank you Alex for your response...... you just saved me $750 on my new F57 Build. I just changed my order from an upgraded 16" wheel to the 15" wheel and will use the difference savings to purchase new Blizzaks and/or an all season touring 195 width in the 15".

I was initially confused by the Tire Rack Selection options when you size tire options for the 2016 F57. The initial menu shows only two sizes available ... a) 15" and b)17". When I selected the 15" options button.....relatively few tire options came up......but that was only because it remained at the default 175 width. Selecting custom sizes and then putting in the 195/60R15 brought up many more tire selections than the default 175. I now feel comfortable purchasing the new Mini with 15" wheels....knowing I have a wide variety of tire selections from Tire Rack.

I most definitely will be purchasing replacement tires (The Michelin Premier AS looks great) and winter tires (I really like our current Blizzaks here in Ohio) from Tire Rack in the near future....

Thanks again for verifying the ride quality of the 15" and for providing me with other tire size option in the 15" size range (195 instead of the 175).

 

Sounds like you have a good plan.

15" wheels and Michelin Premier AS for daily driving and street use is a winning combo.
Plus you get longer tread life.

Many times owners will opt for the larger diameter wheels when buying a MINI because it "looks" better but low profile tires are a compromise that favors handling at the expense of ride quality.

Whenever that is the wheel choice (17" or larger) then it's more critical to buy tires that blend good handling with ride comfort (e.g. Michelin Pilot Super Sport).

 

Blizzak is a great choice. I have run them for a long time on many different vehicle platforms growing up in Colorado. My current one's have lasted about 4 winters now.