Tires (Summer/Winter/All-Season)

I’ve changed the setting to reset the data after each trip. It would actually be nice to have both: data on each trip AND the cumulative average over time.


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Mine is still updating. I had a sad, super short trip using the A/C and it registered that from yesterday.

 

Regarding performance based on physical attributes of the SE (as opposed to driving exuberance or weather conditions), has anyone yet determined the weight of the 16-inch Revolite Grey Spectre wheels that are offered with the 2022? I’m interested in minimizing the weight of the vehicle. Many of the 17-inch wheels exceed 20 pounds.

 

So at least in this case, the difference is about 25 lbs for all four wheels. Will that really make that much difference in terms of efficiency? Driving around with my wife and two small kids adds about 200 lbs, and I haven't really noticed any difference (though I would have to do the exact same trip multiple times with them and just me to really be able to tell). There are other factors that will affect efficiency much more, so I say just get the wheels you like best.

 

I very much appreciate the input. The SE will be an all-season replacement for a three-season NB Miata. In the interest of best performance, I’ve always been mindful of wheel/tire weight. A big plus for the SE is the instant torque. I’ll likely follow Puppethead’s example and use 17s for summer and equip 16s with quality winter tires.

 

I live in upstate NY, so a very similar climate to New England. I treat "all-season" tires as three-season tires. When the snow and ice covers the roads, they just don't cut it. You need snow tires, with softer rubber, to have a hope of grip.

I bought my Mini in January, but didn't actually drive it much until almost April. The summer tires, as you'd suspect, are scary in the winter. I haven't picked up snows for it yet, but I will in another couple of months. I haven't started research yet, but I always go to Tire Rack and see what they recommend.

 

I have the Michelin X-ICE X13, and they are great. If the SNOW models are better, that's saying something.

 

XI-3s are what I have on my Bolt, and was planning to get for the Mini as well. I'll have to take a good look at the SNOWs.

 

I’ve not used snow tires on my cars over the years in New England (except my tank-like SAAB 96) but the SE may warrant their use. Especially if they have good performance specs. The Michelin X-ICE SNOW may be easier to secure than the NOKIAN Hakkapeliitta R3 in my area. For those who have purchased (or are planning to purchase) OEM MINI 16s for snows, how helpful are dealers? Tirerack is an option but I think that I’d prefer OEM.

 

I've always used winter tires for our Michigan winters. I chose the Hakkapeliitta tires for our Clarity Plug-In Hybrid because they were well-reviewed and because I love their name (a lame reason to choose a tire, I admit). They have been excellent, though noisier than the OEM "all-season" tires. For most of the winter, the OEM tires would probably work, but the winter tires prove their value every time a successful panic stop in slippery conditions prevents damage to our Clarity. Of course, the Hakkapeliittas also provide extra traction to go when the OEM tires may not be up to the task, but their greater ability to prevent an accident is their most important attribute IMO.

The OEM tires on the MINI Cooper SE are summer performance tires, which fellow forum members (eg. @Lainey) have reported are unworkable when there is snow on the roads. Because the summer performance tires contribute greatly to the joy of driving our SE, I'd be loathe to trade them for "all-season" tires. I purchased a used set of 16" MINI Loop Spoke rims and chose the Michelin X-Ice winter tires for our MINI Cooper SE. I read the Michelins were quieter than the Hakkapeliittas so I gambled that they would provide nearly the same traction. They are, indeed, quieter, but noisier than the wonderful Hankooks that MINI chose for my wonderful SE. The traction they provide makes winter driving fun.

One interesting side-note about driving the MINI Cooper SE in new snow is how humorous it is to floor the accelerator. In decades of driving my other front-wheel drive cars I would get the front tires spinning and then I would back off until the winter tires were able to get a bite on the snow. That doesn't happen with the SE. The SE's always-impressive anti-spin traction control does its job superbly in the snow just as it does to preserve the tread on my summer tires. What that means is when you floor the accelerator, the SE creeps forward as if it was stuck in thick mud. It doesn't handle like you're driving through thick mud, but that's what the acceleration is like. You can flick the traction control switch to reduce the amount of traction control and then the SE will behave more like other, less sophisticated, front-wheel drive cars.

Discount Tire got its start in my home town of Ann Arbor. They've since grown to be a giant in the tire distribution business and moved their corporate offices to Arizona, but I've remained loyal because their level of expertise and service has continued to meet my expectations. Ann Arbor's MINI dealer closed a year ago, the day after I picked up my SE, and now the closest dealer, Motor City MINI, is a less-convenient 40 miles away so it's Discount Tire for me.

 

It's helpful to hear about your strategy. I see that MINI lists the Loop 494 Silver with Pirelli W210 Snowcontrol 3 R-F. I suspect it would be quicker to get the MINI wheel/tire package through a dealer rather than just wheels. The Pirelli and Dunlop R-F tires offered by MINI get mixed reviews, it seems. I'm tying to plan for a cold weather delivery of an SE.

 

Be advised, and learn from my experience!

Since my Roulette Spoke wheels were off the car as part of my range test, I had 205/45R17 Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires fitted to them.

I attempted to mount those wheels back on the car today, and learned that the extra-beefy rim protector of these tires rest against the strut. I didn't realize the stock wheels had so little clearance. Spacers are already on order to rectify this. (Technically, I already ordered the spacers beforehand for cosmetic reasons but now I have further justification.)

I believe @idrw inquired about this attribute in another thread where I was discussing these tires on my aftermarket wheels, so wanted to post confirmation that these tires are indeed a bit wider, even though they are supposed to be the same spec as stock.

 

Out of curiosity, did you get another set of Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4's? Just curious because in your range test you mentioned that you had 225/45R17 set on 17"x7.5" NM Engineering RSe05 wheels. I wasn't sure if you got a new set of 205/45R17 tires or moved the 225/45R17 to the Roulette Spoke wheels (not sure if it's even possible...sorry, I'm not really a car guy)?

 

This is a new set of tires in the stock 205/45R17 size.

225/45s would technically fit on the stock 7" wide wheels per the rim width range spec for that size, but I wouldn't recommend it.

 

UPDATE/CORRECTION: My earlier assessment was based upon trying to feel the space between the tire wall and the strut--and it felt like they were touching. I just swapped on a set of 16 Electric Revolite wheels with 195/55/R16 Hankook Ventus Prime 3 tires, and those also "felt" like they were against the strut. I got a small thin piece of cardboard and used it as a feeler between the tire and strut, and could move it an estimated 5 mm between the tire and strut. Much closer than I expected, but I suppose it must be okay.

So I repeated this feeler test with the Roulette + Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 4 tire without spacer, and could move the cardboard feeler an estimated 3-4mm. Even closer than the 16" tires, but doable. I'll probably continue using the spacers, though. I wish I could do this test with the original Hankooks to compare...

 

There is a local place that has a set of 15" Mini wheels with Michelin A/S tires with good tread. They don't sell any new SEs with 15s. Would these work as winter wheels & tires for my 2022 SE when it comes (probably right around November 1!)? They have 175/65R15 tires vs. the 195/55R16 that my Mini will have. 24" vs 24.4" diameter calculated. Note that I don't usually put full Winter tires on my passenger cars here in the West side of WA...just good A/S.



Rob