Having withdrawal symptoms after stopping autocrossing so now have '05 MCS and ready to learn front wheel drive..... Going to throw some 215 45x16 Falkens on just to get rust and senility (hopefully) out of system. Will they fit without rubbing on either 16x6.5 with 44 offset or 16x7 with 42 offset? Seems biggest issue is on inside sidewall of tire rubbing on rear. Pretty sure they won't fit without rubbing on inside rear on stock 48mm offset rim. (Rough measurement on 215 45x16's is 8.75" wide) Tires on now on stock 48 offset rim are 8.25" wide (205 50x16) and within1/2" of rubbing with car sitting still. Not concerned about what class I get put in for now. Thanks for any help.

 

Not many people run Falkens anymore. I've heard reports of people running 215/45-16 Kumho Ecsta XS and 215/40-16 Kumho V710 on 16x6.5 wheels albeit not lately.

 

Thanks on the Kumho info. I knew Falkens old stuff but so am I...... Just putting something on the car that I already have, not trying to be competitive yet, just get the rust and senility (hopefully...) out of the system. figured 4 tires, same traction, I can least figure out how to drive something with the drive wheels on the "wrong end of the car:>)

 

This forum is D stock so if you want to run stock wheels it will have to be 16x6.5" and 225/45-16 fits 7 to 8" wide rims with 7" being perfect. 23.6" tire diameter is a little smaller than stock but fine.

In autocross you can use a tire a little wider than the rim so you are still OK. Or if you must use Falken RT-615K tires you can also consider 205/40-16 which fits rims 7-8" wide but saves you four pounds weight, has a stiffer 40 series sidewall, and has a smaller 22.5" tire diameter for lowered gearing.

If you do get some rubbing with 225mm wide tires you can add either a 3 or 5mm wheel spacer for clearance and that would be legal for Stock class.

While falkens can be run there are many other good tires choices today, it isn't a bad buy for the cost, be careful overheating them if run under hot conditions, sometimes water spray between runs can help a little.

If you do run 16x7 wheels then all of these tire sizes are fine. Those wheels would put you into DSP or STX.

 

Thanks, minihune. Yeah, I know 6.5 for stock and that's what I'm going to run for now. Just got some 16x6.5, lightweight wheels and I'm just putting some older Azenis on to go slip and slide and run a few events yet this year. I still have my "garden sprayer" for the Falken tires that I used when I was pretty serious about this with an E30 M3 in STX for about 7 years; did the divisionals, nationals in midwest. There was a great CenDiv Series sponsored by Subaru for several years. If I can get the rust off and not suffer too much brain fade and embarrass myself this fall, I'll figure out what tires over the winter. Thanks again.

 

Good luck.

Ask yourself if you tend to overdrive, if so then stay calm and concentrate on just being smooth and clean.

As you walk the course just look for the fastest areas- might be not quite straight is OK, then tell yourself it is crucial to enter the fast section at the highest possible speed then back up and see how to do that element best. Also look for the slowest areas of the course and respect it, slow in and fast out is the best strategy.

The rust will not be a problem for you for very long I would predict.

 

MinHune

I did my first AutoX on Sunday and it was humbling anyway i have a MCS 13 and it came with 17inch wheels with run flats.. The runflats and 17 inch are not where i need to be to bring down my times. I was thinking of running DS and switching for track 16X7 stock wheels which i can get fairly inexpensively, but what would the best rubber be? regardless of the price and what size do i need to stay in DS? I was thinking Bridgestone RE11 ? Whatcha think? I am a total novice and too old to really do this

 

A 16X7 wheel wouldn't be legal in SCCA DS; only stock sizes. You could run any 16X6.5" or 17X7" wheel with offsets + or - .25" from stock. You can mount any size tire that you can get on either size wheel, however; even R-comps.

RE-11s are a popular street tire for autocross, but so are Dunlop Star Specs, and Yoko AD08s. Hankook R-S3s are also good, but they won't be legal next year.

