[W=VA]

Greetings Mini-lovers,

I just test drove a Mini SE today, it was a lot of fun. Because I do a lot of city driving, a small electric makes a lot of sense. However, I live in Boston and the weather can get frightful. I would need to put on a set of all-season or full-winter tires for the winter months. The Mini Sales guy told me that battery performance would suffer but he could not say by how much. The manager of the dealer told me the same thing--it seems the factory has not released any information about this.

Do any of you have anything to share on this topic? I am afraid to buy this car without some data about tire type/battery performance.

Thank you!

 

[12pack]

Well, a full BEV mileage drops because there is no engine providing wasted heat. So it uses its own power to generate heat that the batteries need to come up to temp using heaters, and also to heat the cabin.

Both can be accomplished BEFORE you leave by using your home electric power by heating the battery and cabin when plugged in. It’s easy to program the car (and the app) to do this by specifying when you want the car to be ready by.

As for tires, if you drive very often on hard ice, you need winters. If not, all seasons are fine.

 

[W=VA]

Thanks, 12pack.

I had not considered issues of heat generation as I contemplated sacrificed battery life by using all season or winter tires on a Mini BEV. The issue I was concerned about was regarding tire size (weight & width) which might directly affect battery performance due to increased road surface friction. The fatter/heavier the tire, the more the car has to work and the faster the battery might drain.

Do you think my concerns are a non-issue?

 

[MiniFootPrint]

@12pack great tip on programming the car for when you are ready.

@W=VA I would say its largely a non-issue but you might see some fluctuation in range numbers with different wheel/tire sizes, model of tire, etc. As for winter wheel/tire sizes, it seems like this is what MINI recommends:

175/60R16 86H	5.5Jx16 ET46	5x112	2.6 / 2.4
195/55R16 87H	6.5Jx16 ET54	5x112	2.4
195/55R16 87V	6.5Jx16 ET54	5x112	2.4
205/45R17 88V	7Jx17 ET54	5x112	2.6 / 2.4
185/50R17 86H	5.5Jx17 ET45	5x112	2.6 / 2.4

Going with a smaller size is generally known to perform better in winter as it cuts though the winter mess easier than bigger sizes. Another benefit with that here might be improved range.

 

[12pack]

Yes, I swould say the the tire size is a secondary issue. In my Tesla MS I went to a smaller wheel size, and ended up with about 5% better mileage

Check this out

 

[WillMW]

Are you planning on getting a new set of winter rims as well @W=VA? Or are you going to swap the tires each year?

 

[acentre]

Thanks, 12pack.

I had not considered issues of heat generation as I contemplated sacrificed battery life by using all season or winter tires on a Mini BEV. The issue I was concerned about was regarding tire size (weight & width) which might directly affect battery performance due to increased road surface friction. The fatter/heavier the tire, the more the car has to work and the faster the battery might drain.

Do you think my concerns are a non-issue?

If I depended upon the Mini and drove in the snow, I would install winter or 4 season tires. You will have decreased range, but will be safe. I am awaiting my 2021 SE, but I am annoyed that it comes with summer tires, in contradiction to the offical website in the US. I am trying to have Mini install A/S tires at the dealer. I have no use for the summer tires.

 

[Jalman]

I live in Denmark and have order a new SE due in the next few weeks. This is problem for me and well as the car is delivered with summer tyres. We have a 14 year old mini with 2 sets of wheels/tyres right now. I changed the wheels from summer to winter tyres a few weeks back and the transformation is amazing. Outside temp is around 2 to 10 deg the last month and the roads are constantly wet or moist.

Winter tyres are not just for snow use, they have a different rubber compound that summer or all year round tyres do not have. The rule is this, average temps over 7 deg C use summer, under 7 use winter. We have been using 2 sets of wheels/tyres for the last 10 or so years and never have grip or wear issues. Been in Denmark.for 3 years and the UK before that. Also we use the same width/profile summer and winter. Hope this helps someone

So I have ordered new wheels and tyres to be delivered when the new car comes.

 

[pictsidhe]

I'm a bit late to this party!
I have an R53, two sets of wheels. My 'winters' are 15x5.5 cooper wheels with "All weather" 185/60-15 Nokian WR-G4. I live in NC, so winters aren't too brutal. A few months back, our work carpark turned into an icerink. 4x4s with All seasons needed a run up. I couldn't wlak across the slope without using my shovel as an icepick. My mini chugged up with no wheelspin. I'm sure thay aren't as good as real winter tyres, but ****, they do just great. I read one report saying they were signifacantly better than X-ice2s. If I were in Boston, I'd be very, very tempted to run them all year. I ran wr-G2s all year back in the UK. They took my FWD past plenty of stuck 4x4s. Rolling resistance seems pretty low. Nokian recommends them for electric and hybrid vehicles. They will almost certainly be my winters on the SE I just ordered.