I got a voicemail yesterday from the "Motoring Consultant" who sold me my '11 R57 not quite two weeks ago. Seems that he was looking through some paperwork and they accidentally put the RF performance tires on my MCS instead of the RF all-seasons it's supposed to have. Naturally, they have offered to let me come in and swap for free, given that I intend this to be a year-round ride for me. hmmmm
I'd figure the tread pattern and compound are different. The all seasons would suck all the time and the performance would be less sucky when the weather is nice and more so when it turns dicey.
When I bought my car, that happened to me also. I suspect it is a ploy to try and get you to pay more. I ordered my car with the 16" all-season RF tires. The car "showed up" with 17" "high-performance" summer tires. The regular price for the 17" wheels and tires were $2000 more. I told them I was in no hurry for the car, and to put the 16" wheels back on, and if they didn't have a set, to order a set in. They said they didn't order the 17" wheels either so gave them to me. I ended up going to an aftermarket tire place and bought wheels and snowtires for the winter. You'll notice better grip and handling in the dry with the performance tires. However, that comes with a harsher ride and a bit more road noise. That's good if you are a spirited driver. But could be annoying if you carry passengers who are more used to Corollas or Civics. The all-seasons will have a softer and less harsh ride and usually better wet traction, sacrificing ultimate grip and cornering ability at the limits. Fuel mileage difference would be negligible. The performance tires are probably more expensive so he probably overcharged you for the tires. I would check the pricing of both and if the price is lower for the all-seasons, he needs to drop the price also. They'll everything they can to not drop the price.
If you were charged for the all-season and got high perf, I would keep the high perf. If you were charged for the high perf but wanted all-season, I would ask for money back and tell them you will save time money by keeping the high perf tires. My GP came with high perf runflats and they were fine in the rain.
I seem to recall (I'll need to check on my sticker) that I paid for all-season. If I had the cash right now, I'd probably say "Thanks, but no thanks; I'll keep 'em!" and go grab a set of winter tires/rims from somebody like TireRack.
Going with a dedicated winter tire is the way to go. Maybe your dealer will help you out & cover some of that cost. Worth asking, maybe you will get lucky.
What I currently have on my car is the Bridgestone Turanza ER300 IIs in 195/55R16. Does anybody know (have a guess) what the dealership would put in place for a RF all-season?
From the factory, MINI supplies summer tires as standard, and all season is a no-cost option. You can see it in the configurator. I don't know why all of you are talking about an extra charge.
Another Rf all season. My best guess is they'd swap a set off another MINI that they have in inventory.
this sounds like someone forgot to check off an option box when ordering your car...honestly you will be better served with the advice written above. DEDICATED WINTERS. It might be a bit of an extra cost upfront, but they will save you in the long run.
As a related aside, I read an article a few months ago where they compared high performance summer tires, all seasons, and winter tires on identical honda civics. Surprisingly, they found the performance summer tires had the best wet traction, followed by the winters. The all-seasons were the worst in the rain! Of course, this might depend on the brand. In this case it was Honda's oem Michelin all seasons (Pilot HX MXM4) vs Michelin summers (Pilot Exalto PE2) vs Michelin winters (Primacy Alpin PA3). Results from the dry pavement and in the snow were as expected, with all-seasons being second place in both cases. If I can remember where I read this, I'll post the link. found it! Inside Line
The dealer sent me the following pic of the rims they'd swap for me. I think dark rims would look better on my MINI.
Not impossible, but ill advised. Last new years I got stuck in a snow storm in my two day old M5 with brand new max performance summer tires. I managed to make it home, but I did not dare go faster then 15 mph, nor come to complete stop for fear of not being able to get rolling again.
yep, got stuck in a half inch of snow for a half hour XD at a walmart parking lot... good times.. good times