33 replies to this topic

[CooperMad93]

Hello I'm just looking for opinions on which are the most reasonable tyres to put on a mini, i'll be bringing it out in spring but wont be going mad with it but would like a good level of grip, so in my magazine i'm looking at yoko's,  A032,  A008, A539   which of these is a good choice? 

[mini-geek]

What size wheels do you have?

[Zara]

I have 10 x 6 wheels on mine, use the car daily and have done track driving also, Yokohama A008's is what I'm using and wouldn't use anything else, the grip in both wet and dry conditions is unbelievable :)

[CooperMad93]

i've got 12" alloys, just noticed now the tyre sizes in the mag

[Sean C]

I have Falkons on the cooper and I wouldn't recommend them

[Kmonski]

I have Maxxis MAZ1's and they are brilliant! If you can get them for your wheel size i would highly recommend it 

Edited by Kmonski, 15 February 2014 - 12:20 PM.

[CooperMad93]

yeah i have falkens on mine atm and they are bloody awful worse than death

[HarrysMini]

i've got 12" alloys, just noticed now the tyre sizes in the mag

The A008s and A032s won't fit your wheels. They are for 10" wheels.

 

I would always recommend Yokos, wouldn't ever use Falkens out of choice, especially for 10s.

 

A539s are good, and A048Rs are even better. The latter are much more grippy and excellent in the wet, snow, and dry, however they do wear a lot quicker. If you are after a compromise, the A539s will last longer.

Edited by HarrysMini, 15 February 2014 - 12:31 PM.

[CooperMad93]

A539s sound just right for me it only gets driven in spring and summer so should last a fair while! 

[danie garry]

A539s sound just right for me it only gets driven in spring and summer so should last a fair while! 

 

yup, A539's are a perfect all round tire

[Tamworthbay]

i've got 12" alloys, just noticed now the tyre sizes in the mag

The A008s and A032s won't fit your wheels. They are for 10" wheels.
 
I would always recommend Yokos, wouldn't ever use Falkens out of choice, especially for 10s.
 
A539s are good, and A048Rs are even better. The latter are much more grippy and excellent in the wet, snow, and dry, however they do wear a lot quicker. If you are after a compromise, the A539s will last longer.

A048rs are certainly NOT excellent in the snow, unless you don't want to drive your mini. They are a road legal slick that are superb in dry conditions, ok in wet conditions but as bad as you can get in ice or snow. I use them on mine but I would not fit them to an all year round daily driver. A539s are much better suited to that role.

[HarrysMini]

 

 

i've got 12" alloys, just noticed now the tyre sizes in the mag

The A008s and A032s won't fit your wheels. They are for 10" wheels.
 
I would always recommend Yokos, wouldn't ever use Falkens out of choice, especially for 10s.
 
A539s are good, and A048Rs are even better. The latter are much more grippy and excellent in the wet, snow, and dry, however they do wear a lot quicker. If you are after a compromise, the A539s will last longer.

A048rs are certainly NOT excellent in the snow, unless you don't want to drive your mini. They are a road legal slick that are superb in dry conditions, ok in wet conditions but as bad as you can get in ice or snow. I use them on mine but I would not fit them to an all year round daily driver. A539s are much better suited to that role.

 

Are they not the same as A032Rs then? Because mine on 10s are surprisingly good in snow, as long as you drive responsibly, and I've heard others who have good reports of them in snow.

 

I'm sure actual snow tyres would be better though as the 032/048Rs rely a lot on heat for grip, of which there isn't much in snowy conditions.

[Tamworthbay]

i've got 12" alloys, just noticed now the tyre sizes in the mag

The A008s and A032s won't fit your wheels. They are for 10" wheels.
 
I would always recommend Yokos, wouldn't ever use Falkens out of choice, especially for 10s.
 
A539s are good, and A048Rs are even better. The latter are much more grippy and excellent in the wet, snow, and dry, however they do wear a lot quicker. If you are after a compromise, the A539s will last longer.

A048rs are certainly NOT excellent in the snow, unless you don't want to drive your mini. They are a road legal slick that are superb in dry conditions, ok in wet conditions but as bad as you can get in ice or snow. I use them on mine but I would not fit them to an all year round daily driver. A539s are much better suited to that role.

Are they not the same as A032Rs then? Because mine on 10s are surprisingly good in snow, as long as you drive responsibly, and I've heard others who have good reports of them in snow.
 
I'm sure actual snow tyres would be better though as the 032/048Rs rely a lot on heat for grip, of which there isn't much in snowy conditions.

They are hilariously bad, I have to admit to taking mine out to see how good/ bad they were and they are easily the worst tyres I have had on any car in the snow. But they are a wide (for a mini) low profile, minimum tread, summer compound tyre so why would they be any good? The bigger concern to me is their ice performance which is equally poor and far more likely to cause problems for most people. I used to get them from the importer before they got funny about supplying individuals and they use to send a spec sheet out which said they weren't suitable for use below 6degrees C. Not sure if that is on the website as well.

[Tamworthbay]

Some useful reviews here:

http://www.tyrerevie.../Advan-A048.htm

[HarrysMini]

I suspect it's more down to the fact a 10" tyre has a much taller profile than a 12", so that would help in snow. 

 

I have to admit, I don't use mine all year round. They go on in March and are illegal by November, at which time, I put my winter wheels with A008s on (at the moment they have Falkens on, which was a mistake). But when I tried them in the snow they were surprisingly good 

 

The 032/048R tyres are definitely better than the 008s in the wet though, as the latter don't have any water clearing jets on the outside, whereas the former do.

 

But back to the OP, 539s are an excellent all round tyre that will be good in dry and wet. You won't be disappointed with them.