Snow/winter tires for a Mini Cooper

[rrichar]

I am going to take my 2004 Mini Cooper to Park City, Utah this winter. I want to get a set of dedicated winter tires but I have no experience with snow tires. What brands and models do you recommend?

2004 MiniCooper S
17 inch rims 205 - 245 /45 sizes

[TimT]

Ive used Nokian for winter tires...

Nokian Hakkapeliitta theses are great

Ive also used their less aggressive tire.

Nokian WRG

These tires are a bit nosier than your average all season tires

[recycled sixtie]

I would rent a car for a different reason. I used to have an old style Austin Mini and I would think that there is not much clearance between the bottom of the car and the ground in a new Mini. After driving many low slung cars over the years the sensible choice is lots of clearance in snow country.

After many years of driving low slung cars in winter snow conditions is tantamount to like beating your head against a brick wall - yes it is hard.

How adventurous do you feel?
Cheers, Guy.

[rrichar]

Thanks for the recommendation on the Nokian tires. I was not aware of them, not surprising in that I live in Houston. I will look into them.

This will be a second car for the winter and summer in Park City. The roads around town are usually well plowed but you still run into snow and ice. The primary vechile is a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Which, by the way, I have learned to love as it replaced my aging 7 series BMW. The Jeep will be used in the worst of conditions but still don't want to be handicapped in the Mini with A/S tires.

Any other suggestions are appreciated.

[pavulon]

Have been running Michelin X-ice winters for several years now. No complaints at all. In the end, nearly any winter tire will put you leagues ahead of anyone running all seasons but would imagine lots of winter tires run around Park City every year. In regards to a '04 mini cooper and as mentioned earlier, I would be concerned about ground clearance if running on snow/ice- rutted or deep snow roads. Does anyone make a skid plate for that car? A used Subaru might be worth considering.

[ckelly78z]

Go for Bridgestone Blizzaks all the way around. I would go skinnier and taller than your Summer tires for ground clearance purposes, just be mindful that your speedo would read a little off because the circumference of your tires is larger.

Sometimes, tire stores won't mount tires that are the wrong size for the car, so go get yourself a set of steelie wheels, and take the wheels and tires to the store in your trunk for them to mount and balance.....you would then take them home and transfer them to your car.

[NY65912]

I'm running X-Ice3 on my Q5 and son's GLI, Nokians on my daughter's Jetta. Both are excellent.

[billybek]

Another Blizzak believer here.
Had some on my Golf and it turned that little car into a tractor.
Put them on the new Venza too. Only a bit of snow time on them but they seem great.

[VincentVega]

I swapped out the run flats for all season tired on my Mini and they work fine in the snow/ice. The limiting factor is ground clearance, not traction.

[speeder]

I'm just thrilled that we're talking snow tires here. Nothing more to add.

[David]

Blizzaks have worked great for me. I figured I was the only person in Houston with a set of snow tires

[imcarthur]

Another vote for Blizzaks. Great in snow, not too noisy in the dry.

Ian

[dedbird]

You really can't go wrong with either Blizzaks or Nokians. I run the Hakkapeliitta's on my wifes LR4 and daughters LR3. Awesome. I run Blizzak"s on my 10 Sierra and 13 GTI. Nokian's seem to do better on the heavier cars but I really like the Blizzak's on the GTI. Seems like the tire compound may be a little softer and gives better traction on the lighter cars. Anything heavier, Nokian's all the way.

[slimlynn1]

I put the Blizzak LM60 runflats on my wifes Mini 195/55R16, nice tire for the winter.

[jwasbury]

I ran Dunlop Winter Sports on our '06 Mini Cooper S. Too bad you're not closer, I am selling the complete whee/tire package because they don't fit over the brakes on the wife's new '13 Mini (John Cooper Works).



Edit - The Mini is virtually unstoppable in the snow with these tires.

[JJ 911SC]

Got these in 2010. Rim still look great and the tires are very good.

No they are not Blizzack but last a lot longer. Being retired she does not have to go out in a winter storm.

Mounted, balanced and delivered;

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

... from Tires Rack for $800 delivered in NY. Pirelli snow tire

[flipper35]

Another vote for the Blizzaks. Love them here in the upper midwest.

[Aragorn]

I have used Dunlop Graspic tires before on a small fwd car and it provided good traction in a normal Michigan winter.

I have used Bridgestone Blizzak tires on both a fwd minivan and Jeep GC and didn't have a problem either.

For a small car like a Mini I would go with either the Bridgestone or Dunlop winter series tires without a worry.