Tires (Summer/Winter/All-Season)

Woof.

Also looking at the BFGoodrich Sport Comp-2 AS. I used to have the summer version on my Miata and freaking loved them. Good treadwear, response, and price. But with efficiency being so important on a small EV, I am (maybe too) conscience of the potential range impacts of poor eff tires.

I have an 84mi commute mostly interstate. From everyone’s experience, can tires really shave off 10s of miles? Ie should I be that concerned if the tires are less efficient ?


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Haha I also had the Comp 2s on my Miata and now have the Comp 2 A/S Plus on my SE!

They are way better that stock for grip and handling but are horribly inefficient.

The dotted black line is a moving average of my calculated efficiency, it's pretty clear where I switched tires! My worst trip was mostly highway with a strong headwind and I ended up at 2.7 kWh/mi or a max range of 78mi... So yes, unfortunately you should be concerned about tire efficiency.

 

Also, see these super useful posts by @MichaelC

https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/range-efficiency-under-various-conditions-cargo.11491/#post-143008

https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/range-efficiency-under-various-conditions-cargo.11491/page-2#post-146185

 

YOWZA!

That is a significant hit. Snap. Well, now I am quite concerned about not getting an efficient tire… but one that’s not stupid expensive, while still being good in all weather conditions, and still being fun. That seems like something has got to give… can’t have it all.


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How did those DWS06s work for you? What kind of range are you getting?


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TireRack and other U.S. distributors won't show you the EU label, and manufacturers generally don't mention rolling resistance unless they have a new EV tire they want to brag about (typically for SUVs and super-expensive performance cars with fitments that are way too big for the SE). It's much more effort than it ought to be.

I use these 2 sites when trying to find the EU label for tires I'm researching:

• https://www.tyrereviews.com
  
• https://whattyre.com

Even so, you may not find the EU label for a model which predates the new label requirements.

I actually wound up getting the Michelin Pilot Sport All-Season 4, on both the RSe05 wheels and then my stock Roulettes. Details on highway range impact can be found here: https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/range-efficiency-under-various-conditions-cargo.11491/page-2#post-146185 Handling is great (especially with the wider fitment), but at the cost of efficiency. Those results prompted me to be more diligent in searching for EU labels on the tires I'm considering moving forward. I haven't found any rolling resistance values or EU labels for that model of tire, but I'd guess they would be a C or D.

I plan to try some more efficient summer tires on the RSe05 wheels next spring.

 

Thank you for that great word! Will you become GruntledSanta after your SE brings you happiness through kartiness?

 

Hahaha very likely so. PICKING HER UP TOMORROW!!! After 4 months… not that I am excited or anything… it has been 3 months since my Miata sold, so I have had to suffice with sim racing for my kartiness fix. Great fun, but nothing like a kick in the pants of a real car.

This tire issue is slightly stressful, though! The weather here should be unusually warm for the next week so I have some breathing room. Probably just going to shell out cash for a set of dedicated winter tires and wheels (VikingContact 7s). Good price to efficiency trade off. I can’t find anything (winter or all season) with an EU efficiency rating above a C that will fit.


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Nice! Those are good - but pricey - tires! Tries to find some comparably sized but cheaper ones, naturally they are all back ordered. Ahh well. When the VikingContacts wear out maybe we can look for some of these again!


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On the CrossClimate 2 tires:

• Jack of all trades: sure-footed in wet, dry, warm, and cold weather
• Efficiency drop. The car's efficiency seems to be down 10-20% over the stock Ventus Evo 3.
• Handling is OK, but a major step down from the summers (no surprise there)
• Slightly less comfortable. I feel more of the road, with less cushion than the stock tires. More of an observation than a complaint.
• Quieter. Somehow these seem quieter than the stock tires, except when digging into the accelerator pedal. You hear the tires squirm under load. Not a bad sound, but it's there.
• Due to the last point I tend to accelerate slower. The stock tires were perfectly matched to squeeze out the awesome performance that the SE has on tap. CC2 is happier with a more chill driving style. They can still perform when needed.
• Tread life is expected to be high (40k miles). I will be lucky if the stock tires hit 12k miles.

Overall, very happy still. For my use the car will be 100% capable in any weather and with the excellent tread wear reports they should last 5-6 seasons. I should note that this tire is being used as a winter tire on my car. As a year round tire: no way. It would sap too much of the fun from the car. Also keep in mind that my use case is primarily warmer weather of 40-60F**

 

Just ordered some Blizzaks to have put on in place of my summer tires. The only wheels the dealer had in stock were $1500 (without tires), so I'll be sticking with one set of wheels for now.

I was interested in this set, but my MA said it would ship from Germany and take 4+ weeks.

https://www.shopminiusa.com/PRODUCT/2646/MINI-16-INCH-STYLE-508-RADIAL-SPOKE-IN-BRIGHT-SILVER-METALLIC

 

I don't have my car yet, but I got my winter wheels and tires all sorted!

Winter Wheels 1 by ER13 posted Dec 10, 2021 at 5:22 PM

Winter Wheels 2 by ER13 posted Dec 10, 2021 at 5:22 PM

16 inch black victory spoke
Continental VikingContact 7

 

I installed a set of those Conti VikingContact 7 tyres on Mike Wazowski (my Mini) (same size) and I am very happy with them - FAR better than the Michelin X-Ice tyres I had on my Honda (un)Fit. I did go with steel wheels because ultimately, they were lighter than the replica alloy wheels saving me some unstrung weight and about $1000.


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I'm curious about which wheels you compared and what their respective weights are. Can you share those details?

 

What didn't you like about the X-ICE? Mine have been great and the TireRack testing has them at almost identical performance with the X-ICE coming out a bit ahead on ice performance and general (subjective) handling and ride quality

 

From my research, the Vikings are considerably more efficiency than the XICEs. And they are cheaper too

They don’t have the same snow/ice performance as the XICE, to be sure, but here in Ohio, that’s not as big of a deal as it would be if we were in, say, Montana.


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Just curious, where did you find efficiency info?

All I could find was the EU tire label and both the VikingContact and X-ICE SNOW got a "C".

From my limited number of drives so far, the X-ICE Snow is actually more efficient than the BFG comp 2 A/S+ tires I had on... I guess that just shows just how inefficient the Comp 2s are haha

Now that the MINI app added the odo reading to the charging history, I really want to start a thread or shared Google sheet for people to add their average efficiency for different tire options. I just haven't figured out how to normalize the data for different city/highway mix... Not sure if that's even possible without more detailed logging.

 

The Michelin X-Ice Snow is not the same tyre as the X-Ice I had on the Honda Fit. As tested by Tire Rack, the tread width is not the same as those on the smaller and lighter car. Mine did not clear snow particularly well and had fewer longitudinal grooves that did not help. I would also note that Michelin realized they needed to improve the tread hence the addition of “Snow” to their product naming.
I have used Blizzaks in the past and they have been very good performance snow tires.
I chose the VikingContact 7s because of some previous experience with their summer tires and some advice from my trusted supplier (having bought at least 2 dozen sets of tires from them over the years).
Also know this. Eastern Ontario, where I live and drive daily) typically gets over 8 feet of snow over the course of the winter - from the light powdery stuff to the mashed potatoes. Temperatures get down to -30 ° C and occasionally lower. Thaws and freezing rain are also very typical.
Last but not least, there have been some supply chain issues - selection and availability for some sizes and makes have been a challenge.


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