Howdy folks,

Delighted to have found you all; I've been lurking since my wife and I bought an 04 MC (pepper white/black top... still learning the abbrevations!) from its first owner recently. Loads of great info here! My name's Aaron and we're in San Francisco.

Scratching my head at the moment considering new tires. Our new baby shipped with OEM 16" runflats; but the first owner replaced the front left tire with a non-RF Firehawk after a puncture. The rear tires need replacing, and I'm loathe to continue driving on the mismatched fronts... so we're thinking of either getting four new tires, or three new firehawks.

AFAI can tell the options for 195/55/16 are *really* limited . Nothing I can find stands out as really highly rated in any regard either.

Our local dealer quoted $1250 or so for four new OEM RFs (the EMTs). Three new Firehawks would be $480 at a Firestone.

I had been hoping to find something with decent three-season performance (though I admit rethinking allseason that since we've had hail ten times in the last couple of weeks here in the Bay!) and a quieter / softer ride than the stock RFs. But after much digging it seems like the odd size with the 16" wheels is really limiting!

So! I'd be all ears if anyone has recommendations or knows of anything other than the six or eight options that pop up at Tire Rack... any hints?

Thanks!
and best regards,
aaron

 

I would dump the runflats. They are over priced and harsh riding. There are lots of good choices in 205/55/16 or 205/50/16 which is what I have.

 

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but would that not require investing in new wheels as well?

Thanks,
aaron

 

No, I have the stock R84s that are 16 X 6.5 and the tires fit fine. There is a range of tire sizes that will fit the stock wheels. They are listed in the FAQ on the Mini2 forum.

 

That'd be:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/faq.php?f...heel_tire_tech
and
http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthrea...524#post710524

Well I'll be pickled, you know I'd found that but not really grokked what was being said there.I have the R83s and if I read right 205/50/16 is quite popular (and not to mention a lot easier to fit).

Can I ask what you like, and if there're any drawbacks or considerations if I go this route?

E.g. is my dealership likely to give me a hard time if I come in for service wearing those?

Thanks for the help!
aaron

 

I've got the 205/50 as well. Plusses are that the tire is wider, so handling in theory is a little better. The tire height itself is a little shorter than stock, so in theory your gearing is slightly lowered, resulting in quicker acceleration but a lower top speed (doubtful you'll feel anything). The only minus I can think of is that 205/50 doesn't fill up the wheel well as much since the tire is of lower profile.

Your dealership better not give you a hard time for fitting a perfectly acceptable tire size to the stock rim. If your rim is 6.5 inches wide, which the r84s are, then 205 is probably the widest you want to go.

Here's a fun site that will help you make sense of all of this:
http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCal...?action=submit

mb

 

Deep bow, folks; I really appreciate the patient help on this.

Looking like the 205/50 route it is!

Btw I was at the dealership this morning and asked a guy I talked to about the stock tires earlier, he also thought the 205/50s would be fine and in fact thought if I brought in the tires they'd put them on for me.

best,
aaron