Brakes Wheels 2nd Gen Tires Most liked posts in thread: What tires and size do you run? A reference

Winter:
Bridgestone Blizzaks 205/45/17

Summer:
Michelin Pilot Super Sports 215/45/17

All-Season:
Yokohama YK580 - I no longer use an all-season tire but I really liked these. Brucek touched on it; they are not an all out performance tire but they are excellent in the wet and very very good in the snow for all-season.

 

All-Season:
Bought the car with new 195/55 r16 conti extreme contact ssr's. They didn't last long, terrible snow traction with a harsh ride. (I did benefit from the run flat technology on one occasion, though it ruined the tire....)

Went to a 195/55 r16 Yokohoma YK580. Good quiet tire, better fuel mileage, long lasting, with good dry and good snow traction. I found that the wet traction was just okay. I ended up having them siped which greatly improved the wet traction.

Getting 205/50 r16 Conti DWS06's installed this evening. I will have to report back regarding their performance.

All three sets of tires are on factory r84 x-lite rims (16" x 6.5").

 

How many pounds are you running in your Pilots?

 

For my Pilot Super Sport had been running 38/36 F/R. Today I lowered the pressure to 36/34 F/R.

 

Dunlap Star Spec II 215/45/17
Great sticky summer tire. Don't use my 06 in the winter so these are the only tires.

 

38f/36r. Play with the pressures at the Dragon sometimes going 40f/36r or even 34 rear.

 

I am a big time DWS fan. Running them on two minis and a Leaf.

 

I've got a set of DWS 215 40 18 with less than 500 miles on them that I'll sell cheap. The worst tire I've ever owned....soft sidewall....no grip ....bad handling. All seasons should be renamed no seasons. They are made to be a compromise for everything and excel at nothing. Buy snow tires for winter and summer tires for summer. (Off my soapbox now)

 

Been a long while since I've looked at an HP A/S tire... What are you running?

 

Summer:
Bridgestone RE71R - 215 45 17

Winter:
Bridgestone Blizzak - 205 50 16

 

Winter - Blizzaks, 205-50-16

Rest of the year - Firestone Precision Touring 205-50-16. In an emergency situation I needed to get a pair of tires so these were the best of what was in stock, what would fit, and what I was willing to pay for. They were surprisingly good for what they were, so when I replaced the other pair a few months later, I got two more just to keep the car on a uniform set. Are they a tire I want to run on a track or even autocross? Absolutely not. But they are reasonably competent and quiet, and a particularly good rain tire.

 

"Reasonably competent" is a crying shame for a MINIs tires. That's like sponsoring Usain Bolt in a footrace and giving him flip flops to wear.

 

By way of comparison, the stock run flats are not reasonably competent.

I don't like them as much as the Hancook Ventus that I had previously, but I actually like these better than a set of Kumho Ecsta I used to have. There are certainly better options available, but I just wanted to point out that some out-of-the-norm options aren't that bad.

 

2003 R53 runs on Kumho Ecsta XS 215/45R17, looking at the list I might be the only one.

2013 GP2 runs on Yokohama Yokohama Advan AD08R 215/40R17

 

The tread pattern on those tires looks interesting. That's the nicest think I can say about them. No, wait. They are also round and black, and they keep the wheels from touching the ground. There. Those are the nicest things I can say about those tires.

I had them (in 215/45-17 size) for only about 4K miles. Then I could take tremendous noise they made no longer. The tires had the full roar of an off-road mudder tire on a 4X4. They drove me crazy. I pulled them off and sold them on eBay to some poor soul and got a set of proper tires instead.

Trust me, in matters involving money, I don't usually make rash or impulsive decisions. But I was happy to lose money on those tires and see them go far, far away.

 

I ran 2 sets of the KDW's and absolutely loved them. They need rotated every 1500 miles or so to keep them from sounding like s truck, but they performed well for summer tires. I'm sorry to see BFG quit making them. Here's a photo of them on my Coupe.