I'm not sure if these brakes are the same as the Big Brake Kits. Anyone thinking of running aftermarket wheels? If so what kind?

 

I remember seeing that only a handful of wheels will work with the JCW due to the small amount of clearance between the wheels and the brakes. I can't seem to find this list, of course.

I love the Challenge-spoke wheels I've got coming with my JCW but I'll be needing some snow tires. I was originally just thinking of buying another set of wheels, but it might be cheaper overall to just have a local tire place switch the tires over each spring/fall.

 

I was unaware that there could be problems adding aftermarket wheels to the JCW. I have a set of O.Z. Ultraleggeras 17s waiting for my JCW to come in next week. Hope there won't be any problems, I've already got a buyer for my stock Challenge-spokes...

 

brad, those rim's spoke are pretty flush w/the lip having a deep caliper gap to the hub's face. I'd be surprised if you have a problem w/those rims. Let us know however please. I have some superleggeras I use for winter tires on my C43/55, and am thinking of getting a set for the JCW to use in the winter on it.

 

BTW, I thought I'd add. If you [et al] are not adverse to spacers, a great side-effect of them is it increases the caliper gap height by the size of the spacer. If you're off by 3mm for a rim, buy a 5mm spacer and you have 2mm clearance from brake caliper to rim spoke. From what I recall in looking @ the brakes, I don't believe there are any other brake related hardware to be concerned with... just the depth from the face of the caliper to the hub's face. Of course, excessive tire width + spacer size can possibly lead to rubbing ... I don't know the numbers of up to what'll clear.

 

To add to the equation I'm slightly lowered with the JCW Suspension.

 

It was harder to find than I thought it would be... could have stopped a 1/2 hour sooner, but I passed by it the 1st time when browsing the thread I thought it was in (and was in) :
[ https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2369465#post2369465 ]

 

Is the question you are asking- Besides JCW 18" wheels what alternatives for wheels are there (assuming JCW brakes)?

You have many options but clearance can be an issue with any larger front brake caliper. JCW brakes are slightly larger than the older R53 front brakes.

There can be some issues with stock 17" MINI wheels.

If you get an aftermarket wheel with more clearance you will be fine either in 17" or 18" or larger.

If you check out Tirerack.com and put in your MINI as an R56 MCS then you can find 17" and larger wheels that will fit the JCW front brakes (same size).

If you go to other tire vendors you will need to explain which MINI you have and whether there will be enough clearance.

Any time you lower your MINI you will have less space for the tire.
Look for tire diameters of about 23.8 to 24.2" to be safe. 215mm wide tires usually work fine but wider rims and very wide tires will leave less clearance.

Wheel offset for 18x7 or 17x7 rims will need to be about +42 to +45mm depending on how wide the wheel is. Usually you won't find wheels with more than +45mm offset. Lowering gives you less room for offset variance.
The wider the rim the less the offset so 18x8 or 17x8 can work with +38 to +40mm offset.

 

Yes. Thanks for the explanation!

Also thanks to all that replied. I'm not too keen on spacers as my car won't pass inspection with them on.

 

I learned from minihune too... if it's 17" and fits a R56S it'll work on a JCW... Yep, doubt I'd be going down the spacer road now too.

 

I'm looking to get some wheels for snow tires for my JCW. Will I need 17's? I'm fine with smaller if they'll fit.

 

It appears the bulletin MINI released says any rim that will work on the R56S will work as long as it's 17" or bigger. I personally think 16" reverse rims will fit if they have a deep caliper depth (with a flat lip & concave cavity behind the spokes opposed to the convenx surface of our rims) but I have no access to such rims to test.

 

The brakes on the Works model are larger than on the R56 MCS. Has the Tire Rack got their hands on one to do test fits?

This is contrary to the info in the following post:
There is also a winter variant of the R113 wheel called the R114, which is 17x5.5 in size and Titan Grey in color:

 

Let me know if these work...I have the same wheels on my '06 that I plan on using with my JCW (just ordered last Friday, so I have a bit of a wait). Hate to have to buy a new set of wheels

 

Are there any preferred dealers or vendors who sell MINI wheels at less than MSRP? I'm not against buying MINI wheels, except they're so damn expensive.

 

Try Classic Auto Campus

 

I've got OZ Ultraleggeras on my '09 Factory JCW. No problem.

 

Awesome, looking at my '06 I figured they would, but got a little nervous after reading all the post on JCW wheels. Saves me a small fortune

 

i.e. my post #5, but I thought I was corrected by post #8, which knows quite a bit more'bout MINIs than I do...

 

Can I ask how much you got them for and where? The only place I see is $1200 just for the wheels! Ouch! I got my current wheels in 18's and with very nice tires for that much.

 

Tirerack $270/ea = $1080 + shipping. not cheap, the main reason I went with these on my 2006 was weight, they're only 16 lbs, which was important to me on a non "s"...but still a tough decision...

 

What RJB said. I got mine at America's Tire Company for around $275 each. Weight was the primary consideration.

 

Gotcha, thanks guys. These will just be for the winters so I'm not picky on weight or even much on looks. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

 

I'd check tirerack (www.tirerack.com) they have 17" starting as low as $108, but they don't list the JCW Mini...so again, not sure what everyone's decided in this thread about fitment, but I'd give them a call, they should be able to tell you.

 

I emailed TireRack and they haven't measured a 09 JCW MINI yet (or any 09, for that matter). They told me they'd gladly measure my car but I'm a few hundred miles away. So, if anyone is in the South Bend, IL and has a 09 JCW, they're interested in taking measurements! Let me know and I can get you the contact details.