 

Saw your post on "first autocross". Never too old! I just started again; first time last Sunday after 7 year layoff. Going on 68 yrs young but changed age to Celsius so 19 again!
On the wheels, if you want to run DS, and be legal, you have to run 6.5X16 if you're going to run 16's. 16x7 is not a stock size. On the tires, other folks will have reco's for you. In DS, to be competitive, Hoosier's are the tire of choice but $$$. You might consider running STF, which is Street Tire Front Wheel Drive; it's an indexed class. But you might wait on buying tires as SCCA is rumored to be still in decision mode as to what tires they'll allow in STF for next year.

 

The wheels which i found are from a Mini, so i may incorrect that they are 16 X 7 and they may be 16 X 6.5, how would i Tell ? Which tire do you feel would be the better one for a novice? Which size tire would fit, be legal and be for autox? I am only going to have them on the car to go to the event. When i get back i plan on taking them off and putting on my 17 inch tires for daily driving.

 

o and guys thank you so very much for helping me, this is a great forum ! i think my biggest challenge will be remembering the course, the driving i am ok with, but the cones just come up so fast, its amazing.

 

I dont think the hoosiers would be for me as they are not really street tires also. i need to be able to drive to the event and/or drive with them for a few days until i was able to change them back

 

Hoosiers might not be a good tire for a novice to start on anyway. They have tremendous grip, but lose traction quite suddenly.

You might consider the Dunlop Star Specs (an Extreme Performance Summer tire) in size 205/50/16. While not the hottest set-up for DS, they fit the 16X6.5" rims well and will give some warning before losing grip.

Regarding your 16" wheels "from a Mini"; if they are OEM Mini wheels, they are 16X6.5", but there are plenty of after-market wheels that fit a Mini that are 16X7". Many after-market wheels have the size (including ET) stamped on them, perhaps on the back. If you could post a photo, we could identify it as an OEM wheel or not.

 

If you have the 16" wheels already, look on the inside of the spokes like Jim mentioned and there will be stamped some numbers. 16x7 or 16x6.5J is the wheel size and width.
Offset will be a two digit number like 42 or 45.

To stay in D Stock you must have wheels that are stock sized, 17x7 offset 48mm or 16x6.5 offset 48mm or within 0.25" plus or minus on offset.

Street tires are you best bet(drive to events and better wear)- using stock 16" you can fit:
Bridgestone RE-11 205/45-16 $182 each, Treadwear 180 (same as Kumho XS)
Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec 205/50-16 $152 each, Treadwear 200
Kumho Ecsta XS 215/45-16 $114 each, fits wheels 7-8" wide but will work with 6.5" rim
Toyo R1R 205/45-16 $146 each
Hankook Ventus RS-3 225/50-16 $124 each

Both the Toyo and Hankook have treadwear ratings of 140 and while there is no limit on treadwear for stock classes there might be next season a limit of 180 for Road Tire and Street Touring classes.

The Kumho XS is the best value but might not be as grippy, RE-11 has a $70 gift card with purchase of a set of tires. 45 series sidewall tires are going to be stiffer than 50 series tires and handle better in corners. A slightly smaller tire diameter helps with lowered gearing good for lower speed acceleration.

While normally you want the tire to fit perfectly on a rim you can put a slightly wider tire on a narrow rim for autocross. The Kumho XS is OK to run on stock 16" wheels in that size noted, it won't rub and will give you more tire.

 

Thank you so very much, i ail go over to the place who had the Mini Wheels for sale and take some pictures. He wants 300.00 for the wheels, it sounds like a good price, they are near new. It sounds as the RE-11 would be best for me ? And these will fit on the hopefully 16.5 ? My assumption is that the 16" for a beginner like myself may be slightly better than my 17" with a Bridgestone RE11 ?

 

I understand that the wheels are +42 offset, i also understand that under DS i can use spacers. However should I? would it make much difference to use a spacer?

 

If you mean the wheels are 16x6.5" offset of 42mm then you are fine and they are legal. You do not need any spacers although it would be legal to use thin spacers to move the wheels further outward. This offset is non standard for the MINI and I doubt that these wheels are OEM MINI wheels.
Do you have a picture? Aftermarket wheels often have a hub bore that is not for the MINI so you may need Centering rings that fit in the inner wheel hub and match the MINI hub bore of 56.1mm.

