Cheers folks - all good food for thought. I'm still undecided - my handling's always been pretty good as the RF16's seem to be more 'pliable' than the RF 17's, probably due to the taller sidewalls which soak up the crap roads a bit better. Because mine are worn down now, I'm probably noticing a lessening of grip - especially in the wet/salty/mucky season (also 210bhp and a greasy road doesn't help...). So maybe a new set of RF 16's would do the trick. I pretty sure non-RF's would ride and grip a bit better - but I also think there's a bigger difference between the 17" RF's and their non-RF counterparts. In 2003, I test-drove an S on 17" RF's (on a damp day) before I bought my S, and found it pretty 'wooden' with less grip compared to my COOPER on 16's - so I stuck with 16's which were noticably better. Appreciate all your views though.