Given
50%
while driving a
MINI Cooper S
(225/45 R17) on
a combination of roads
for 12,000
spirited miles
Poor. Not fit for competent performance drivers.
Lasted only 12,000 miles on my 2015 Mini Cooper S to which they are standard fit for the 18" wheels, before losing all the tread on the shoulder. The shoulders appear softer, perhaps to give extra grip, but if you drive hard (and I mean fast motorway sliproads rather than driving badly into roundabouts) then they don't last long at all.
Added to that, the soft sidewall means that this tyre has a tendency to roll in high lateral acceleration, which means no communication at all at the limit. The tyres 'lean' into the corners, so they are very progressive, and grippy, but if you tried to get a lap-time from these tyres you would be left frustrated.
The ride is initially compliant but then crashy over any kind of speed bumps or road damage, even on the Mini's softest adaptive damping setting. The vertical acceleration profile is not progressive at all. This is as probably to do with the run-flat internals, which I detest in any tyre. This means that this tyre is probably best suited to large performance cruisers with plenty of suspension travel.
Finally, the tyre sidewall has failed, with a bulge just beneath the shoulder, probably due to a pot-hole impact, and the nature of the soft sidewall construction. These are the low-profile (40) size, so that may have been a factor. So now I will have to replace them, and I'll probably go for a set of Michelin PS2s. Proper performance tyres, also cheaper - bizarrely.
Why buy a peppy car when the tyres are 'eco' and 'runflat' and frankly, not fit for hard driving.
Ps. I am an engineer of sports (super) cars, and trained in performance driving, so I know what I am talking about.