A thin spacer would widen track the distance between the two wheels but not enough to make much difference. I don't think it would be worth the expense or effort for you situation.

If you installed wide spacers you would need to add wheel studs that are longer to make up for the spacer or your stock wheel bolts will not be long enough. For a thin spacer of about 3mm the stock wheel bolts will work.

Using spacers is usually needed to give more clearance of the wheel to prevent rubbing on the brake caliper or innner suspension parts. It can also allow for more gap from the brake caliper to aid in brake cooling especially front brakes.

 

I will go over tomorrow to where the wheels are and take the picture Thank you guys for all of your help

 

Ok, guys, please go to my gallery and look at the images, i think these are OEM and they are offest 48. please confirm and advise if the price of 300.00 for the 4 wheels is a good price, they are in mint condition.

 

Yes, for D stock you are fine with those. 16x6.5" et 48mm Made by Ronal in the Czech republic. Used to be that MINI wheels were made by BBS.

You can offer less and bargain if you want. Can't hurt if they want the sale.

 

MiniHune, DS is where i think i should start, as it wont be a race on mods, and i can just focus on my driving ability. Do you agree? Also i have a 2013 MCS with the JCW kit, this still qualifies for DS, is that correct??

 

D stock is usually the recommended starting point for starting to autocross. You don't need to think about modding other than what is possible for that class.

Legal in D Stock:
Any DOT tire- R compound or street tire on stock sized wheel
Any one swaybar- usually for the MINI, an adjustable 3 hole rear bar set to soft
Clean air filter for intake
Any Cat back exhaust- optional
Any engine oil, spark plugs
Aggressive alignment using stock suspension parts- ask the alignment shop to try for-
Front camber- as much negative camber as possible
Front toe- Toe out 1/16"
Rear camber- 1.4 degrees negative camber
Rear toe- Toe in 1/16"

What happens when you (constantly) mod a car is you will need some time to get to know how to make best use of those changes. When you use a stock car you can get a good feel of the car then use your skill level to make improvements.

For a novice driver it is your skill level that is the key determining factor as to how you will be doing vs the competition. When you see that you are closing in on the top drivers in your class and with in 1-2 seconds then moving to R compound tires will do the trick but again driving on R compounds is different than with street tires.

The grip level with good street tires is very good but not as good as R compounds. At the limit you have more indication and time before street tires will loose traction and get out of control. With R compounds you have lots of grip until suddenly you spin out, there is minimal warning so you need to have enough skill to keep things in control. As you get better at driving on RE-11 tires at the limit you will gain skill that will be helpful later.

You can hear the RE-11 making noise in hard turns, a little squealing that gets louder then eventually squaling if you go past their limit then they can break loose. A little noise is fine and too be expected. If you drive and hardly hear any noise from your RE-11s then you need to drive faster in the corners and likely everywhere else.

 

Thank you for the great input ! Wheels, i saw on tire rack Kosei K4R 16 6.5 inch with plus 45 offset. these are a little more than the stock wheels. 159 each wheel. vs stock at 75 each. will the lighter weight make a difference? is Kosei a good brand, should i wait until i buy better wheels ? How important are the wheels? I am sure i will get the RE11.

 

How are these settings for the street? I have become an avid autocrosser (don't read that as great autocrosser), but need to have my MINI as a daily driver.

 

Royalpar1: The K4R's look good; reasonable price ($159 each), light weight (12.8#), and dealing with Tire Rack all sound good to me. Kosei is a good brand, and they're light enough so that you may actually be able to feel the difference compared to a 20# wheel. I'm running RE-11's, so I like that choice too. I guess it doesn't say much for my driving that I seem to be as quick on RE-11's as I am on R888's.

Mini2na: The main street driving drawback to those AX alignment settings is that the toe-out in front would probably require an increase in steering inputs just trying to keep the car driving straight down the road; thus, better for corners, not so hot for driving straight. Zero toe in front would be a compromise; not as good for AX, but better for driving straight.