Ditching the runflats, options? (F56)

[Hammy98]

Hi all,

Looking to ditch the runflats on my f56 as the fronts are down to 3mm.

As of right now it has Pirelli P7 Cinturatos all round. As I've said, the fronts are down to 3mm although the backs are about 5mm. The Pirellis are fine in the dry but can be pretty skittish in the wet at low speed, the ride over bumps is also pretty jarring...

So far I've been recommended Rainsport 3s, but after reading reviews for Yoko Ad08rs I'd quite like to try them. Does anyone run the Yokos over winter? I know they're a bit more track focused but I tend to calm it down a bit in the wet anyway as a quick squeeze of the throttle with the Pirellis leaves me sliding down the camber of the road.

I'm probably going to replace the fronts first then the backs a few weeks later to spread the cost a little, selling on the Pirellis too.

Current size is 205/40/r18 but the Pirellis look stretched at the sidewalls, 7 inch wide wheels. I'd like to go 215/40/r18 as this seems to open up more options than the 205s. Would going up again to 215/45/r18s cause issues? quite like the idea of a little more profile to sort the ride out.

So basically, tyre recommendations, thoughts on AD08Rs and Rainsport 3s, and upping sizes.

Cheers!

[Hammy98]

Just saw the other thread by the chap with the GP2 and seems to be some positive thoughts on the AD08rs for all year round. So mainly looking for pointers on upping the sizes, suggestions on other options still welcome though.

[N0ddie]

Apparently "some" 215 wide tyres get very close to touching the shock absorber.

[Hammy98]

N0ddie said:

Apparently "some" 215 wide tyres get very close to touching the shock absorber.

Ahh I see, main reason I was wanting to go up a size was more choice, doesn't seem to be a great deal about in 205s.

[Speed 3]

I have an R56 S and recently put a set of Rainsport 3's on it after reading all the great reviews. Very happy with them so far, doesn't seem to scrabble for grip like the old tyres did (down to about 4mm by the time I decided on a change - Hankook/Firestone mix). Haven't driven it in really biblical conditions yet but its very sure-footed in moderate rain and dry as you'd expect.

The problem with picking tyres is you can't hand them back if you don't like them so to a great degree its a leap of faith or trust in others. I bought these online from Germany and had my local specialist fit them for about £90 a corner total.

Edited by Speed 3 on Friday 6th October 08:36

[Hammy98]

Speed 3 said:

I have an R56 S and recently put a set of Rainsport 3's on it after reading all the great reviews. Very happy with them so far, doesn't seem to scrabble for grip like the old tyres did (down to about 4m by the time I decided on a change - Hankook/Firestone mix). Haven't driven it in really biblical conditions yet but its very sure-footed in moderate rain and dry as you'd expect.

Edited by Speed 3 on Tuesday 3rd October 13:40

I've been weighing up the rainsports after - like yourself - reading all the great reviews. My car is on the 18s though so I'm struggling to find them in the right size - either 205/40/r18 or 215/40/r18.

[Speed 3]

Hammy98 said:

Speed 3 said:

I have an R56 S and recently put a set of Rainsport 3's on it after reading all the great reviews. Very happy with them so far, doesn't seem to scrabble for grip like the old tyres did (down to about 4m by the time I decided on a change - Hankook/Firestone mix). Haven't driven it in really biblical conditions yet but its very sure-footed in moderate rain and dry as you'd expect.

Edited by Speed 3 on Tuesday 3rd October 13:40

I've been weighing up the rainsports after - like yourself - reading all the great reviews. My car is on the 18s though so I'm struggling to find them in the right size - either 205/40/r18 or 215/40/r18.

Yup, I'm on 17's and this is the available size table off their website for 18's:




Looks like you might have to go down to 35's or up to 45's to get them in a 215. 35's would probably still ride better than runflats tho'. Not sure if 45's on 18's would cause interference.

[Hammy98]

Never thought about going down to 35s, the 40s are pretty thin as it is and the roads round my way aren't the greatest.

Black circles have 215/40r18 AD08Rs in stock as of yesterday, got an email from them. Thinking of going for it but looking at the tread pattern they reeaaally don't look like they'd like standing water.

Edited by Hammy98 on Wednesday 4th October 11:53

[turbojay555]

Put 2 rainsport 3"s on the front of my r53 mcs about a thousand miles ago. Transformed it after having run flats on for a year. Lot better in the dry and brilliant in the wet.

Mine were the xl ones as well which is a harder sidewall I believe. Would definitely recommend these.

[Hammy98]

turbojay555 said:

Put 2 rainsport 3"s on the front of my r53 mcs about a thousand miles ago. Transformed it after having run flats on for a year. Lot better in the dry and brilliant in the wet.

Mine were the xl ones as well which is a harder sidewall I believe. Would definitely recommend these.

Going to have a look out for them, everyone whos had them has nothing but good things to say. Cheers

[df76]

The rainsports are at the opposite end of the road tyre spectrum as compared to ad08s (unless you track the car, difficult to justify given the need to be careful in the wet). I enjoyed the rainsports on another car through the winter, but they are soft even in XL form.

Recently had to put some falken fk510s on the front on the mini due to a puncture drama. They weren't expensive and I was a little apprehensive, but considering the price they're proving to be great in all conditions.

[Hammy98]

df76 said:

The rainsports are at the opposite end of the road tyre spectrum as compared to ad08s (unless you track the car, difficult to justify given the need to be careful in the wet). I enjoyed the rainsports on another car through the winter, but they are soft even in XL form.

