Ask MF: Snow Tire Recommendations
So you have a MINI. You got the Sport pack and thought performance tires were a good idea. Then it snowed and you almost died. What should you do? That’s the question that prompted this week’s Ask MF sent in by Scott:
>I have a 2006 MCS with the sport package and performance runflats I just bought used and I need some recommendations on snow tires to get me through winter. I’m in western Michigan so I really need some dedicated snows rather than all-seasons. Any suggestions?
Blizzak, Nokian, Dunlop and Michelin all make solid snows for the MINI. There some versions that do better in deep snow and some that are more performance oriented. It would seem you need something that gears towards rather than performance due to where you’re located and the amount of snow I remember getting growing up not far from there. Because of that I’d start with taking a look at the Nokian and Blizzak line-up first.
But what else is out there? Lets hear it in the comment section below.
I have an 05 Cooper S with sports suspension and I run Toyo Observe winter only tires.They don’t make 205 45 17 so I run 215 45 17. They are fantastic. I have two friends who run the same tire but have 16″ wheels and narrower tires. Both are Cooper S’s with sport suspension. If I had it to do over, I would go with the 16″ wheels and tires that are narrower because they get better traction than my wider 17’s, and don’t get as much road debris on the car. All three of us run our cars all winter and we have over 60″ of snow on the ground at the moment!
05 Cooper S with sports suspension here too. In the winter I slap on 195/60R15 Blizzaks on black steel wheels. lots of fun to drive in the snow!
Just curious, anyone have experience in the snow with the all-season Run Flats that are an option? I ordered them on my 09, knowing I would be moving up north in a few years. I swapped the tires and rims out for performance non-runflats,(I live in Florida presently) but kept the all seasons for later, after I move. Might I want to look at other options also? (Snow will most certainly be present)
Since I run non-RF’s I chose the Pirelli Snowsport 240’s in std 17″ size. While I haven’t tied the Blizzaks, I find that the Pirelli’s do well in the ice and snow and still perform well in the dry.
I second the Pirelli SnowSport 240s in the MINI-spec 205/45R17 size.
The nice thing is that they are available BOTH in non-runflats and also in runflats. I personally like runflats, so that’s what I bought (although they are a bit more than the non-RF version)
I think that these tires are perfect for areas of the country that get “some snow” but not “mountains of snow”, because they really do perform quite well in the dry (MUCH better than some of the more hardcore winter tires like Blizzaks). Added bonus – they last longer on dry pavement too as they don’t run a super-soft compound (again, like Blizzaks)… but they are still far superior to all-seasons in the snow. (Bruce – hate to tell you, but all-seasons are always a compromise. They never hold a candle to real snow tires when the white stuff falls. Much better than summer performance tires, of course… but I still don’t consider them very safe to use in anything more than a dusting. My opinion only.)
I live in the Washington DC area, which probably only gets 5 or 6 snows per winter, generally measured in inches, not feet. Pirelli SnowSports are ideal here since much of winter driving is still on (cold) dry pavement. I would probably buy a different snow tire if I lived in the snow belt or in Canada, where snow is far more frequent and heavy.
On my 05 MCS, I have 15″ non-branded Firestone Winterforce tires mounted on “steelies” that have worked out well here in SE Michigan.
Thankfully I don’t need these type tyres out here in SoCal but I have been checking into earthquake treads…. 😉
Nokian Hakkapeliitta. The best you’ll find.
i know it’s only an all season, but i’m running on kuhmo ecsta asx right now in michigan snow. it works pretty decently in light to medium snow, and i’m extremely cautious when treading snow in this car, and it’s parked when the snow gets bad. it helps that we have a big old 4wd explorer for when the weather get really nasty, but so far the ecsta asx has served me decently well
well i saved a ton of dough with the Hankooks at Tire Direct and they hold better than the Michelin Alpins I used to have. And they wear better, too. on 15″ holies”.
195/60R-15 Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60 on 15×6.5 Sport Edition F2 wheels purchased just for the winter. The money saved downsizing to 15s for the winter almost paid for the wheels over buying 17″ snows and having them dismounted/mounted once.
205/55/16 WINTERFORCE. my MINI was an absolute snow machine! and they are very reasonably priced too. I found myself pushing snow down the road with my lower grill.
