Wheels, wheels, wheels! And tires of course.

Thanks to Peter and Joseph over at: RSPEED I have a new set of Rota Circuit 8 (et 40mm) wheels with Falken Azenis Sport 215/45/16 tires. (35-36lbs. a corner)

No performance mod has had such a profound effect on handling, acceleration, and over all feel of the car as these wheels/tires have (and they look pretty good too!).


Try it for yourself!






PS- The offset of these wheels is 40mm and the tire width 215 so a lowered Mini could have trouble with tire rub. I have not confirmed this yet (mine is not lowered) but it looks to be close so heads up. See photos below:



Tire does not stick out but is very close:

 

What's the breakdown on costs?
TIA

 

Check with Peter and Joseph at RSPEED they will take care of you. I'll let them speak for pricing.

Rota wheels are extremely reasonable and light ($135 each range).

Falkens will usually set you back $100 each or so.

 

That looks great ficcion!!!!

I'll be real curious to get a little ride in your MINI now that you've done wheels/tires, intake, and exhaust. You must be loving it.

I'll have to take a look at that tire gap too, as I'm considering the Falken Azenis Sport 215/45/16 tires for autocross and obviously I still have a lust for coilover's going on.

 

With your stock offset I'm guessing you'll be ok??

We'll have to take a close look. :smile:

 

Nice tyres. :smile:

A question: I have the runflats if I change the wheels and tyres will the dash light be on all the time? Can the sensors be moved to the new wheels?

 

Sensors are the ABS sensors so you can change tires/wheels as much as you want. You just have to use the reset button according to manual. :smile:

 

Those wheels will look even better when you have the center cap on

 

16x7 wheels.

Might be kind of weird but I like them with the center cap off. :smile:

 

>>16x7 wheels.
>>
>>Might be kind of weird but I like them with the center cap off. :smile:

Thanxx for the input

About those center caps,
You might wan't to put them back when you have washed your car again and find out that there is a lot of dirt
in those holes.
But hey whatever you like!!!

greetzzzz MiniHolland

 

Ficcion, that wheel/tire combo looks great!

Are you planning on using them all year? Have you had experience with them in the rain yet?

 

Yes, that combo looks fantastic

 

How close are the tires to rubbing on the inside of a non-lowered MINI though? I was wanting to figure out how wide I can go without problems. A 215 sounds like it would be pretty close, even with a stock suspension set up.
Car's lookin' good by the way. Good choices.
Cheers,

 

I just drove ficcion's MINI around the "MINI-Motorsport test track" in an undisclosed location and can confirm the totally cool handling of these tires compared to the euphorias.

The tire gives you much more feedback, and provides great feel at the limit of adhesion.

Acceleration is better, and the first gear bog is much better.

He still needs the swaybar, the big difference in turn-in is still evident, even with the sticky tires. After that mod, I'll be worried at the autocross !

It looks to me as though there is plenty of room with the stock springs. We did several hard laps, and there was no evidence at all of any rubbing anywhere on the sidewall. I'll throw them on my lowered car "for testing purposes" when ficcion has the time and will report on the clearance.

Great look!!!

Randy
randy@mini-motorsport.com

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MINI-Motorsport

 

Quote:

"How close are the tires to rubbing on the inside of a non-lowered MINI though? I was wanting to figure out how wide I can go without problems. A 215 sounds like it would be pretty close, even with a stock suspension set up.
Car's lookin' good by the way. Good choices.
Cheers,"




There is plenty of space near the strut. I can stick my finger in the space near the strut. This is a 40mm offset and a 16x7 wheel.

I've seen a 215 Falken on a 16x6.5, et 45mm and they fit also.

The problem you'll run into with a 225 tire (educated speculation) is it will be sticking out of the wheel well if offset is too low or hitting the strut if offset is too high. :smile:

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<IMG SRC=https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/albums/album04/bge.thumb.jpg>
Chili Red S

 

Randy,

My brakes are still smoking!!!

 

>>Ficcion, that wheel/tire combo looks great!
>>
>>Are you planning on using them all year? Have you had experience with them in the rain yet?




Yeah, I'm going to use them year round and for autocross. That means I'll wear them quickly due to autocross more than anything.

I don't have a long drive to work (2 min.) so most of my driving is for pure pleasure.

If it gets really snowy I'll take my other car to work.

I have heard these tires do fine in the rain but I don't have any experience with that yet. :smile:

 

>>I've seen a 215 Falken on a 16x6.5, et 45mm and they fit also.
>>

I would like to put these on my R84s (V spoke). They are a 48mm offset. I can't believe 3mm would make a difference. Do you know what 6.5x16 wheels you saw these tires on? Were they R84s and our offset numbers are just different or were they different wheels? Maybe small spacers would help if I am too close.

Thanks. Car looks awesome.

Joe.

 

Joe,

Take a look at this LINK.

It shows the strut of some 215/40/16 hoiser tires with v spoke. They are pretty close.

Also it shows a 215/45/16 with Enkei RPO1 wheels with 45mm offset (example I mentioned before).

From what I have gathered you should be OK with the stock offset of 48mm. This is still educated speculation because I have not seen your exact set up. :smile:

 

I just put 225/50/15 BF Goodrich g-force TA KD's on 15x7 Kosei K1 wheels on my S and they fit w/o rubbing. In the rear, they clear the strut by about 7/16" and the base of the shock by about 1/2". On the front, the tire clears the spring by 7/16". The KD's feel as good as R compound tires. They weigh 35lbs a corner.

The brakes really fill up the inside of the wheel when you drop down a size.

This combo will be for Autoxing only - I'm going to run STX class next season - Other mods: -- the quaife will be installed this week. I hope when I add the H&R springs and Koni sports that both my wheel/tire combo's will clear w/o rubbing. I've also ordered a rear sway bar.

My "street" tires are Kumho 215/45/17 on Kosei K1 17x7.5 - they fit a little better, clearing the strut in the rear by 1/2"

 

>>My "street" tires are Kumho 215/45/17 on Kosei K1 17x7.5 - they fit a little better, clearing the strut in the rear by 1/2"
>>

I have these wheels with the Yokohoma AVES 100s and I agree they rock.
The 215/45/17 does rub in my setup occasionaly on city streets.....

 

Sounds like a great combo.

That little extra offset (et 38mm) I'm sure helps a bit. I heard great things about those BF Goodrich's. They must be relatively heavy considering your wheel is about 13.5 lbs. (Although we both know weight is not the only factor because if a light tire doesn't stick then what good is it!!)


I would love to see a picture of the 15" set up if you have any?

Which Kumhos are you using for street?

Also, you must keep us updated on the Quaife install and first impressions. Be ready for some torque steer??? (from what I'm hearing).

 

>>Also it shows a 215/45/16 with Enkei RPO1 wheels with 45mm offset (example I mentioned before).
>>
>>From what I have gathered you should be OK with the stock offset of 48mm. This is still educated speculation because I have not seen your exact set up. :smile:

Thanks. That's a big help. They are VERY close. 5mm spacers would take care of any rubbing that might occur on hard cornering.

 

My Street tires are the Kumho Ecsta 712s - here's some pics of the Autox combo

 

Thanks,

Always wanted to see some 15's on an S. And WIDE ones at that! :smile: