Need help guys.

Initially ordered My CMs "14 with white wheels, but had issues, and on my second order, the white wheels are no long avail to be ordered.

I am very must desperate to have my rims white, regardless of what type.

What should i do?

1. Buy 4 new white alloy 18" wheels? if so where?
2. Buy the rims and pay service to switch it out?
3. Get it powder coated??

I dont know what is the most feasible option and where to get it done here.

My zipcode is 94510 in CA

I would really like to save as much money as possible but get the best quality.

I hope some of you can give advice and tips.

Thank you guys!

Why can you not decide yourself? Do some research and then do what "you" feel is best for you. Take a chance you can do it!

I am doing that but I am not familiar with auto stuff and how much is good and what is not.. I am looking into many options and I keep researching but I'm resorting to this forum since I am not a person who knows much about card. It's my first so it is quite hard to decide on what route to take...

I don't know if they actually sell the parts, hence I have no clue what type of wheels these. I am doing my best though

Depends on how much you want to spend. Care to throw out a number? There are some great aftermarket options. Remember to factor in the cost of dismounting/remounting the runflats for the powdercoat option.

If you like the look of the oem wheels then get them powder coated. That can be a reasonable cost option for you. Shop for the best cost. Most people change wheels for either the look or to save weight as the oem are usually bland and built for durability. A tire shop can change wheels out for less than a dealer will. If you look for aftermarket wheels then look at Tirerack as they have been a good resource for years for NAM members. They have many of the best names, and best quality wheels and they also have cost effective (not cheap) alternatives too.

I don't know if this is true or not but on other car forums I have read cautionary comments about powder coating wheels. The talk is that the heat in the baking process can cause a change in the structure of the metal in the wheels and possibly cause problems.

im going on 5000+ milesw on powder coated wheels without issue so far

Easy to search the results of others who have powder coated wheels here on NAM. The search box and function is a great tool.

Power coating cures in heat roughly 375-400 degrees for about 15 minutes. This is not enough to melt the aluminum or anneal it. Aluminum needs at least 500 - 1400 degrees depending on process, time, and alloy.

In other words it will do nothing to the aluminum. Look at it this way, aluminum wheels touch the center of the brake rotor where the studs pass through. Your brakes can get much hotter than the 400 degrees it takes to cure the powder coating. If powder coating damaged them, they would not be suitable for wheels because just touching the brakes would damage them even more!

Honestly, the one reason I'm going for white is just the cause of its color and the look of my car in totality, not about the designs or kind of wheels, since I have no idea when it comes to wheels .. I have no clue about what brand and type of wheels are good or not. Basically I'm clueless

I want to go the fastest rout, which is just buying wheels or rims and switching if out.. Getting it power coated could be quite a hassle for me


The thing is, buying rims cheaper than buy it the whole wheel with white rims? Is it advise able to buy just white rims ?
Honestly speaking, I have no knowledge or experience with cars so forgive my ignorance...

I just like white rims on the car cause it flashed out really well from afar

If you buy another set of white wheels they will probably around 1000$ or more just for white wheels. If you get the same size as original you can just take it to a tire place and have them swap tires for you probably costing up to 100$ depending on where you go. If you get a different size you will also need tires driving the cost even higher.

If you get your wheels powder coated the car will be sitting on blocks while the wheels get powder coated, but after the tires are removed should cost around 50$ or so per wheel for powder coating. Probably end up costing you only around 300$ total to have them powder coated.

So for a third the cost or less you can probably get them powder coated, but could be hassle if the place you find that does the powder coating will not take the tires off also, then you will have to go to a shop to have tires removed, get them to powder coater, wait for them to get done, then take them back to tire place have tires mounted, then put back on your car.

If you don't care about looks of the wheels, get original powder coated and it will save you money but be more work by you to get it all done.

If you don't care about money and want nicer looking wheels buy new wheels and possibly tires if you go with larger wheels(I would) and probably save time because you can get the wheels ready to go while you wait for your car to be delivered and even have dealer swap them before you drive off the lot(again dealer probably charge chunk of money just to swap but may give you discount if you let them keep original brand new wheels/tires).

