stock 13" wheels for 10"s? Most things that I've read say that the Sportspack edition handles poorly when compared to the cars without the larger rims. Also, I ususally drive the car at about 100-110 Kph (now); won't the engine be running considerably higher with 10" rims?

Thanks and Ciao,

Jeff

 

You'd have to change your brake assemblies to fit 10" rims. You have 8.4" discs which don't fit inside 10" rims. You need to go 7.5" or 7.9" to do so.

Tire circumfrances will be different and speedo will be off a bit. Engine speed depends more on your final drive ratio. You may have a 3:1 instead of the more common 3.44:1 The latter gives 4,000RPM @ 64mph

 

The SPortpack arches are designed to be used with the larger-diameter wheels. I've seen them swapped out for smaller, and the car looks... odd. Best to put on the basic plastic Metro arches if you downgrade the wheel size.

The brakes you'll need for 10" wheels are not cheap if you use the Cooper S brakes, or you can optionally use old Ford brakes (from the Festiva?? I might be misremembering) instead. I'm pondering using 10" wheels on my car, replacing th 12" ones on there now, but I've not yet investigated where to buy the smaller rotors and calipers.

 

You could go down to a 12" wheel which will look good in the arches, will fit with your brakes and (from what I understand) will improve the handling. There are enough around that you should be able to find someone who would be willing to let you try them out.

 

These 10" Alloy rims from Japan, which look like the original Cooper S steel rims, are designed to fit over the 12" wheel discs /brake calipers and even 4 pot Metro calipers but have quite a bit of offset. You can also fit the chrome hubcaps.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Classic-Mini-C...2em118Q2el1247

 

if you already have the 8.4 brakes all you need to change is the calipers, wheel flanges, brake pads, and rotors. Not to expensive, but you can then mount any 10" rims you like.

 

Yes I have put 10" wheels on my Sportpack.

Its a 1998 Cooper Sports Ltd, I've owned it from new and after a few years on the standard rims I changed to 13"x 7" Superlites.

I got bored with them so changed the from calipers and discs for a set of Minisport alloy four pot calipers with vented 7.9" discs.

The rear suspension needs dropped, its on my to do list.

 

Andy,

Thanks for the reply. I believe that the car looks pretty cool with your rims and their offset. I too have a '98, but it's a BRG MINI Classic w/ added bonnet stripes. If I can manage to get the car back stateside, I'll probably make the change to the brakes/rims, if not, I'll do some other mild mods.

How does the smaller wheel setup affect the engine RPM at highway speeds? Also, is the handling much improved after shifting to 10" wheels? Thanks for your help.

Jeff

 

Jeff
I changed my sportpak from 13" wheels to 10". I replaced the 8.4" brakes with 7.5 Cooper S brakes. I have a 2.76 FD ratio, and I do see higher RPMs on the 10s, but makes it have a little better pickup than when on the 13s. I also shed 13 lbs per wheel by changing to 10s.

 

Clyde,

Thanks for the data. For now, the only thing that I'll upgrade is the exhaust. If I take her to the states, I'll probably change the brakes too.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

I did go from stock Rover Sportpak wheels to some very light 10" wheels. To change to 7.5 brakes, you can do it with only the caliper, rotor and drive flange. If you go the 7.9" route just make sure the rims of choice fit over them, have heard that there can be clearance issues.

Here is what mine look like: