Canada - winter tires

tinpanalley said:
So, thank you, I understand you're being helpful but we have absolutely no clue how to evaluate that. It's like if I told someone who knows nothing about computers, when you get a harddrive that will be for data transfer and ocassional access make sure that it's CMR instead of SMR. I imagine a lot of people in here wouldn't know what that means. That's how my wife and I feel when we're told to evaluate things like mounting and balancing equipments. But we're trying to learn, we really are. So thanks.
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Recommendation from a car guy is worth it's weight in gold. I use discount tire, but they are so pushy on sales, that I don't recommend them to non-car people...

Most tyre shops that aren't in the bad part of town should be able to mount and balance tyres properly.
The staff and policies are the main difference between shops. Prices vary only a little. It's a competitive business.
 
tinpanalley said:
So, thank you, I understand you're being helpful but we have absolutely no clue how to evaluate that. It's like if I told someone who knows nothing about computers, when you get a harddrive that will be for data transfer and ocassional access make sure that it's CMR instead of SMR. I imagine a lot of people in here wouldn't know what that means. That's how my wife and I feel when we're told to evaluate things like mounting and balancing equipments. But we're trying to learn, we really are. So thanks.
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First of all, i didn't suggest you to look for tire shops that have mounting machine with "polymer roller" or "touchless" mounting head or "road force" balancing. If I did that, then your comparison would have been valid. All I suggested was to find a shop "with newer equipment". That's not the same as evaluating their equipment at all. What's the point of asking if the shop has newer equipment? A shop with newer equipment is more likely to keep up with proper tools and technology and that is more likely to do things properly. It's not a guarantee but it's a good way to gauge and assess potential outcome.

Secondly, why wouldn't you have any clue to evaluate if a shop has newer equipment? Can't you simply just ask them directly "how old are your mounting and balancing machine?"

It's the same situation with the wheel torquing point. Can't you simply just tell them to use torque wrench to torch the wheels with "so and so" setting which can easily be found on your owner's manual inside the glove compartment of your car?
 
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Puppethead said:
Oh worth mentioning, if you have the MINI Power Spoke wheels they require a special balancing widget, which only the MINI dealer is likely to have.
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They are not putting winter tires on the existing wheels, they are getting the full winter set with wheels and tires. But yes an adapter is needed to balance the power spoke wheels and the part can be ordered at the mini parts department for around $25. Also there is a hook in the tool bag that is used to remove the cover of the power spoke wheels to expose the lug nuts.
 
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Hi. From Montreal too. Lots of good advice here. I also drove home just recently with a brand new 2023 in need of winter wheels and tires. Here's my choice, the reasons for what I chose and suggestions on where to look/shop/install.
For tires I chose Michelin X-Ice Snow, in the 195/55R16 size. I've used a number of brands over the years, Toyo, Yokohama, Pirellis, Goodyears... best I found where the Michelins X-Ice. Also, looking at reviews: good grip on ice, improved traction in snow, quiet ride (for winter tires), and good fuel efficiency. Also, Michelin has a $100 rebate promo right now. Where to shop? In QC, I suggest you try Point-S (point-s.ca).
For wheels, I wanted alloy wheels. Yes, steels are cheaper but in two years time, when they're flaking off, and rust starts dissolving them and you have to scrape them and paint them over with Tremclad, you'll wish you'd spent the extra money to get alloys. Two suggestions, and made in Canada (as are those Michelin tires): Replika (fastco.ca/Replika), and RTX wheels (rtxwheels.com). I have a set of Replika wheels on order.
 
MiniMe said:
Hi. From Montreal too. Lots of good advice here. I also drove home just recently with a brand new 2023 in need of winter wheels and tires. Here's my choice, the reasons for what I chose and suggestions on where to look/shop/install.
For tires I chose Michelin X-Ice Snow, in the 195/55R16 size. I've used a number of brands over the years, Toyo, Yokohama, Pirellis, Goodyears... best I found where the Michelins X-Ice. Also, looking at reviews: good grip on ice, improved traction in snow, quiet ride (for winter tires), and good fuel efficiency. Also, Michelin has a $100 rebate promo right now. Where to shop? In QC, I suggest you try Point-S (point-s.ca).
For wheels, I wanted alloy wheels. Yes, steels are cheaper but in two years time, when they're flaking off, and rust starts dissolving them and you have to scrape them and paint them over with Tremclad, you'll wish you'd spent the extra money to get alloys. Two suggestions, and made in Canada (as are those Michelin tires): Replika (fastco.ca/Replika), and RTX wheels (rtxwheels.com). I have a set of Replika wheels on order.
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I too originally was going to get the Michelin X ice snow but then I found out (and was confirmed by Michelin corporate) that Michelin had discontinued the production of this tire in size 195/55R16. So beware in the future if you need to replace a flat tire, you might run into trouble finding one.
 
We had three sets of xIce on our XC90. Wonderful tires, used them a few winters, and then ran them for a summer when the tread was low. We got more miles from the winter tires than the miserable Pirellis that came with the car.

I had Yokohama W Drives on my 330CIc that moved to my Astra. The response was crisp, and they handled turns with ease. They got me out of a few situations I should not have gotten into in the first place. I replaced them with xIce and I immediately regretted it. The sidewall was just too soft for a sporty ride.
 
Just spoke to my Mini dealer and they use Goodyear Ultra Grip 8 tires. And the $2168 (CAD) quote I was given does include TPMS with the tire-wheel package. I also need to pick up the floor mats and have a little button looked at inside the car so it might make sense for me to do all that with them.

