Tires (Summer/Winter/All-Season)

LOL, just above, I "suggested" people include photos or links to photos of the wheels they're discussing. BUT MINI COULDN'T FIND A PHOTO OF THEIR OWN 494 WHEELS! (so this is a link to an "IMAGE NOT AVAILABLE" black box).

I'm a big fan of the 494 (Loop Spoke) wheels, but not a fan of the run-flat tires that are part of this cold-weather package. I was surprised how much comfier the ride was when I put my 17" Power Spokes (with OEM go-flat Hankooks) in the basement and switched to the 16" Loop Spokes and lightweight go-flat tires for both winter and non-winter.

It would be nice if MINI would make a deal on this package and switch to include the SE center caps with their Energetic Yellow ring, but I doubt they'd do that.

I'll never put run-flats on my SE. Even though he'll never feel the rougher ride, my Discount Tire tech thanked me--he hates the extra effort it takes to mount run-flat tires on wheels.

The MINI Parts Direct site has a photo of a 494 winter wheel/tire package, but it's black, not the missing photo of a silver 494. Here's the black 494 on MINI Parts Direct and one of my 8 silver 494s:

 

Yeah I like the look of these, and 1500 for a set with tires mounted/balanced and TPMS seems hard to beat even if it means living with run flats for a couple years. I really don't want to be out on summers once it starts to get actually cold here. I'll probably pull the trigger on these soon, I'll post back when I have them.

 

Those really could use more yellow.

 

Thanks for the photos
Does anyone have a paint code for the silver ones? I picked up my used ones yesterday and 2 of them have smooth rub marks. I could probably just spray a little paint on them, then add some yellow

 

The 494 Loop + Pirelli W210 Snowcontrol 3 run flat is my exact winter setup. The energetic yellow center caps went to my winters and I have self-leveling MINI ones for my summer wheels.

I like to be more connected to the road with run-flats, especially having the D-Box experience for the classic "BMW pothole bomb".

 

It should be Reflex Silver B37, but any titanium silver should match quite well

 

Words from a pro.

 

M'kay. I'm still waiting for discount tire to get my 'in stock' WR G4s in, so here are wheel and computer car image from felgenoutlet.com

Wheels are Autec Bavaris 16x6.5 et54. Mine came from tunershop.de via eBay. I weighed one at 8kg/17.5lb. They can supposedly use Mini centre caps, but I haven't tried that, yet. Mine cost me $595 delivered from Germany in a few days. I have some VDO TPMS from rockauto to go in. They came to around 120. Tyres: discounttire said they'll match Nokians to a 132 price I found online. Plus 20 each mount, plus tax and fees, they'll be maybe 660-670?

 

First-time poster here. I am sharing my story in case this helps someone in the same situation, or if you folks have valuable comments or opinions about it.

I am based in Montreal, QC (which means snowy winters and mandatory usage of winter-rated tires during the cold season). I am expecting delivery of a new Cooper SE sometime in Jan/Feb 2023. It comes with 17" Black Tentacle Spokes 500 wheels (which I really like the look of) and 205/45 R17 summer tires. All of this is to say that I spent a few days researching winter tires in the 205/45 R17 format and that the options are very limited and pricey.

I figured it was probably a good opportunity to start owning a set of winter wheels for the first time in my life, instead of paying someone to mount tires twice a year. I think it makes sense to run on 16" during winter (for better winter tires options) and 17" in summer. The only winter option from the dealership was a package of Goodyear UltraGrip8 mounted on 16" Revolite Spoke 517 wheels in Dark Grey, which I find quite ugly and expensive at $1800 MRSP. So I started looking at classifieds, and I think I got lucky.

Yesterday I got my hands on a set of 16" 495 Victory Spokes in Polished Black (which I like a lot since they are similar to the Tentacle Spokes 500) with Hankook I'Pike RS W419 195/55R16 tires already mounted and balanced on them. I am not crazy about those tires, I expect them to perform ok but to be too noisy. I will still give them a good try this season and decide if I want to upgrade for next year. My dealer will install those on the MINI when it gets delivered.

Pictures:


The 17" Black Tentacle Spokes 500 that the new MINI is delivered with


The ugly winter package offered by the dealership.


The 16" 495 Victory Spokes in Polished Black that I found on classified.

 

I prefer the extra sidewall on 16 inch wheels for winter tires for potholes.

Did you get TPMS with your used victory spokes? That would be a good deal. 1st generation Hankook i'Pike RS tread pattern is probably louder than the RS2. There are much more sipes and blocks in the 1st gen but it should be good for freeze/thaw winters.

 

TPMS would be a surprise. I didn't ask about it and the stems don't give any indication of being TPMS. I don't know much about these sensors, other than they are required for run flats for obvious reasons. But if I don't plan to use run flats, are TPMS just a nice convenience to have ? or are they required by the MINI ? I will ask my dealer if they can add them to my wheels (even though I guess this requires re-balancing also...)

 

They are a nice convenience, but not really "required". You can drive your Mini without them, but if you do, be sure to check your tire pressure on a regular basis. And, be warned, the Mini will tell you EVERY TIME you start the car of the error. #Nag.

 

OMG. These constant errors probably move TPMS into the "required" category for me. Thanks for mentioning that important detail.

 

If you can make it to April trying to ignore the nagging, I think it’s worth waiting until you choose better tires next September before adding TPMS sensors. One (not foolproof) way to check if the iPikes have sensors is the wiggle the valve stems. Normal stems feel rubbery, while TPMS feel substantially more stiff.

Si tu peux te rendre jusqu'en avril en essayant d'ignorer le harcèlement, je pense qu’il vaut la peine d'attendre à choisir de meilleurs pneus en septembre prochain avant d'ajouter des capteurs TPMS. Une façon (pas infaillible) de vérifier si les iPikes ont des capteurs est de remuer les tiges de valve. Les tiges normales sont caoutchouteuses, tandis que les TPMS sont beaucoup plus rigides.

 

ok wow, thanks for the EN/FR reply (you really don't have to).

also great advice.

This forum is something else. Can't wait to get my first MINI / first EV.

 

You should be able to use generic brand TPMS and clone from your summer set. OEM is probably $100+ USD each.

 

My non-OE sensors were $60 or $70 (Canadian) each, installed and programmed, when I got the winter tires in August.

 

$40 per wheel when you order them with rims from Tire Rack (I shoulda woulda coulda didn't).

 

There you go. Autec Bavaris 16x6.5 ET54 wearing 195/55R16 Nokian WR G4. They take standard centre caps and no hubring needed. Mine weighed 8kg/17.5lb out of the box