Tires (Summer/Winter/All-Season)

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There's also the heat pump, which, if I understand its function correctly, should help quite a bit since it lets motor/battery waste heat be used for cabin warming instead of relying solely on a resistance heater. It must make a big difference since Tesla's added a heat pump to their Model Y.
 
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insightman said:
My Iconic SE came with 205/45R17 Hankook Ventus S1 EVO3 tires on the Power Spoke wheels (as if they had spokes). I drove my SE only a short 130 miles before taking it to the body shop for its scoop-ectomy, so I haven't had time (or courage) to test the Hankooks' limits yet. However, I like how resistant they are to squealing in corners. Silent propulsion and silent tires are the perfect combination for avoiding unwanted attention.
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Hi everyone! I'm a new member but have been trolling your forum for quite a while now. I finally got my car on September 29. Like you, insightman, I had the disappointment of having been told Germain was closing. I had to get my car from Moror City MINI. They were pleasant enough but it's a pain to drive all the way out there when I could just drive to Germain in 12 minutes. This thread is about tires though. The ones that came on my Iconic are Pirelli 205/45R17. I got the 16" Blizzaks on a silver spoke for winter from Tire Rack. I wanted the Michelin X- ice Snow but I could not find them in my size. I'm not sure how silent they'll be but I'll be happy if I can stay out of the ditch.
 
CARMIN said:
Hi everyone! I'm a new member but have been trolling your forum for quite a while now. I finally got my car on September 29. Like you, insightman, I had the disappointment of having been told Germain was closing. I had to get my car from Moror City MINI. They were pleasant enough but it's a pain to drive all the way out there when I could just drive to Germain in 12 minutes. This thread is about tires though. The ones that came on my Iconic are Pirelli 205/45R17. I got the 16" Blizzaks on a silver spoke for winter from Tire Rack. I wanted the Michelin X- ice Snow but I could not find them in my size. I'm not sure how silent they'll be but I'll be happy if I can stay out of the ditch.
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Congrats on getting your SE! I've had Blizzaks and will vouch for their ability to handle Michigan winters. I've always liked Pirelli tires and suspect they're likely to last longer than the Hankooks on my Power Spoke wheels, except that I won't be using those wheels and tires very much. I'm too paranoid about scraping off the Energetic Yellow stripe on a curb, so I'll be using other wheels most of the time. When I visited Motor City MINI, I thought they made MINI of Ann Arbor look small-time in comparison, but MINI of Ann Arbor was certainly more convenient. To get there I took Pontiac Trail north and then 10-Mile and 12-Mile Roads east to avoid the urban expressways and have a much more pleasant drive.
 
CARMIN said:
The ones that came on my Iconic are Pirelli 205/45R17. I got the 16" Blizzaks on a silver spoke for winter from Tire Rack.
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A new entry in the tire tally! Maybe we need a spreadsheet...

I've been using Blizzak run-flats on my MINI Clubman many winters now (I'm on my second set), they are very capable (but noisy) snow tires. Certainly a good choice for safe winter driving.
 
Puppethead said:
I am definitely interested in the Hakkapeliitta tires, since it seems Nokian is very EV-forward and Finland sure knows snow. From what I can find, though, the Hakkapeliitta R3s don't come in the right size, while the Hakkapeliitta 8s do come in the right size but seem to be studded only. Studs are banned on public roads in Minnesota, so no good for me.
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A possibility might be to get a tire that is a bit narrower and slightly taller profile - this is better for winter tires, and could give you tires that are very close to the right diameter. All tires from different makers vary a fair bit anyway.

If you err on the side of a slightly larger diameter, you will possible have a more accurate speedometer and odometer, actually. Most cars are 2-3% too fast and too many miles.

For the record, I am another fan of Nokian Hakka R3 winter tires; and we recently got Nokian eNTYRE 2.0 for our 2017 Bolt EV. They were significantly lower priced than the Michelin replacement (that are the version w/o the self-sealing goop inside the tread), and they have longer tread wear. They coast virtually as well as the stock Michelin tires, which are very good at this, actually.
 
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CARMIN said:
Thank you! I have the Pirelli Cinturato P7. I have no idea how they compare to Goodyears or Hankook.
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Pirelli Cinturato P7 is a summer tire thats available in the European market. We get the all season version of it here in the states. Be sure to change out into an all season/winter/all weather tire when temperature consistently drops below 45 degrees.
 
I had planned to put hakkapeliitta 8 studded on my mini when it arrives, but then I remembered I have a cheap 2002 ranger fx4 with good tires on it that I use in the winter for those rare occasions it does get icy/snowy around here (probably jinxing myself on this but hey, who doesn't like a freak snowstorm?)
 
insightman said:
Congrats on getting your SE! I've had Blizzaks and will vouch for their ability to handle Michigan winters. I've always liked Pirelli tires and suspect they're likely to last longer than the Hankooks on my Power Spoke wheels, except that I won't be using those wheels and tires very much. I'm too paranoid about scraping off the Energetic Yellow stripe on a curb, so I'll be using other wheels most of the time. When I visited Motor City MINI, I thought they made MINI of Ann Arbor look small-time in comparison, but MINI of Ann Arbor was certainly more convenient. To get there I took Pontiac Trail north and then 10-Mile and 12-Mile Roads east to avoid the urban expressways and have a much more pleasant drive.
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Thanks for the tip. I'll take back roads next time. If you're looking for a sweet drive you should get out to the Gregory area or go through Hell, Michigan that is :). The roads are nice and windy and perfect for Minis of all kinds.
 