However, any thoughts on those tires? I've been reading some reviews but I thought there might be some personal experiences. But let me know where you live as well as our winters are likely different.
 
sacharama said:
I too originally was going to get the Michelin X ice snow but then I found out (and was confirmed by Michelin corporate) that Michelin had discontinued the production of this tire in size 195/55R16. So beware in the future if you need to replace a flat tire, you might run into trouble finding one.
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FYI, 205/55R16 fits fine as well (that's what I'm using). It's the same width as the OEM 17" tires so no clearance issues and the extra height isn't necessarily a bad thing for winter
 
tinpanalley said:
Just spoke to my Mini dealer and they use Goodyear Ultra Grip 8 tires. And the $2168 (CAD) quote I was given does include TPMS with the tire-wheel package. I also need to pick up the floor mats and have a little button looked at inside the car so it might make sense for me to do all that with them.

However, any thoughts on those tires? I've been reading some reviews but I thought there might be some personal experiences. But let me know where you live as well as our winters are likely different.
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All tires MINI supplies--except for the SE--are run-flat tires, so they'll be heavier and probably reduce your range more than go-flat alternatives.
 
insightman said:
All tires MINI supplies--except for the SE--are run-flat tires, so they'll be heavier and probably reduce your range more than go-flat alternatives.
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Right. Ok, well ours came with Pirelli Cinturato P7. We just dropped by the dealership here in Montreal. We saw the Goodyears, the guy there was very good at explaining things to us. So I think what we're gonna do is buy their mags, bring our own tires, and have them install them. Plus we appear to have a little nick on the Pirellis that needs repairing.
By the way, as I go through all this learning here... forgive the noob question but if wheels and rims and mags are totally different terms why do people use them so interchangeably?

Non relevant info about our horrible Mini experience before moving to Montreal...
Anyway, as I say the service here was great. Gives weight to the argument that it can be a bonus to go to the dealer. We bought the car at the dealership in Quebec City this summer before moving here and the service was atrociously bad there. Bad to the point where we were essentially begging for anyone to call us or email us back for simple questions. I've actually written to BMW Mini in Canada, in the UK and in Germany all copied into an email about the atrocious service we got. I've had no response. They simply couldn't care less, which is a shame. I can't even tell you the number of things that were either omitted altogether in the sale or not explained to us in any way. I told this guy today about our experience, not getting the free Sirius months we were promised, not being given info on how long our online services last or anything about how to renew them, finding a light scratch on the inside of the car, and he flat out gave us the winter mats we went in there to buy. So, we're happy again, but I'm not dropping the other service issues from Quebec City but I have to admit it was pretty much that attitude at any retailer, big or small when we lived there. Glad to have moved.​

So since we're looking at buying the tires elsewhere, we're thinking Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3, Bridgestone Blizzaks, or Michelin X-Ice. Any thoughts, recommendations? Again, this is nothing but city driving, no countryside, ice, slush and low accumulations of snow will be our worst troubles.
 
All excellent choices (though the R3 is deprecated now and has been replaced with the R5).

I’ll let others chime in on the various terms if I’m making no sense, but I usually refer to wheels when I’m talking about the tire-rim combo that supports the car, rims can be steel or alloy and refer to the rim itself without a tire, while the colloquial mags refers to alloy rims, because they used to be made from magnesium for racing in the 50s and 60s, but virtually all mags these days are made from an aluminum alloy.

PS: my dealership here in Montreal is horrible as well.
 
tinpanalley said:
I've actually written to BMW Mini in Canada, in the UK and in Germany
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I had the same experience in 2019 when I sent letters to MINI USA, BMW in Germany, and Plant Oxford in the UK, begging the company to take $1,500 extra to delete the hood scoop by substituting the cheaper hood from the base MINI Cooper. If they wouldn't respond to someone offering them more money, I'm not surprised they ignored complaints about dealers.
 
I think for motorcycles and dirt bikes the mags are the one piece alloy wheels for road use and the spoke wheels are better suited for off-road punishment. You should also look to getting some TPMS in addition to the wheels + tires. The other optional things are center caps and lug bolts (most people keep the same hardware). My energetic yellow center caps went to the winter sets and I have self-leveling MINI ones for summer.

As for winter tires, you buy whichever brand you can get a hold of at a reasonable price. I think 16 inch wheels are better with more tire compared to 17 inch wheels for winter.
 
insightman said:
I had the same experience in 2019 when I sent letters to MINI USA, BMW in Germany, and Plant Oxford in the UK, begging the company to take $1,500 extra to delete the hood scoop by substituting the cheaper hood from the base MINI Cooper. If they wouldn't respond to someone offering them more money, I'm not surprised they ignored complaints about dealers.
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Our cars are built by robotics in highly automated assembly line with human assist. Everything is preprogrammed including parts logistics and such.

It's logistically challenging to substitute one hood among the entire assembly line. It would be a different story if the SE are mostly hand built.
 
sacharama said:
Our cars are built by robotics in highly automated assembly line with human assist. Everything is preprogrammed including parts logistics and such.

It's logistically challenging to substitute one hood among the entire assembly line. It would be a different story if the SE are mostly hand built.
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Of course, you are correct, but all the F56 models are built on the same production line so it wouldn't be a logistical problem--the different hoods are all close by. It would just be a matter of a software revision. However, I'm the only one I know of who was willing to pay a body shop to paint and install a scoopless hood on their electric MINI, so the factory had little incentive to grant my request.

I can't wait to see if the 2024 Zhangjiagang SE gets the even fakier hood scoop stuck onto the camouflaged test cars. Hopefully, it will be peelable, like the MINI-E logo on the hatch of the current SE.

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If the Zhangjiagang SE doesn't end up with a fake hood scoop, will owners add them?
 
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