Recently had to put some falken fk510s on the front on the mini due to a puncture drama. They weren't expensive and I was a little apprehensive, but considering the price they're proving to be great in all conditions.

Hmmm, I might need to have a rethink then. The pirelli's on the front just now are looking a little crumbly around the shoulders, and I check the pressures religiously so I think it might be my driving. Didn't realise how soft the rainsports were.

[Hammy98]

Ended up going for Pilot Super Sports in 205/40 r18 for anyone who's interested. Being fitted on Friday so hoping to see a big difference.

[therainking]

Would be interested in hearing how you get on with the Michelins once you've clocked up a few miles.

I'm in a similar position at the moment, Pirelli runflats getting close to the end of their life and keen to try something else.

Torn between the super sports non runflat and the Dunlop sport maxx runflats. Not much choice really in 205/40 size and not sure about going wider as I'm running the JCW coilovers and clearance looks minimal.

Have you just added a can of tyre weld and a compressor into the boot just in case?

My old r56 cooper s was on continental non runflats and inspired huge confidence and to be honest was probably more fun than the JCW on the Pirellis. Hoping that ditching the runflats might improve the car considerably so interested to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Cheers
John

[Goatex]

Replaced the Pirelli run flats with MPSS on our F56 Cooper S and the difference was immediately noticeable. Improved grip, steering feel, ride and refinement - definitely money well spent. Ours is on 17s though, not 18s, but would be surprised if don’t notice a similar improvement.

[GaryF]

Hi guys,

I've had two sets of Michelin Pilot Super Sports on my JCW Coupe. I replaced the original Continental run flats that came on it from the factory back in 2011. Perhaps run flats have come on since then, but I found them to be abysmal.

What can I say? The difference is absolutely phenomenal. Areas that are significantly improved :-

- Braking over broken surfaces (no more ABS lockup)
- Traction out of corners
- Getting the power down in the wet
- Overall feel and and security
- Handling limits now dramatically improved

I can't tell you just what an improvement it actually is in plain words - it is in fact like driving a different car that now handles, goes and stops like it should.

The Super Sports will be replaced by Pilot Sport 4S now in the Michelin lineup, but I had no probs getting a pair of Super Sport fronts earlier this year. I'm sure the replacement Pilot Sport 4S will be just as good ,but I can't speak from experience (though I do have Pilot Sport 4 (not S) on my other car as they did not do the Super Sport in that size and it was before the 4S version was available.

Happy gokarting!

[Hammy98]

Hi all,

Just a quick update as I've put 1k on the Michelins.

First impressions were vastly improved wet grip over the Pirellis. The steering doesn't feel as 'pointy' however I do prefer this over the feel of the Pirellis, the car tends to dart about less over bumps and undulations in the road surface.

Over the 1k miles they've been on the car I've felt much more confident in exploring its limits. With my previous set of tyres jabbing the throttle mid corner to coax the back end out was met with understeer - completely different story with the Michelins. The only understeer I've experienced so far was when deliberately pushing it on a wet roundabout seeing where the levels of wet grip were (very high). The Michelins aren't fazed by standing water either which is something I wasn't expecting from a 'summer' tyre. The largest improvement is as expected - much improved ride quality. I can't stress enough how much of a difference there is after ditching the runflats, the car feels much more planted. i'm no longer dodging bumps in the road like my life depends on it!

[df76]

Hammy98 said:

The only understeer I've experienced so far was when deliberately pushing it on a wet roundabout seeing where the levels of wet grip were (very high). The Michelins aren't fazed by standing water either which is something I wasn't expecting from a 'summer' tyre. The largest improvement is as expected - much improved ride quality. I can't stress enough how much of a difference there is after ditching the runflats, the car feels much more planted. i'm no longer dodging bumps in the road like my life depends on it!

Great to hear how much better these are. Tbh, much of the design of a "summer" tyre is really focused on its wet weather capabilities. When you read the reviews, there isn't usually too much between how normal road tyres perform in the dry. Cheaper summer tyres can be really poor in the wet (which is why the Rainsport is so popular as it bucks that trend).

We have two R56 minis at the moment, my Cooper S on decent "normal" 17" tyres, and the Cooper sits on old 16" runflats. The Cooper S is by far the nicer ride.

[Hammy98]

df76 said:

Great to hear how much better these are. Tbh, much of the design of a "summer" tyre is really focused on its wet weather capabilities. When you read the reviews, there isn't usually too much between how normal road tyres perform in the dry. Cheaper summer tyres can be really poor in the wet (which is why the Rainsport is so popular as it bucks that trend).

We have two R56 minis at the moment, my Cooper S on decent "normal" 17" tyres, and the Cooper sits on old 16" runflats. The Cooper S is by far the nicer ride.

The difference really is night and day coming from runflats. I hear you on the summer tyres point, I think my prejudices came from previous experiences of cheaper brands so I was dubious of going with a summer tyre over all-seasons. The only way I could see to improve the current setup would be a set of Michelin Cup 2s for the summer and a set of winters on smaller wheels to deal with the potholes that come with the colder weather, there's always next year for that though.

[GaryF]

Hammy98 said:

Hi all,
..I can't stress enough how much of a difference there is after ditching the runflats, the car feels much more planted. i'm no longer dodging bumps in the road like my life depends on it!

That was an important point I omitted from my list of improvements and I totally agree - the runflats felt like they were made of wood.