Tires (Summer/Winter/All-Season)

You should look into the new Michelin X-ICE SNOW. They are the newest snow tires from Michelin and should be available in more sizes by late October. Internal testing shows it beats all its competitors by some margin. They also have 9% less rolling resistance than the already super efficient X-ICE XI3. I see it listed on costco and tirerack

I am also looking into Michelin pilot sport all season 4 as the all season choice if I decide against a dedicated winter tire set.

 

Big fan of the Nokian Hakkapeliitta series... can be found in factory studded or non. Been putting them on all my cars since I lived in Austria for a time and have loved them every winter... great in both snow and ice.

 

Did you spell Hakkapeliitta from memory? I've used them for years and always fail when trying to spell them. I purchased some slightly used 16" MINI Loop Spoke wheels for winter use and I'm thinking I will skip the Hakappelts and get the easier to spell Michelin X-Ice winter tires. Some people on the InsideEVs Clarity forum claim they're quieter than other winter tires.

 

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.

 

I would be lying if I said yes

 

Hakkapeliitta, Hakkapeliitta, Hakkapeliitta. I don't think it's just my age that keeps me from being able to spell it because it's not spelled like anything else I've ever tried to memorize. I thought I was cool when as I kid I memorized pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis because it out-lengthened andisestblishmentarianism, then my sister learned to spell it backwards.

We just sold our 3rd and last Insight with the Bridgestone Blizzaks it wore in winter (well, and this summer too, while I kept thinking my MINI Cooper SE was coming any day). The Blizzaks have a great name that is much easier to spell than those Nokian tires and they also work well in the snow.

So my experience is that every brand of winter tire I've tried blows away the all-weather tires that come with the cars I've owned. Whenever I have any kind of close call turning or stopping in the snow, I thank my winter tires and congratulate myself for buying tires that prevented having to take my car to the body shop or anyone's body (including mine) to the hospital. Winter tires are well worth the cost and trouble in Michigan IMO.

I had an extended argument (something I work hard to avoid) on another forum about whether front-wheel drive with snow tires is safer than rear-wheel drive with snow tires. I stopped responding after showing a picture of the 1965 Monte Carlo-winning Mini Cooper back before anyone believed front-wheel drive could excel in the snow. The other commenter claimed adamantly that nothing is better than rear-wheel drive in the snow except all-wheel drive.

 

...That's an interesting false-reality they have there... (grew up driving a 1979 Thunderbird in the mountains with studded snow tires and my honda civic equipped friends would run circles around me in the ice and snow... the only advantage I had was being able to do burn-outs and throw sparks from the studs at them - ah youth)

 

I just discovered how limited the selection of 205/45R17 winter tires is. That makes me glad I bought the used 16" Loop Spoke wheels for the winter months. In the 195/55R16 size, Discount Tire has the studless Hakkapeliitta R3 tires you want ($164) and the Michelin X-ICE IX3 tires I want ($139).

 

I have always found going a bit narrower on winter tires helps in making sure you have a good contact pattern/amount of weight over a given surface area.

 

Thanks for pointing out the new SNOW. I've been looking into the X-ICE3 and even with those it looks like they don't come in a size that fits the Mini OEM wheels, especially in the 16" size. Does anyone have any recommendations for wheels to go with either of these new tires that fit the Cooper SE?

 

You can go to https://www.tirerack.com, plug in which vehicle you have, and build a winter wheel + tire set that will fit. This is my plan, and I'll go for some lightweight 16" wheels.

Which 16" OEM wheels do you have? If they're 16"x6.5", 195/55R16 tires should fit. Both the Michelin X-ICE XI3 and Continental VikingContact 7 are available in that size.

 

I have the Revolites, which you can't buy yet, but I really like the look of the standard mini 16" black spoke tires, and those require a different tire size that Michelin doesn't make for the X-Ice line it appears. I guess I'll have to look at aftermarket ones as well.

 

I just heard yesterday from my local Mini dealer that they should be available some time in October.

 

If not 195/55R16 tires (Tire Rack has the Michelin X-Ice XI3 tires in this size), what size tire is required for the Revolites? It seems MINI would have all their 16" rims accept the same tires to simplify mass-ordering and stocking.

 

MINI offers 2 different 16" winter wheel and tire packages.

1. The 16"x6.5" Style 494 Loop Spoke and 195/55R16 tires.
2. The 16"x5.5" Style 508 Radial Spoke and 175/60R16 tires.

I suspect Scottj is referring to the second one.

 

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.