1st Gen R53 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Tire choices

Pilot Super Sports are fantastic

 

Not in Northern Connecticut. :lol::lol::lol::lol:

Our roads in the NE see winter as in reals snow and ice unlike Atlanta. :ihih:

For NE you are better off going with Continental ExtremeContact DW or DWS if you are going to drive in the snow.

DW = Dry Wet
DWS= Dry Wet Snow

 

In summer they will be great! :cornut:
I always kept a set of winter tires and wheels and summer tires and wheels when I lived in the frozen north. Thought everyone over in the north east did the same. Just makes sense, AND you get to switch up your wheels twice a year

 

If you just drive it when it's nice out, stick with the Super Sports. They're a great tire you won't be disappointed. You'll get more understeer with A/S's, stay summer performance.

 

I've always been a Michelin fan. They are very consistently good tires, from my own experience.

When I replaced the tires on my MINI, I saw a review of all-season sport tires, and The Michelin PilotSports were at the op, but TR rated a set of Hankook Ventus S1 noble2 tires as pretty much a tie with the Michelins, and at a much lower price. So, I gave them a shot. After almost two years, I'm very happy with them.

I went with all-season, but Hankook has high-performance "summer" tires that might be worth some research.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/hankook-tires.jsp

CD

 

The beauty of all this discussion is that virtually no matter what tire you decide on they will be a lightyear better than the runflats you have on your car now.

 

Michelin Pilot Super Sports. 215's are the best size for you. They are light years better looking and handling, and they will not rub.

 

I am not a fan of Michelin Super Sports at all. They cost way too much and they screech like hell in hard turns and DO LOOSE GRIP EASLY. I have had many Summer performance tires including Michelin SS, Conni DW, Goodyear F-1 something's, Yokohama S-drives, Kumo something's. Thie tires I like for ULTIMATE Summer grip are Dumlop StarSpecs.

I have become a huge Dunlop StarSpec fan over the years. For how I drive and how hard I push them at the Dragon every year they are the best you can buy without going to R-Comps.

 

I've been happy with Bridgestone RE760 summer-only tires on my car. Also seem to last quite well. Before that I had Khumo Ecsta 4x on the rims from the previous owner, which were pretty rough riding and didn't have the kind of grip the Bridgestones have. They are cheap, though. My son has some Conti all season tires on his R53 and the difference is night and day. All season tires suck in all seasons.

 

YUP - :lol:

 

I'm assuming it's been a while since you had a set of PSS's. They've been recently redone and my experience is the exact opposite. They're quiet when near and at their limits, they don't break very easily,Comp 2's are loud compared to them and Comp 2's are quiet. The only issue I have with them is that they spin a tad easy when it's cold out but the all season RF's prior to them were worse no matter the temp. I have heard good things about the Star Specs, they're more performance/autoX oriented than the PSS's. They're prolly closer to the Pilot Sport Cup series for half the price.

 

All season tires are definitely a compromise tire. But, tire choices depend on usage.

When I bought my MINI, it had a set of Kumho summer high-performance tires. They hydroplaned like a set of four waterskis. My current all-season tires are performing as well as the Kumho summer tires on dry pavement, and I don't have to white-knuckle the steering wheel in heavy rain. If I had another daily driver, and could just drive the MINI in good weather, I'd go full-summer -- probably.

Also, small, lightweight cars are not as dry-grip sensitive as a power-pig like a Corvette. My Miata track toy could round a corner way faster than a vette or viper on 205 section width tires, while those other cars struggled to corner as fast with 305-plus section width tires. They would blow past me in the straights, and hold me up in the corners.

Okay, I'm rambling, now. It happens when you get old. This post may not help the OP, but maybe someone else will get something out of it.

However, to the OP, make sure you research all aspects of the tires. I can't live with a tire that is phenomenal on dry pavement, and crap in the rain, because right now, my MINI is my only car. Make sure your tire choice is a good match to how YOU will use YOUR car.

Tire Rack has a lot of reviews on their site. They have their own test track. The customer reviews and ratings are pretty good, too.

CD

 

I agree with Dave! I've used both the Conti DW and the DWS and highly recommend them.

 

I've never heard anything good about Kumho besides price. Water performance was a HUGE factor in my decision on tires, I'm sure an A/S would be better, but when compared to a summer performance tire, the A/S's just aren't as good for any kind of performance oriented grip. All comes down to what you need/want in a tire.

 

Since you're only driving it in the summer then you don't need an A/S tire. The Michelin Pilot Super Sports are a great tire from the people I know who have it. But I agree with Dave on the price. I put on the Conti DW and love them. The ride is great and the performance is just what I wanted. The price is better than the Michelin. My suspension set up sounds similar to yours.

Here is a link to another thread on what people have and in what sizes. Mine are 215-45/17
http://www.motoringalliance.com/forums/brakes-wheels-and-tires/26107-what-tires-size-do-you-run-reference.html

 

The first set of PSS are expensive, but after that when you keep wearing them out 1/3 of the way through their treadlife warranty, the pro-rated replacements become quite the bargain.

I'm on my 4th or 5th set now, replacements are usually under $300 mounted and balanced at Discount Tire.

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