There was a show mini in our area running 20's wit h35 or 30 series tires. The Mini commited suicide when it hit a pothole, blew out the tire and totaled itself. I am convinced the car did it on purpose

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

am i the only one here that is thinking " well mo-the-r-fu-k-in-g- DUH?"

of course lower profile tires are going to be more succeptable (sp) to potholes and road hazards. this is more sensational bull-crap from americas "top" reporters that have no idea what they are talking about but try to make a story. if you let your tires go without checking pressure for a year of COURSE the pressure will be low!!!

example: pontiac grand prix dealers do not put rims on their car with 245/35/18s. people that buy performance tires know how to inflate them and know the risks, and benefits of running such tire. if you dont you havent done your research and shouldnt be riding on the lo-pros.

my tire place inflated my tires to 33 psi when they installed my azenis. i laughed and told them i would go fill up to 40psi myself. i checked pressure at the pump after .5 mile of 25mph driving and found that the pressures of all four varied greatly. FR: 34, FL: 38 RR: 36 RL: 37.

if a company that tells you they inflated to 33 cant even get the same pressure all around when mounting tires, what do you think the average consumer who just "drives" their car has to deal with. rediculous

 

Actually not here. I wasn't trying to stir things up in a technical forum (in OT YES ) but never in a tech forum. I really wanted the tire "experts" opinions like MINIHUNE (thanks MINIHUNE for responding). I would never claim to be a tire expert.

I was reading another car forum where there was a lot of posts where people running 19" wheels (NOT A MINI) were getting way too many flats and then this article appeared in the forum. My synopsis of some discussion was that while 19" were better for the "ultimate" in track times or whatever (better turn in), they were way to costly, far to little selection, and there was a reason the manufactor built the car to run on 18" (or 17" or whatever). Going larger was mostly bling except for the few actually racing (Not track days but racing). One factory driver (no reference ...) even said that (i.e, go larger for the ultimate in track times ... average Joe Smoe much better off just using what the manufactor meant the car to come with).

Is it intuitivately obvious about getting more flats on lower profile tires? Well ... like I said, I am not an expert on that and would not necessarily think that ... in fact the part about heat buildup and just a few pounds difference being HUGE was new to me. I just never thought about that.

You learn something new everyday.

But ... there was also discussion elsewhere on "wider" thread dissapating (sp) heat better on lower profile tires at speed (talking 180 mph here) and so various trade-offs. Seems that lower profile better for the track. Higher profile for the road in terms of living with the tires.

 

And how about the Tucson "rivers" during monsoon season? Do you drive a pontoon MINI?

ZING!

 

I had an almost potentially dangerous tire episode with my 2004 MCS.

When I was on the MINI run at Jeju Island in June I had the sidewall on one of my Hankook Ventus Sports get cut open. I am running 35s on Neez forged wheels.

I was motoring along with the group at @ 40 - 50 moh and we came upon a road contruction zone. The road surface had been dug down about 2" for road resurfacing. There was a dumptruck in the oncoming lane and the driver was straddling the solid yellow line in the middle of the road. I had to swerve the MINI right to prevent from getting hit head on with the dump truck. When I did so I hit a manhole that was sticking up about 2". The hit sounded like a big bang. I pulled off to the side of the road to check for damage and I heard an air leak on my FR tire. There was a cut in the sidewall about 3/4" long. There was no apparent damage to the wheel.

GREAT I am thinking....no spares of course. I had to wait an hour for a flatbed ($40) to get the car transported to the cabin resort we were staying at (1 hour away). I also had to have a tire flown in from Seoul to the island on overnight express. ($200 for tire and shipping) Unfortunately there was no aftermarket tire stores on this island. The only tire I could find was a Falken 35 as I could not locate a Hankook Ventus 35. I did get the new tire mounted and the wheel checked for balancing. The wheel was undamaged and did not need any balancing. Neez are some pretty tough wheels. If I would have been running stock wheels or some other brand wheel I probably would have had some damage.

When I got back to Seoul I had my tuner try to get me another Hankook 35. We could not find any as the 35s had been discontinued due to safety issues. Seems the 35s have no reenforced sidewalls. DUH....I knew that from this episode. I had to purchase 2 Hankook 40s ($400) which I have mounted on the front. I still have 2 35s mounted on the rear which I have to replace. (another $400). The 40s have reenforced sidewalls. Also they don't look too bad as they just fit under the wheel well and makes the MINI look a lot lower too.

Anyway this has cost me $640 for I ripped tire...and still have to by 2 more!

IMHO 35s may be low and cool looking but are not safe if the sidewalls are not reenforced and you are unfortunate enough to hit a high sharp edge like a manhole sticking up on the road or a pothole edge just right.

I learned a lesson though....When I go on more long MINI runs and go to the track I am bringing along 2 spare tires..the 2 35s that I will have sitting in the storage room

 

wicked amen to that brother

 

If you want to discuss BIG tires, my son and I use those for the intended use.



PS: I run 40 series on the MINI, also for the intended use.

 

i check the tire pressure on my 35's often. at least once every other
week, or when i notice more than 10F ambient temp change.

i am always within -0.5/+1.0 psi (cold) of my target.

 

I think wheel size may be a generational thing. You see young ones I remember when a low profile performance tire was a 185/70/13 with an S speed rating for gosh sakes. Hows that for you? Back in the days when the earth was still cooling we needed tires like that to drive over dinosaur leavings. It's taken me several decades to come to grips with low profile tires. Now I'm able to put a 205/50/16 on my car without guilt. Beyond that I just don't get it. I love to drive on dirt roads & real roads have hazards. Those low baloneys will say uncle & bust.

 

Electric blue with 20" 70lb chrome wheels passing on double yellow comes to mind?

The only two Mini that I am aware of having developed mushroomed towers are the only two Minis wearing 18"...hmmmmm

 

Oh, jeez, Sid...let's not go there again.

 

I just love this statement! It cracks me up!

 

But what where they're tire sizes

 

The 18"? 35series...I shudder everytime I look at their set up...cool as they look, there's just a little over an inch of rubber between the rim and the pavement. Sometimes less when the wheels turned...

 

What PSI do they have to run? That can't be anything other than uncomfortable.

 

Beats me...

 

Personally I am happy when a new MCS owner removed their stock 16's and wheels...It made it possible for me to purchase a set of R84's w/ brand new Dunlop 5000's for $600 delievered! ZERO Miles!

MANY THANKS TO THOSE WHO PREFERED LOOKS TO SAFETY! Hell take offs are all over Ebay at great prices!

And I thought the 16's had small amount of rubber. I am replacing my 17" goodyears and stock Superlites with them (were on the car when I bought it used)...the 17" look good, but i prefer the 16's ride, handling and a little more rubber between the road and me! Will keep the 17's around to help fill up my already cluttered garage!

The R84's downfall is that they are a pain to clean

 

18" 35 series tires on a MINI ought to be inflated to the same psi as for any stock MINI. The weight of the MINI and the load it carries determines the psi for most uses. We do make some adjustments for being on the track or autocross but we will change back to normal tire pressures for road use.


My MCS is the first car I have ever owned with 45 series tires. My usual tire is more like 60 or 65 series to taller. I have never had a flat with any 45 or 50 series tire in the last 3 years. I think some of the risk of flats will have to be related to where and how you drive. I never bend or damage a rim either.

What will determine whether a tire can handle heat at speeds of 180 mph (too fast for a MINI) will be the design and materials of the tire and be reflected in it's speed rating more than just being lower profile. In other words just because you have a 30 or 35 series tire of a certain width, you cannot expect it to hold up to heat and higher speeds unless it was designed for that purpose. Talk to alex@tirerack.com if you want to know all about that.

On the track there are many conditions that might favor one type of wheel or tire over another. What will fit one car will not fit another. At the autocross this weekend we have Camaros running 315mm wide Kumho V710 and BMW M3s running 255mm V710s compared to my MCS with 205/50-15 V710s. Guess which of the three cars had the quickest lap time?
205/50-15 is simply the best solution for my MCS given the size of wheels and tires that are available that will fit my MINI.

For a short course track or on a quick autocross course I would be at a disadvantage to consider an 18" rim and low profile tire. The large rim would either cost a heck of a lot more or be very heavy and I would not be able to find a tire that fit that would be cost effective or competitive with the Kumho V710s I can find for a 15x7" rim. On a long course track and at much higher speeds I'd consider 17" light weight rims and maybe 225/45-17 tires- unfortunately no one has offered to build a track like that in Hawaii- ever.