Canada - winter tires

Life, grip, low rolling resistance.

Pick two.

My summer Hankooks have a UTQG of 240. That's dreadful for an OEM tyre. It was the price of decent grip and very low rolling resistance. But they are still not as sticky as the 250 summer Yokos on my R53. Those don't roll as easily, though.

I'm very impressed with the balance struck by the WR-G4s. UTQG is over 500. Dry grip is in the same ballpark as the Hankooks. So is rolling resistance. Wet grip is the loser. Still infinitely better than the Walmart cheapos mentioned above, though...
 
So, firstly thank you all for your help, this thread has become a really valuable source for us to choose what to buy. Problems right now are that tirerack seems to only provide us with prices in US$ and we're in Canada so I can only imagine that's going to make our order extremely expensive, unnecessarily so. Then I tried a site called wheelsnearme.ca that was recommended to us but none of the tyres you guys have recommended are available through them.

The thing is this is effectively our first car so we don't know any mechanics. And even if it weren't, we just arrived in Montreal and don't have a local sense of what mechanics are good or not yet. We have no idea how this even works. If you told me, tyres canonly be purchased from mechanics, you have to buy the bolts as well, and you leave the car at the mechanic's for a week, I'd genuinely, say, "really? Oh, ok... " because I simply don't know. I can build you a computer and set up your living room with perfectly calibrated theater quality sound and picture but I don't know about cars. I imagine that might drive some of you more car aficionado people nuts but there it is.

So, questions...
1. Do you just pick a mechanic on general feeling and ask if you can have your tyre-wheel package shipped to them and have them do the install?
2. Do you go to a mechanic and see what tyre-wheel package THEY sell?
3. It appears one has to also buy TPMS? Doesn't our Mini already have pressure monitors? Is it that they're installed in our current wheels and we need either new ones or to move them?
4. Mini said to us when we bought the car (I imagine you guys are saying, "yeah, well, of course they did, didnt they...) that it was best to go to them to have tyres and wheels installed because they use manufacturer specs for the right torque for the bolts and for other things where they follow their own settings. Is that true or are they just trying to get us to go back to them? I mean, they are BMW so it's not like they don't know what they're doing, I imagine, no? We're probably going to go to them anyway for the custom-fit weather carpets/liners.

Thank you!!
 
If you can get there, I have a recommendation for a tire shop that won’t steer you wrong. I’ve known the owner 20 years and get all my tires from him, installed and balanced. I’ve sent countless friends and family and they too have become repeat customers. He’s located just off Autoroute 20 in Dorion, off the western tip of the island.
 
tinpanalley said:
So, questions...
1. Do you just pick a mechanic on general feeling and ask if you can have your tyre-wheel package shipped to them and have them do the install?
2. Do you go to a mechanic and see what tyre-wheel package THEY sell?
3. It appears one has to also buy TPMS? Doesn't our Mini already have pressure monitors? Is it that they're installed in our current wheels and we need either new ones or to move them?
4. Mini said to us when we bought the car (I imagine you guys are saying, "yeah, well, of course they did, didnt they...) that it was best to go to them to have tyres and wheels installed because they use manufacturer specs for the right torque for the bolts and for other things where they follow their own settings. Is that true or are they just trying to get us to go back to them? I mean, they are BMW so it's not like they don't know what they're doing, I imagine, no? We're probably going to go to them anyway for the custom-fit weather carpets/liners.

Thank you!!
Click to expand...

Yes, Tire Rack may have good service and selection but it’s a challenge to those of us in Canada.

1. Are you referring to the Tire Rack ship to installer option here?

2. You need to find a good tire shop, not a mechanic shop. A lot of us recommended Nokian and they are sold by Kal-Tire in Canada.

3. The TPMS stay with the original wheel if you aren’t having the tires swapped on the same rims each year.

4. Having just bought new wheels, tires and TPMS I recommend just ordering a winter tire package through the Mini/BMW dealer. The cost adds up quick. And with your lack of experience with cars it’s just easier to go through the dealer.
 
I've found the MINI dealer is not significantly more expensive than other tire shops, especially considering it's a new car. That said, I have no qualms about using a good tire shop like Discount Tire (a national chain in the US). I brought my replacement Nokian tires to my MINI dealer for mounting since they charged the same per wheel as anywhere else.

The dealer is right about the correct torque, but I'm sure other shops know what they're doing too. But if you need other things at the dealer getting the tires done there will be much less aggravation and it'll help develop a relationship with your dealer service shop.
 
SameGuy said:
If you can get there, I have a recommendation for a tire shop that won’t steer you wrong. I’ve known the owner 20 years and get all my tires from him, installed and balanced. I’ve sent countless friends and family and they too have become repeat customers. He’s located just off Autoroute 20 in Dorion, off the western tip of the island.
Click to expand...
I can get out there, it's about a 30 minute drive, that's not awful. I just feel weird passing the 15 different places near Cote des Neiges any of which could be good as well.
 
-Amanda said:
Yes, Tire Rack may have good service and selection but it’s a challenge to those of us in Canada.
1. Are you referring to the Tire Rack ship to installer option here?
Click to expand...
No I was just talking in general, how people do it.
-Amanda said:
4. Having just bought new wheels, tires and TPMS I recommend just ordering a winter tire package through the Mini/BMW dealer. The cost adds up quick. And with your lack of experience with cars it’s just easier to go through the dealer.
Click to expand...
Ok, thanks. We figured the same but we just wanted to make sure it's not considered ill advised to do that because you overpay or something.
 
tinpanalley said:
I can get out there, it's about a 30 minute drive, that's not awful. I just feel weird passing the 15 different places near Cote des Neiges any of which could be good as well.
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They could be. I’m just giving you a testimonial from my experiences. LA Pneus in Dorion, if you decide to call, tell Lorenzo I sent you (I don’t get kickbacks or anything like that).
 
