205 45 17 non XL tyres

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DJ
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205 45 17 non XL tyres

Post by DJ » Thu Mar 28, 2019 2:54 pm

This is actually for my Mini Cooper S, but from memory I think this is also a Lotus S2 front tyre size if increasing from 195's. Struggling to find this tyre size in non XL form. 99% of all makes and models available seem to be XL which I don't want for the Mini and imagine no-one would want on a Lotus. So if also a Cooper S owner - think there are a handful on here - or you have this tyre size on your Lotus, what non XL tyres are you using?

thanks.
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campbell
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Re: 205 45 17 non XL tyres

Post by campbell » Thu Mar 28, 2019 3:41 pm

What’s XL?
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Stephen
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Re: 205 45 17 non XL tyres

Post by Stephen » Thu Mar 28, 2019 4:05 pm

Extra load
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DJ
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Re: 205 45 17 non XL tyres

Post by DJ » Thu Mar 28, 2019 6:32 pm

campbell wrote:
Thu Mar 28, 2019 3:41 pm
What’s XL?
Yeah, as Stephen says, Extra Load, or sometimes called 'reinforced'. More common for an SUV size tyre but can't believe how nearly every tyre on this size is XL. I already find the front of the Mini with FWD quite skittish.
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Re: 205 45 17 non XL tyres

Post by campbell » Thu Mar 28, 2019 8:59 pm

Ah. Interesting one.

I just put some Michelin Cross Climates on the Skoda. Feel pretty good. And great value from Black Circles.

Not sure if XL or not.
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Dominic
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Re: 205 45 17 non XL tyres

Post by Dominic » Fri Mar 29, 2019 1:38 pm

campbell wrote:
Thu Mar 28, 2019 8:59 pm
Ah. Interesting one.

I just put some Michelin Cross Climates on the Skoda. Feel pretty good. And great value from Black Circles.

Not sure if XL or not.
I thought XL was only for the heavier driver.... s'pose I should be getting them then. :oops:
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Re: 205 45 17 non XL tyres

Post by Alistair » Fri Mar 29, 2019 3:49 pm

DJ wrote:
Thu Mar 28, 2019 2:54 pm
This is actually for my Mini Cooper S, but from memory I think this is also a Lotus S2 front tyre size if increasing from 195's. Struggling to find this tyre size in non XL form. 99% of all makes and models available seem to be XL which I don't want for the Mini and imagine no-one would want on a Lotus. So if also a Cooper S owner - think there are a handful on here - or you have this tyre size on your Lotus, what non XL tyres are you using?

thanks.
Interesting timing - as I've just started to hunt for potential replacements for the run flats on our R56 JCW.

Had pretty much settled on Eagle F1's as being a balance between cost/performance (can't justify the price of Michelin's) but you've got me thinking now as they are XL rated.

Small article on XL tyres here - https://www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre-article/r ... advantages

What are your reasons for not wanting an XL tyre? I'm principally moving away from run flats to improve ride and handling - but obviously if an XL tyre has reinforcement and might not provide as great an improvement in ride I may need to open the search up further. The article above seems to indicate that driving comfort impairment should be minimal, and indeed better perfomance under load?

Open to any other suggestions for a decent run flat replacement if anyone has experience?

Cheers

Alistair
Last edited by Alistair on Fri Mar 29, 2019 4:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: 205 45 17 non XL tyres

Post by campbell » Fri Mar 29, 2019 3:52 pm

Never noticed if any of our tyres were XL, ever

But I ditched the runflats on both MINIs, as fast as poss. Quieter, smoother, cheaper
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Re: 205 45 17 non XL tyres

Post by DJ » Sat Mar 30, 2019 12:41 pm

Alistair wrote:
Fri Mar 29, 2019 3:49 pm
What are your reasons for not wanting an XL tyre? I'm principally moving away from run flats to improve ride and handling - but...
Did your JCW come with runflats?! My R56 S didn’t and the original tyres are non XL hence looking for a like for like changeover. Can’t find the tyre website I was on last night which in amongst the pages and pages of XL tyres of this size there was only one tyre - Hankook Ventus v12 K110 - that was non XL and had had ‘Mini’ written next to it instead of XL. That’s the tyre which is on my car already. Just thought there would be more options. You can get non XLs at each extreme end of the price range but can only find the Hankooks in amongst about 7 pages of XL tyres in this size. Can get AD08Rs as non XLs!

I already feel the front of the mini quite light, especially when pushing on. Uneven corners on the road and it skits across the corner so anything reinforced, stiffer, designed for extra load isn’t something that appeals. Possible I wouldn’t notice the difference but in a similar vein after changing tyres on my previous BMW 1 series from run flats to non-runflats and felt such a difference, for the mini I am just looking for standard tyres and in line with what it came with originally.

Just expected a much bigger range to choose from. Probably just going to get a replacement pair of Hankooks.
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Re: 205 45 17 non XL tyres

Post by Kayfur » Sat Mar 30, 2019 3:03 pm

My son has an R56 JCW with AD08s - they are really good!