After years of running all-season tires on my 03 Cooper S, last year’s 100+ inches of snow convinced me to try winter tires. The Farmer’s Almanac threat of 130 inches of snow for this winter was just an added incentive. I ordered a set of General tires from Tire Rack, and popped them on very quickly. They are performing very well! In fact, I even did a flying road-trip to the DC area and back (in a weekend), driving through freezing drizzle there and snow on the way back with no problems. I was able to pass those ungainly SUVs easily.
I went with the 15 inch wheel for economy, rather than the more expensive 16 inch wheel I usually run. The Generals inspire lots more confidence than my summer Michelins. Too early to tell about wear.
>I think that these tires are perfect for areas of the country that get “some snow†but not “mountains of snowâ€, because they really do perform quite well in the dry (MUCH better than some of the more hardcore winter tires like Blizzaks).
Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you look at it) Western Michigan gets a ton of snow so he’ll likely want something more on the extreme snow side of things.
Blizzaks on steelies for my MCS. Which is the same combo I got for my wife’s Mazda 3. Also, this is in Western New York. You know, home of Buffalo and Niagara Falls. So we know snow and snow drifts.
But as for the standard runflats, the first year I had my MINI, they were O.K., but by the second year, they were rather dangerous. The main problem I’ve always find,(even with snowtires) is that the power to weight ratio is so nice, it can be hard to get the inital traction.
second Nokian Hakkapeliitta
size 185/65/15
go smaller, taller sidewall, skiny tire
Mine are studded
If anyone is looking to get a new car anytime soon, order one with the LSD.
I am using Goodyear Eagle F1 all seasons which actually work pretty good or crappy depending on what kind of snow. In wet/icy weather you will need to go up a few steep driveways backwards to get the job done. As the snow gets deeper, they seem to work better. If the snow is more powdery instead of wet, they also work better. However there is no compromise to the performance of a snow tire. If you are looking for an all season, an Eagle F1 makes a great all around tire that is actually great in the wet/dry, and more than satisfactory in the snow. You will be passing H2’s on snowpacked roads, as I enjoyed doing on multiple occassions!
I have hankook snow tires on my ’08 MC and we have had 66″ of snow on the ground so far this winter. I’ve been keeping her garaged mostly due to concerns about ground clearance, but when the roads are freshly plowed I get better traction on the roads than many of the 4wd vehicles I’ve seen driving around with all seasons. For any area where you will be driving in snow on a daily basis for more than a month or so, I think that it is important to have a dedicated snow tire.
06 Cooper with a Cooper S front bumper. I run stock 15″ in the winter with all season tires. Philadelphia doesn’t get all that much snow, but I’ve been fine driving with that setup for the last few years. I’ve made a few trips to the mountains both in PA and VT for skiing, no problems. Another top recommendation is to make sure you know how to drive in the snow.
I have and ’06 MSC with sport package and replace my run flats with Goodyear F-1 Eagle All Season Performance tires a little over a year ago and couldn’t be happier. We have had a lot of snow in Minnesota this winter and with LSD and DCS I’ve been able to get around very well. These have been so far a good year round tire for me and I would recommend these tire for anyone living in a climate that has snow and want performance in the summer.
After 3 winters in Minnesota, I decided better traction was needed. As I run 15″ holies on All Season Conti’s, I bought a second set of white holies and had them mounted with 175/65R-15 Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60’s. Very quiet on dry pavement and superior traction on snow and ice! MINI’s love the snow!!
<blockquote>Bruce Jan 4th, 2009
Just curious, anyone have experience in the snow with the all-season Run Flats that are an option? I ordered them on my 09, knowing I would be moving up north in a few years. I swapped the tires and rims out for performance non-runflats,(I live in Florida presently) but kept the all seasons for later, after I move. Might I want to look at other options also? (Snow will most certainly be present) </blockquote>
Bruce, I am currently on factory all-season run flats on my ’08 Cooper w/sport suspension. I live in suburban Chgo and have experienced everything from deep snow through icy slush with little trouble. I’d suggest switching to the all-seasons when the weather threatens. Take it easy on the throttle and you’ll be fine.
I’ve also got Nokian Hakkapeliitta Rs in 185/65/15, on Team Dynamics Pro Race 1 wheels on my ’06 MCS. I converted to 15″ wheels a few years ago and haven’t looked back. Both tires and wheels are cheaper (sometimes lots cheaper), and ride’s better, and Rauno Aaltonen says they get better grip. 😉 I don’t drive my MINI much in the snow, but I knew I’d need something pretty serious for this year’s [Tour du Nord](<a href="http://www.mini2.com/forum/new-york-new-england-region/164807-feb-2009-tour-du-nord-v-time-its-personal.html" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.mini2.com/forum/new-york-new-england-region/164807-feb-2009-tour-du-nord-v-time-its-personal.html</a>). I drove from Southern NH to Burlington, VT this week in a snow storm and the tires did absolutely fantastic. Since they’re not run-flats, I just threw another mounted tire in the back (conveniently one of my old snow tires); the best way to ward off a flat is to be prepared for it!
I generally think of all season tires as being bad in all seasons. For some they’re a necessary evil, but if you can, I highly recommend picking up a set of winter and summer tires. You’ll enjoy the car so much more!
I had Blizzak WS-50’s on my ’04 Cooper S Sport. They were fantastic on the snow, super on ice, poor on dry pavement and downright treacherous in the rain. Seriously, it’s amazing the car lived through that winter (which was pretty rainy). Again, though, they were pretty amazing in the snow, transforming the car into a viable snow transport…with a LSD the car would have been perfect (OK, better, AWD would make it perfect).
One other note on the WS-50’s…they had a terrible habit of expanding at high speed, so the center of the front tires wore very quickly. It wasn’t an inflation issue, it was speed related expansion…turns out that they didn’t think very highly of speeds close to 100mph, even though they were supposedly rated for it.
06 MCS running 205/45R17 Pirelli SnowSport in Wisconsin and loving getting everywhere we would like to go when ever we set out. On the All Season tire question, a month ago I put a set of the new Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus 225/45ZR17 tires on the VW GTI and they seem to be performing very well. Oh and I have a job which requires us to be there 24×7 no matter what the weather is.
I put the Dunlop winter tires on my ’06 MCS two years ago and the ride was smooth and the handling excellent. In fact, I liked the handling so much that I left them on over the summer. The only drawback was that they got noisy after about 20K miles.
Living in Minneapolis, I highly recommend running Blizzak LM25 snow tires. My new 2008 MINI Cooper S came with 17″ all season run flats. Those all season run flats are like bald tires on ice. I put the Blizzaks on and now my little MINI is like a snow plow. Well, not quite that good, though it’s a night and day difference. I had a 2007 Cooper S that I drove the first season with those all season run flats on. They were a terror to say the least and I’ve driven in our harsh winter climate for 30 years. This is my first set of snow tires and I’m now a firm believer that if you live here in the Midwest, snow tires are a must, especially on the MINI. I have to say, this is probably the best winter driving I’ve done. They grip that slimmy greasy slick brown snow without sliding around corners, they take off really well from a stop and I can actually stop with them. The first time out last year with the all seasons, I slide right on through the first stop sign… that was a lonnnnng winter. Now I drive my MINI with confidence in the snow and ice. Well worth the money. I also recommend having a second set of rims. I put the all seasons on a nice set of chrome rims, and put the Blizzaks on the rims the car came with… Just swap them in the spring when temps reach 45.
If you can find them, Nokian makes their Hockey-pucks under their “non-name-brand” brand of Nordman. Not sure about MINI-sizes, but they have been excellent tires for my BMWs in New England winters.
Snow! What’s snow! 🙂
Another vote for the Blizzak WS-50 and Revo 1. They are hardcore snow tires, and may seem like a bit much, but that feeling quickly disappears during an ice storm – you’ll be glad you have them. I am now running my second full set on my 03 MCS. Be diligent in checking the treads since they do lose grip significantly below a certain trad level.
Best bang for the buck: Pirelli SnowControl 190’s mounted on 15″ holies or steelies.
And a canadian viewpoint… Nokian Hakks are the way to go for the OP since MI gets some pretty serious snowfall. Sizing the tire narrower on a smaller diameter rim is always a good idea, as others above have mentioned. It is narrow Hakks that got me through several Ottawa winters in my miata (which actually makes a pretty good winter ride with exception of the less than 4″ of ground clearance on a modded one like mine).