It's really up to you. I suggest going to some tire places and ask if they can have your wheels powder coated white and tell them what your getting and see if they can give you a price. They will likely have to send them off somewhere if they are even willing to do this. Then talk to them about ordering new white wheels and cost. As long as you tell them the size of the wheel you are ordering on the car they should be able to give you options for a direct swap for the car and a quote. Then make your choice!

Thank you... Do u know the exact size of the countryman "14. I have no knowledge about tires so I don't know if the inches matter or it's just a preference...


Power coating is a good option but around my area, I really did not find any close by...

If I buy the rims, is it a long process to switch rims of tires?

Wheel diameter is measured in inches and it does matter. I do not know the exact size, it depends on how you configured it. The overall diameter of wheel/tire will be the same, but the wheel size could be different and that will change the tire sidewall height. If you go too small they will not fit over the brakes, if you go to big your overall diameter will have to be bigger and may not fit under the car.

Wheels are different offset and bolt patterns for different vehicles. All Countrymans are the same though. A wheel/tire place should be able to tell you what would fit. If you just want to match the size of the wheels coming on yours it just depends what wheels you ordered it with. They will be measured in inches. So if you configured it to have 18" for example, just go to a tire place and say you are looking for white wheels for a 2014 Mini Countryman, S, All4, JCW(whichever) with 18" wheels(or whichever ones you ordered with the car).

To swap the tires from one wheel to another should not take long at a tire shop, maybe an hour or more because they will also need to swap tire pressure monitors. But obviously if there's already a line in front of you it may be longer.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw...oper+&_sacat=0

will any of these white rims work? how do i know if it will since it is for mini cooper, not countryman.. sorry if i am not knowledgable about wheels and cars.... thanks guys

You should probably check out the Countryman wheels, tires, and brakes forum that is the 4th one below this. Read some threads in there and they will probably answer your questions. If they do not, you should visit a tire store, or maybe tire rack where you can put in your specific vehicle and it will you give you matches.

ECS Tuning sells the white turbo fans or tunnel spokes, which are specific to the CM. The countryman wheels are a 5 bolt pattern. All other MINIs use a 4 bolt pattern and won't work with the CM.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2011-C...nch/ES2136475/

http://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2011-C...nch/ES2136473/

I bought these in 18x8 size for my CM. http://new.minimania.com/part/G2NMW2...Mini-Cooper--S

Here is what they look like.

http://www.psmini.org/forum/uploads/585/image.jpg

I'm so bleepin' lost:

Do you want the entire wheel to be white, or just the rim where the tire is mounted, with the "spokes," or central structure to be a different color?

And as an aesthetic question...what color is your CTM? Apologies if I missed that in the reading of the thread.

And as a piece of advice/caution if you're new to MINIs--the OE brake pads produce more dust than anything I have ever owned, so if you go white, I'd go ahead and factor in the cost of four wheels worth of new pads (to get less dust production).

I'm assuming she means entire wheel. These are not like bike wheels with separate rim/hub/spokes. Also on cars most people use the words rim and wheel interchangeably especially those that do not know much about cars. Also I do not recall Mini ever offering a wheel with just a white rim.

I meant white rims on the wheels.

my wheels are 17" and they dod use to have the 18 spokes alloy white wheels. they did discontinue for the "14 models...

Is plastidipping a good otpion s powercoating and is it hard to maintain or can damage or be bad for the wheel in the long run?

I just dont want to spend os much if all I am after is not the wheels but just having rims white to match my white stripes on the car...

Thanks

Thanks for the mention chini. Yes, 5x120 for the Countryman and Paceman models.

The two White wheels that are available now are the

17" R125 Tunnel Spokes Part #36109804372

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/36109804372/



And the

R126 Rad Turbo Fan 18" part # 36109804375

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/36109804375/



#4 And the center hub cap. Part #36109804381

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/36109804381/

Thanks

And there you go. One would hope that the dealer (assuming this is a new vehicle order) could make some accommodation.