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Alistair
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Re: 205 45 17 non XL tyres

Post by Alistair » Mon Apr 01, 2019 8:37 pm

DJ wrote:
Sat Mar 30, 2019 12:41 pm
Alistair wrote:
Fri Mar 29, 2019 3:49 pm
What are your reasons for not wanting an XL tyre? I'm principally moving away from run flats to improve ride and handling - but...
Did your JCW come with runflats?! My R56 S didn’t and the original tyres are non XL hence looking for a like for like changeover. Can’t find the tyre website I was on last night which in amongst the pages and pages of XL tyres of this size there was only one tyre - Hankook Ventus v12 K110 - that was non XL and had had ‘Mini’ written next to it instead of XL. That’s the tyre which is on my car already. Just thought there would be more options. You can get non XLs at each extreme end of the price range but can only find the Hankooks in amongst about 7 pages of XL tyres in this size. Can get AD08Rs as non XLs!

I already feel the front of the mini quite light, especially when pushing on. Uneven corners on the road and it skits across the corner so anything reinforced, stiffer, designed for extra load isn’t something that appeals. Possible I wouldn’t notice the difference but in a similar vein after changing tyres on my previous BMW 1 series from run flats to non-runflats and felt such a difference, for the mini I am just looking for standard tyres and in line with what it came with originally.

Just expected a much bigger range to choose from. Probably just going to get a replacement pair of Hankooks.
Yes - ours had Dunlop Sport Maxx RT run flats as standard (I thought all the Mini's came with run flats from as they didn't have a spare - but obviously not!). To be fair the Dunlop is an OK tyre in the summer when it's a bit warmer and it's dry - but they are very skittish over bumpy roads and unpredictable when damp. I fancy trying something with a bit more give and hopefully a little more grip in the wet.

How did you find the Hankook's? They're available on Tyreleader for £70 each I see - although Eagle F1's can be had for only a tenner more.

Sadly Kayfur - the AD08's are a little out of budget!

Cheers

Alistair

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Re: 205 45 17 non XL tyres

Post by campbell » Mon Apr 01, 2019 11:45 pm

08 is a pretty special tyre.

Are AD07s any cheaper?
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Re: 205 45 17 non XL tyres

Post by mckeann » Tue Apr 02, 2019 9:06 am

If you put a load rating of 84 (which a quick google suggests is the right load rating, but please check for yourself) then you get lots of non XL tyres here:

https://www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre-finder/s= ... YKLb3Mbucv

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DJ
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Re: 205 45 17 non XL tyres

Post by DJ » Tue Apr 02, 2019 7:53 pm

Cheers for that filter, that was useful as brings results down from 8 pages to 2. That must have been the site I was on previously as has ‘Mini’ next to the Hankook V12s. Of the 34 results, 24 are run flats so 10 left, or 7 in reality due to manufacturer named duplicates. For anyone even vaguely interested, my musings:

Hankook Ventus V12 - the incumbents which were ok-ish and looking like the probable replacements
Hankook Ecsta P71 - I don’t think this tyre exists in V rating. Can only find as a run flat or in Y speed rating which is reinforced
Accelera - never heard of them
Bridgestone Turanza - although not marked as XL, states these are reinforced in the tyre description
Yoko Blu - made from orange oil ?!
Bridgestone Potenza - never liked these since days of having them on the Elise before changing to AD07/8s
Michelin P Sport - ah, an alternative!... but £45 per tyre more.
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Alistair
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Re: 205 45 17 non XL tyres

Post by Alistair » Wed Apr 03, 2019 10:22 am

DJ wrote:
Tue Apr 02, 2019 7:53 pm
Cheers for that filter, that was useful as brings results down from 8 pages to 2. That must have been the site I was on previously as has ‘Mini’ next to the Hankook V12s. Of the 34 results, 24 are run flats so 10 left, or 7 in reality due to manufacturer named duplicates. For anyone even vaguely interested, my musings:

Hankook Ventus V12 - the incumbents which were ok-ish and looking like the probable replacements
Hankook Ecsta P71 - I don’t think this tyre exists in V rating. Can only find as a run flat or in Y speed rating which is reinforced
Accelera - never heard of them
Bridgestone Turanza - although not marked as XL, states these are reinforced in the tyre description
Yoko Blu - made from orange oil ?!
Bridgestone Potenza - never liked these since days of having them on the Elise before changing to AD07/8s
Michelin P Sport - ah, an alternative!... but £45 per tyre more.
Thanks for the summary - the Michelins are favoured in EVO mag quite a lot - but they are expensive. Interested in the Hankook's so will probably be a toss up between them and the Goodyear Eagle F1's (I had them on my wife's car and thought they were excellent).

It'll hopefully be two to three months before I need to replace what's on the car - so will see what happens to prices by then (we might need to be buying tyres made from Orange Oil depending how Brexit goes :shock: )

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