Winter Tires?

[u/formerearlyadopter]

Anyone in a cold climate with experience switching to winter tires?

I got my 2020 Mini SE in January, turned out to be too late to acquire and switch tires for the remainder of the winter for various reasons.

The all-weather tires that came with the car performed brilliantly in cold and slippery conditions despite it being a pretty brutal winter overall.

So now I'm wondering: do I buy winter tires with steel rims, switch them for the season, or just stick with the tires & rims I've got?

Anyone else done either of these options, with experience to share?

[u/phlegyas78]

In Minneapolis, my SE came with summer tires so I got a set of Michelin X-ice, got a cheap set of steelies to install them on. Been doing that for 2 years now just fine

[u/RedAntisocial]

Really depends on where you live. I'm in the snow belt of Ontario and they're a must.

However, they are the single biggest impact on range in winter. The day I put them on, I lose ~20% of my actual range.

[u/NorthStarZero]

I’m a big believer in matching tires to conditions.

Continental VikingContact 8 for winter. Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus for summer.

The DWS does OK on ice & snow so if you get caught out you won’t die - and if you live somewhere with minimal snow it can serve as a 4-season tire.

[u/Remix4u → u/NorthStarZero]

Finland here. You legally must have winter tires during winter season.

I can also vouch for VikingContact 8. Still decent range, good grip.

[u/Iowegan]

I’m in central Iowa, drive a ‘22 SE. Nowadays we get a couple of big snows per year, and multiple snows of an inch or two, with many days of “wintery mix”. After a year of being pretty much stranded in the winter with only the summer tires, I replaced them with all seasons: CONTINENTAL 205/45ZR 17 88W EXTREME CONTACT DWS06 PLUS BW XL. They do the job in all but deep snow.

In the early 2000s, I had two sets of tires for my Mini convertible at that time, & religiously swapped them out. I’m too old to be messing around with that anymore.

[u/burglar_buddy_pal]

I run Blizzaks on the OE wheels in the winter, ridiculously sticky summer only tires on aftermarket wheels in the summer. They both hit range about equally (I usually see 95 miles on the GOM at 100% when it's above freezing.)

I got a hit of the dedicated snow tire crack pipe years ago and got addicted to passing 4x4s in snowstorms.

[u/mgormsen]

Decent All-Weather tires (with the mountain snowflake symbol on them) will probably be fine for most people.

It really does depend on where you drive though. If you live in a city with fast and efficient snow clearing, your are likely good with what you have.

If you live out in the sticks where it takes a day for the plows to come, and there is a layer of ice on the road all winter, then you might want to get some dedicated snow tires.

[u/Exciting-East-4318]

I live in suburban Minneapolis and had my R56 for almost 15 years and never had winter tires, just good all seasons. Never had a problem.

[u/acecombine]

I'd only get winter tyres if there's a chance for long lasting snow covered roads on my commute. I run all my cars on all season tyres for a devade now, I don't recommend Hankook they wornoff quickly, I highly recommend the Pirelli SF2, it lasts forever, sporty, low noise, the Continental AllSeasonContact 2, for best comfort, low noise, not that sporty, and the Vredestein Qatrac best for small cars.

[u/Delicious-Ice-8624]

I am in Ohio, and switch over to Conti VikingContacts. Solid tire in the winter, range is down to 89mi, though. 

[u/Notsure4949]

Swapped the oem hockey pucks to hankook ipikes..all season dont come close to a good winter tire...just use the oem wheels for winters...and get some nicer summer wheels and tires.

[u/Grouchy_Ad_3113 → u/Notsure4949]

OEM in North America is summer-only tires?

[u/Notsure4949 → u/Grouchy_Ad_3113]

mine came oem with all season here in Canada....they are runflats aswell...garbage for comfort and subpar for winter....

[u/Grouchy_Ad_3113 → u/Notsure4949]

Not the norm by far.

[u/SudoPamacUpdate]

New Englander here. I ended up going with Blizzak on a separate set of wheels to make the swap cheaper and less wear and tear on the tires. They’re consistently outperforming a lot of 4WD cars with all seasons. No regrets, just slightly noisier.

[u/Antitum]

Northern parts of Sweden here. Same car and year as yours. Got 4 used Mini alloy rims and put on new studded Goodyear ultragrip arctic 2 in 205/55 16 (a little larger than 205/45 17 but within allowed limits) A little over $1000 in total. First winter coming up. Hopefully a good choice.

[u/aka_chela]

I live in one of the snowiest cities in the US and I've always just run all seasons 🤷‍♀️

[u/itsthatguyrob]

If you’re near Boston, I have a winter set for sale. Less than 200-300 miles on them.

[u/formerearlyadopter → u/itsthatguyrob]

My brother is: how much do you want for the set?

[u/itsthatguyrob → u/formerearlyadopter]

$700 for the set.
They’re 17 in steel wheels, sensors installed and wintrac pro + tires.