CARMIN said:
Thanks for the tip. I'll take back roads next time. If you're looking for a sweet drive you should get out to the Gregory area or go through Hell, Michigan that is :). The roads are nice and windy and perfect for Minis of all kinds.
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There's no place like Hell.
 
Wow, great to see all the local Ann Arbor SE owners here! I just picked mine up from Motor City Mini two weeks ago. I was impressed with the service but yeah, it's a hike. Did anyone go back for the "second date"? Was it worth the time?

I'm trying to hold out and see if the new Michelin X-Ice Snow will come out in a size that fits the Mini. If not I looked at wheels on tire rack and found these Sport Edition A10-2 that are only 17 lbs.

https://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Whe...s+Black+Painted&showRear=no&packageFlow=false
 
I went back for the "second date". It's really not worth it but I did get a gift card for $25 to buy something in the gift shop. I got a long sleeved shirt that says Hail Mini (for Michigan fans of coarse). Otherwise, there isn't much to do. You could get some questions answered but pretty much everything you need to know is right here in this forum.
 
ScottIJ said:
I'm trying to hold out and see if the new Michelin X-Ice Snow will come out in a size that fits the Mini.
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I ordered a set of X-Ice tires at our local Discount Tire store yesterday. When I told them I wanted 195/55R16 tires, they told me they were special-order because only MINI Coopers use that size. They will go on the slightly used MINI Loop Spoke wheels I bought on ebay. I'd guess at this late date there won't be any new X-Ice tire sizes coming this year.
 
insightman said:
I ordered a set of X-Ice tires at our local Discount Tire store yesterday. When I told them I wanted 195/55R16 tires, they told me they were special-order because only MINI Coopers use that size. They will go on the slightly used MINI Loop Spoke wheels I bought on ebay. I'd guess at this late date there won't be any new X-Ice tire sizes coming this year.
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Another poster had mentioned that the X-Ice Snow (as opposed to the X-Ice 3) were new, and from the Michelin website these are not yet available in even many of the standard sizes. It was suggested they might still be ramping up production and those sizes might be available later this Fall. Fingers crossed.
 
Tire rack has the X-ICE snow in 205/55R16 now
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=X-Ice+Snow&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=055HR6XISXL
I did not check but Costco may have it too in that size. I've had Discount tire get me tires from Michelin even when they do not have it in stock with them

205 vs 195 is just 2% difference in diameter, ie within tolerance of ABS and other electronics. Not sure about the electric MINI but I've read on north american motoring forum that slightly larger diameter tires can correct ICE MINI's speedometer to show true speed.

Also, it has the second gen FleX-Ice™ 2.0 compound and full depth sipes that puts it ahead of the competition and its older version the XI-3.
 
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idrw said:
slightly larger diameter tires can correct ICE MINI's speedometer to show true speed
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Funny you mention that. I happen to live near a permanent speed radar sign, and each of the four previous MINIs I've owned (years 2008-2015) has read exactly 3 mph slower than actual speed. The car displaying 40 mph is really going 37 mph.

The SE, however, is dead-on exact with the speed reading, so 40 mph is actually 40 mph. I have measured the speed multiple times because I was so surprised the SE is different.
 
idrw said:
Tire rack has the X-ICE snow in 205/55R16 now

Also, it has the second gen FleX-Ice™ 2.0 compound and full depth sipes that puts it ahead of the competition and its older version the XI-3.
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My reason for selecting the X-Ice XI-3 was because members of Inside EVs' Clarity forum (our long-distance car is the Clarity PHEV in my avatar photo) claim the XI-3 is the quietest winter tire. I suspect the "Snow" or "FleX-Ice™ 2.0" would have more aggressive tread and not be quieter than the XI-3. I'm not one of the many who believe that a slightly skinnier tire makes a big difference in the suitability of a winter tire, so the wider 205/55R16 tires should be fine (but noisier).

The speedometer in our SE with the 205/45R17 Hankook tires also matches the radar-sign read-outs.
 
insightman said:
I'm not one of the many who believe that a slightly skinnier tire makes a big difference
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The idea, I believe, is narrower wheels act more like a "knife edge" to cut into the snow. I also don't think it makes that big of a difference, as a quality snow tire is going to do more for grip than the minor amount of force concentration from a slightly narrower wheel.
 
insightman said:
Thanks! My assumption that MINI would standardize on wheel widths was totally wrong. I had no idea MINI made a 5.5"-wide 16" rim. I mistakenly believed all MINI 16" wheels were 6.5" wide. Further investigation reveals that the 16" Revolite wheels for the SE are 7" wide and take 195/60R16 tires versus the 195/55R16 tires that go onto the 16", 6.5"-wide Loop Spoke wheels. I wanted another set of wheels to preserve my Power Spoke wheels and by sheer luck I picked up some used Loop Spoke wheels that will work with Michelin X-Ice tires.
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@insightman where did you get the info on the revolite's? I was looking at 225/50/16 width tires for the revolites but it needs a 7 inch wide wheel to work. Also, saw some close ups of revolites on facebook and they had 195/55/16's. Perhaps the 195/60's are for europe/asia?
 
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