Having said that, my JCW is running on Pirelli Snowsport 240s in stock 17″ sizing since winter is nowhere near as severe in southwestern Ontario. These tires grip quite impressively in the dry and have fairly stiff sidewalls (V-rated) so don’t give you that “flopping over” feeling that many winter tires do. They work quite well in snow as others have reported. However, for truly deep snow a narrower tire and more aggressive snow tread pattern would of course be optimal.
Finally, several of my friends dealing with “real winter” in Ottawa are now swearing by the Hankook IPike RC01. Inexpensive, readily available (sold even by good old Canadian Tire) and very good grip is what they are saying.
As well, as an example of legislative common sense, Quebec recently passed a law that requires all cars registered in that province to run winter tires on all 4 wheels after November 15th of each year. Sadly, an analogous bill was just defeated in Ontario.
<blockquote> Best bang for the buck: Pirelli SnowControl 190’s mounted on 15″ holies or steelies. </blockquote>yep!
Skinny & tall cuts through the snow,- using weight to get more tread on the pavement.
Although on “closeout”, tirerack still has the 175/65/15 190’s for just $57:
snowcontrols
I’m running Nexen Eurowins 185/60/15 on Mangel Allow wheels. The set was extremely inexpensive and have worked great for 3 winters now. I also have a set of cable chains in case I get stuck, but have never had to use them.
Only problem with our MINIs is the front air dam is very low. The noise of the plastic front airdam snow plowing the center humps between the tire ruts is somewhat disconcerting.
Pirelli Snowsports= <b>Thumbs up. </b>
I put them on the 17″ S-Lites for winter driving (bought the run flat version–no one wants to change a tire in a blizzard) and bought summer shoes on OZ Forgiatta wheels
The Pirellis are so much better in the Utah snow than the run flats.
Ground/Snow clearance is the only issue now.
But when the roads are dry in winter, the Pirellis still perform well
General Tire Altimax Arctic 185/65/15….I love these tires on my 05 MCS….great price, high quality (Made in Germany)and great all around performance even in the dry. The side walls are soft but that is to be expected for the profile. I have them mounted on a 10Lb Konig Helium wheel and enjoying the benefits associated with reducing reciprocating mass!
I have an 08 MCS with 16″ wheels. Does anyone know if there is a brake clearance problem if I were to run 15″ wheels with snows? Thanks!
Anyone with winter tires on their ’08 Clubman S?
I am running Vredestein Wintrac Extreme RF this winter and while they do not have the snow and ice capabilities of the Nokians that I ran on my GTI last year, they are much more highway speed friendly.
Of note, they are RF (205/45-17) and their sidewall has absolutely no give, hence the ride is quite punishing.
Had them previously (non-RF) on my Volvo S60R and found them to be great at highway speeds and worth the money.
Blizzaks WS-60’s on 15″ steelies. Done well so far. Note the break-in for the first 100 miles or so, feel squirmy until then.
I have a 2008 MCS Convertible with a factory installed Limited Slip Differential running goodyear 17 inch Goodyear 205/45R17 84V tyres, and do not have many problems on snow or ice.
With the Limited Slip Differential I can go up ice and snow covered hills with ease – It’s almost like I have a 4 wheel drive SUV.
I would not have any car without Limited Slip Differential – It makes all of the difference in the world
No need to limit yourself to run-flats. Store a MINI compact spare in that useless back seat.
The compact spare will clear the brakes on the rear wheels, but not on the front.
Since you should never put a compact spare on the front of a FWD car, it does not matter.
If you have a front flat, you need to put the compact spare on a rear wheel, and move the full sized rear tire to the front.
Another vote for the Nokian Hakkas. Best snow tire I have ever used.
I had the unique opportunity to compare some brand new BFG Traction T/A all seasons, mounted on an Audi A4 Quattro, against some three season old Nokian Hakkapeliitta 2 studded snow tires, mounted on a 2006 MCS with LSD. In 3″-4″ of sloppy wet snow that had been packed by traffic but not plowed or sanded, they both accelerated about the same with maybe a slight edge going to the AWD. Under braking or turning it was all in favor of the snow tires. It wasn’t even close.
I recommend if you live where it snows, you own it to yourself to get some proper snow tires. It could save your life.
Nokian RSi if you want some perf; Hakappallita (sic) if you need max snow traction.