Like Amanda pointed out above:

Kal-Tire is a place that many folks in Canada get their winter tires. When I was researching on the nokian Winter tires, Kal -Tire kept coming up among in my search.

Torque settings are not secret proprietary information and torquing the wheels properly does not require proprietary tools to do it.

The torques setting is clearly listed on your owner's manual under wheels/tires section. A torque wrench is present in every tire shops.

Though it's true that many tire technicians do not follow the protocol by using impact driver to tighten the lug nuts and as a result causes overtightening, that's human error and can be completely avoided by using good tire shops or diy which many do.

TPMS sensors stay with the wheels. So if you have a separate wheels mounted with winter tires you need a set of TPMS sensors to be installed to the new wheels. You can buy them on tirerack, discount tire (direct) or many other places (use shop by vehicle feature so the compatible sensors will be selected for you). Maybe Kal-tire carries them too?

Most modern TPMS do not require programming, once the wheels are put on the vehicle, the computer of the vehicle will self learn the new sensors by following a simple process which involves driving. Many folks here have reported success of using sensors from both tirerack, discount tire (direct), and other online vendors.

The mini winter package is convenient but it comes with "run flat" tires which I am not a fan of, hence I didn't consider it.

Good luck.
 
tinpanalley said:
No I was just talking in general, how people do it.
Ok, thanks. We figured the same but we just wanted to make sure it's not considered ill advised to do that because you overpay or something.
Click to expand...
Are you going to swap winter tyres onto your standard rims, or buy an extra set?
Swapping winter tyres on and off one set of rims means you are paying for swapping tyres.
Buying a set of rims means you are buying another set of rims and TPMS.
 
From Mini.ca accessory catalogue.
779a460290238435edae5603ebb4a5ba.jpg
 
sacharama said:
Kal-Tire
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The problem with Kal-Tire as some people have recommended is that there are none in the province of Quebec, thanks to the genius and the will of the powers that be in this province's parliament. So though it can still be used as a search tool, if we have any desire to keep shipping cheap by having a shop be nearby, it doesn't really help. But, as I said, I suppose it helps me see what things cost in Canada.

But, thank you! Your answers were really helpful. And of course what you're saying about torque settings is true but when you don't know any places at all you don't want to have to figure out who the crappy mechanics are that aren't detail oriented.
 
-Amanda said:
From Mini.ca accessory catalogue.
Click to expand...
I was JUST looking at that this morning. I asked the Mini dealership here for an estimate and they didn't say exactly what they'd use. Sadly, if that Goodyear's the one they offer, I read absolutely terrible reviews about their ability to handle ice and slush/wetness. Not good for a city like Montreal which has a lot of both all winter.
 
tinpanalley said:
And of course what you're saying about torque settings is true but when you don't know any places at all you don't want to have to figure out who the crappy mechanics are that aren't detail oriented.
Click to expand...
Just avoid Canadian Tire at all costs. It’s not that their young mechanics aren’t hard-working or enthusiastic, it’s just that most of their tire and auto centres are seriously understaffed, and the ratio of apprentices to senior mechanics is ridiculous, so sh!t happens.
 
tinpanalley said:
I was JUST looking at that this morning. I asked the Mini dealership here for an estimate and they didn't say exactly what they'd use. Sadly, if that Goodyear's the one they offer, I read absolutely terrible reviews about their ability to handle ice and slush/wetness. Not good for a city like Montreal which has a lot of both all winter.
Click to expand...


Mini offers a few different winter package in different sizes with different styles of wheels, as far as I am aware of, they all come with run flat tires.
 
tinpanalley said:
The problem with Kal-Tire as some people have recommended is that there are none in the province of Quebec, thanks to the genius and the will of the powers that be in this province's parliament. So though it can still be used as a search tool, if we have any desire to keep shipping cheap by having a shop be nearby, it doesn't really help. But, as I said, I suppose it helps me see what things cost in Canada.

But, thank you! Your answers were really helpful. And of course what you're saying about torque settings is true but when you don't know any places at all you don't want to have to figure out who the crappy mechanics are that aren't detail oriented.
Click to expand...

Call the local tire shops in your area, you don't need an auto mechanic repair shop per se for tires. Of course an auto mechanic shop would work too but a tire shop is what you need. Find one with newer mounting and balancing equipments.

You can always ask them if you use torque wrench to torque the lug nuts and/or provide them the factory torque settings which you can find on your owner's manual.
 
I have Autec Bavaris 16x6.5 ET54 as my winter wheels.
Same size as stock 16s, which I'd recommend for winter.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/384204259450

Unlike many, these bolt straight on. No hubring needed. 1 1/2lbs lighter than my victory spokes. They even take standard Mini centre caps.
Heavy wheels will affect the ride a lot and the handling a bit. Contrary to popular opinion, they don't actually affect economy much. I like light wheels as the ride is so much better. I always looks at wheel weight when shopping for rims. Mine took only 3 days to reach me from Germany!

There are many, many other aftermarket wheels available. You'll also need tyres and TPMS. It sounds like kal-tire is where you'd go for those. Kal tire may also sell rims.
Germany is very strict about what aftermarket parts can be put on road cars. The upshot if that is, that if you get TUV approved stuff, it will work properly.
This site doesn't ship to US/CA, but I used it to look at European wheel options before finding an eBay seller for them. You want to look for 6,5x16 wheels on eBay. That's the German way or indicating size...

Or, if you already have 16s, put winter tyres on those, then shop for summer rims in the spring.

IMG_20221101_131734673_HDR.webp s-l400 (7).webp
 
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sacharama said:
Find one with newer mounting and balancing equipments.
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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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