14 replies to this topic

[Small orange giraffe]

Hi all,

I'm a complete novice when it comes to cars, altho I love my mini to bits!!

Anyway mot is this month, and I need new tyres! Can you guys recommend some to me, as I know nothing about tyres, so have no clue what I'm looking for

I mainly use my mini for short about town trips and the occasional 80 miles motorway trips. I have two step-kids whom I ferry about quite a lot, so safety is key, whilst not spending a fortune on them (reckon my mini will need quite a bit done to get it thro its mot!)

Apparently my wheels are: 145/70 12 inch

Thanks!

[mini_dave]

A539's all the way! I used to run budget tyres then upgraded to these and the difference is unbelievable.

[Guess-Works.com]

If you have stock wheels either Steel or 4.5" alloys then 165's will need small spacers or they will rub...

IMO, if it's a standard mini in standard trim, and as you say isn't used for tear-ar**ing around the country, then stick to the 145x70 12's

If you can try and get hold of Falken Sincera's, Hankook or Bridgestone.... I find pirelli's are a waste of money...

You should be paying between 20 & 30 a tyre, fitting & disposal maybe on top of that...

Edited by GuessWorks, 05 March 2007 - 02:17 PM.

[Small orange giraffe]

A539's all the way! I used to run budget tyres then upgraded to these and the difference is unbelievable.

Thanks Dave.

Right I've had a look around on the net, am I missing something as i can't seem to find many tyres that are 145/70 12?

[TimS]

Thats because most are slightly wider and lower profile at 165/60/12. They will still fit your wheels but as quessworks says they will rub slightly if there are no spacers.

Edited by Flappyplasticbits, 05 March 2007 - 02:18 PM.

[Guess-Works.com]

If you do go for 165's then I remeber on a previous topic you were considering removing the arches, if you have then you'll have to put the arches back on... with the wheel spacers and extra width of the tyre they will stick out which is a no-no...

quick rundown from http://www.mytyres.co.uk/start.html

Jintong
Summer tyres JC1400
145/70 R12 69T * With mytyres.co.uk only £ 16.00

Linglong
Summer tyres LM A9
145/70 R12 69S With mytyres.co.uk only £ 16.40

Nankang
Summer tyres CX668
145/70 R12 69T CN * With mytyres.co.uk only £ 17.40

Asian manufacturer using innovative high performance technology
Toyo
Summer tyres 330
145/70 R12 69T * With mytyres.co.uk only £ 20.80

Fulda
Summer tyres Diadem Dirigo
145/70 R12 69T * With mytyres.co.uk only £ 21.90

Hankook
Summer tyres CENTUM K702
145/70 R12 69T 4PR * With mytyres.co.uk only £ 22.50

Falken
Summer tyres Sincera SN-828
145/70 R12 69S With mytyres.co.uk only £ 22.50

Ultra High Performance Tyres
Hankook
Summer tyres OPTIMO K715
145/70 R12 69T 4PR in preparation * With mytyres.co.uk only £ 22.50

Maxxis
Summer tyres UN-999
145/70 R12 69T * With mytyres.co.uk only £ 24.90

Bridgestone
Summer tyres B 390
145/70 R12 69S With mytyres.co.uk only £ 26.00

Edited by GuessWorks, 05 March 2007 - 02:26 PM.

[Small orange giraffe]

Thats because most are slightly wider and lower profile at 165/60/12. They will still fit your wheels but as quessworks says they will rub slightly if there are no spacers.

right ok - no idea what my wheels are (see complete newbie when it comes to cars, can you tell I'm a girl!), but here's a pic - I believe they are standard?

What are wheelspacers and can the tyre fitters fit them?

Attached Files

•  Jemima__s_mini_1.jpeg   35K   12 downloads

[Guess-Works.com]

Wheel spacers are like little plates which fit between the wheel and the hub ( what you connect the wheel to ) and move the wheel a little outwards..

Yes your wheels are standard ( pretty ones at that ) and with the arches, spacer and 165 tyres will improve not only the handling of the mini but also the looks considerably...

