Rotating my tires the other day and it just happened to be after I had my ///M3 on the lift for a wheel cleaning and I know that it wasn't my imagination when I am telling you, the 10" wheels and rubber on the rear of the ///M were MUCH lighter than the stock wheels and RFT's of the MINI! So, the question that stems from my observation is....is it the stock wheels or the RFT's that are so damn heavy? If it is, in fact, the tires....they might be going faster than originally thought. Thanks in advance for the insight...

 

Both

When I switched from my 17" stock crown spokes to my 18" exel's I immediately noticed the difference. I already had non-RFT's on the 17's also. I didn't expect it considering I moved up a size, and there for one would assume they'd weigh more...but nope!

 

Wow....wheels and tires may have to come next for me at some point. I am certainly done with mods for this year but next year.....it looks like I really need to look into it. I will likely stick with 17's but certainly no RFT's. Thanks Thumper!

 

I immediately swapped my stock rims/runflats with oz ultraleggeras and dunlop starspecs. The OZ/Dunlop combo was MUCH lighter than the stock rim/tire. I didn't weigh them but I bet there was a 10lb+ difference.

 

Depending on which OEM wheels you have, some of them are real porkers. Most of the 17" OEM MINI wheels are between 20 and 25 pounds each, and runflats in 205/45-17 can add another 22 pounds to that.

 

I remember my 15" Cooper wheels being around 13 pounds, but other than that MINI wheels are pretty heavy. My Challenge spokes are over 23!

http://www.mini2.com/forum/faq.php?faq=faq_wheels_tyres

 

I don't remember the numbers off the top of my head, but when I switched from stock 16" bridgespokes and Dunlop RFT to (after some winter sets in between,) Konig Rush and S.Drives, I lost about 4-5lbs a corner and it felt like gaining 15HP.

 

Went front my JCW r105's which I loved but were 23lbs each!! Plus the rft was heavy as hell too. Went to 17lb wheels and non run flats. Big diff

 

yeah my crowns and previous s lites on my r53 were bloody heavy. i noticed it as soon as i changed. even with 18" now its still lighter. the steering feels much better and accurate.