It's basically now down to your budget, and if you do change to 165's you'll be needing 4 tyres ( leave the spare as it is, but if you get a flat tyre on the front you'll need to swap a back wheel to the front so the same tyre is on both front wheels & replace the defective tyre ASAP )

the Yoko A539 ( as above ) is a superb tyre, but comes at a premium (when compared to the 145's) at somewhere around the 40-50 per tyre mark.. Another worth consideration is the FALKEN FK-06G which is an extreemly hard wearing tyre and gives good levels traction, and about a tenner cheaper than the Yoko.

Edited by GuessWorks, 05 March 2007 - 02:41 PM.

[taffy1967]

What a gorgious Mini you have, lovely colour too!

And you have pepperpot alloys which are probably 4.5"?

I have heard some people have got away with fitting 165/60x12 tyres and not suffered any tyre rubbing at the rear.

But if you do fit 165's and you find they are rubbing (on the rear radius arms or dampers or whatever? And the tyre fitter will be able to see if there is a problem if you ask them to check), then you should fit a pair of thin spacers on the rears but you will have to also fit slightly longer wheel studs too.

I doubt you're average tyre fitter would want to take you're hubs off to fit the longer wheel studs (and for gods sake don't go anywhere near Kwik-Fit because they don't know how to jack a Mini up properly never mind effecively work on one), but a good garage probably will.

I fitted the thin spacers and longer wheel studs to my Mini when I moved up to 165/60x12 tyres and I got the parts from Mini Sport. It's the standard Rover Cooper handling kit (I think it's called), which is similar to what John Cooper Garages were selling as part of their handling kit when fitting these tyres.

Edited by taffy1967, 05 March 2007 - 02:45 PM.

[Small orange giraffe]

Cool, thanks taffy & guessworks (and for your compliments! )

So I think I'll go with the A539's, get them fitted and if the tyre fitting person says they'll rub then is it ok for him to fit them and buy the spacers/longer wheel studs (£12.71 per pair from mini spares), and get them fitted later?

My mind is now slightly boggling! And I suspect your all having a smirk at my lack of knowlegdge

Thanks very much for your advice - no doubt I shall be on here asking more silly questions in due course!

[biggav]

That "Mytyres" is unbelieveable!!! i got 4 dunlop sp9000's less than half price of huddersfield mini spares.... they came on a lorry from germany and were free postage too!!!

P.S. Loving the Volcano Orange!!!!! i had a Brand new sportspack Cooper in 1996 in the same colour... God i miss that car!!!!!!!

Edited by biggav, 05 March 2007 - 03:57 PM.

[taffy1967]

My mind is now slightly boggling! And I suspect your all having a smirk at my lack of knowlegdge

Not at all and i've learned loads from the Mini Forum myself too. So don't be afraid to ask any questions regarding your Mini because that's part of the reason this forum exists. And we've all had to start somewhere, but it's great to be able to ask the advice of those who have been in the same boat and probably have the answer.

[biggav]

My mind is now slightly boggling! And I suspect your all having a smirk at my lack of knowlegdge

Not at all and i've learned loads from the Mini Forum myself too. So don't be afraid to ask any questions regarding your Mini because that's part of the reason this forum exists. And we've all had to start somewhere, but it's great to be able to ask the advice of those who have been in the same boat and probably have the answer.

and it looks to me like you have a fantastic start point with that car!!.... my first Mini was mostly rust!!!... there was some filler and Chicken Wire... but rust was about 94% of it.

[Small orange giraffe]

and it looks to me like you have a fantastic start point with that car!!.... my first Mini was mostly rust!!!... there was some filler and Chicken Wire... but rust was about 94% of it.

Woah, that sounds scary! Yes I love that colour, as soon as I saw my mini, I knew she was the one, even though I hadn't fully decided on a mini, twas love at first sight!

Thanks for all your advice guys

[minislapper]

I've used mytyres quite a few times. Can't fault them. Personally, if it's got 145/70/12's on now I would get the same again rather than the expense of fitting longer studs and spacers. As per the list above, it's not like there isn't a wide choice of tyres in that size. I used el-cheapo Camacs for years on my first mini without a problem, in all weathers. I've had Falkens on the last 2 minis and currently running some cheapo ones on my Skoda.