I am in need of some light weight wheels for the track that are also some what easy on the cash.

What I am looking for in the wheel is:

17's
Stock width or wider
Light (I found around 15lbs is the lightest)
Good offset for a 04' Cooper S
Simple but not ugly
Hubcentric

These wheels will be used ONLY for track events, cleaned after every event, and kept inside for storage.

Thanks for your time,

Dan

P.S. I did search, found minor amounts of info all over the place but not a good grip of info apon this topic to make a good guess when buying wheels for this car.

 

Any body?

 

Had a set of Kosei K1-TS last year. The need for centering rings was a constant concern.

I've been running HPDE events this year on a set of 17x7 OZ UltraLegerras. Hub centric no centering rings needed, weight is 16 pounds. $265 at TireRack today.

Some even compliment how good they look -- that never happened with the Kosei's!

 

P.S. If saving $$$ is a primary concern, go with 15's instead. You'll not only save on wheels but also everytime you buy tires. There is lots of chat on here about how there really is no need for 17's at the track in our cars.

 

kosei, rota, team dynamics are all good options

 

Well I mean saving money in the case of spending $4k+ on some Fikse or around $1500 on a set of wheels that are equal in weight but that arn't as good lookings as Fikse.

Also wanting to keep the 17's because this is for my moms car and looks are above performance at this time.... I am just trying to find that middle ground.

 

I bought a set of Flik FTDs from EdgeRacing.com. 17x7, mounted Falken Azenis RT-615s. Speedometer reads just over 1mph slower than acutal speed. Lots of less than nice feedback on the forums here about cheap wheels, and the FTDs have complaints about the finish flaking off. I bought mine for summer/track purposes and keep my S-heavies with runflats for the winter (for now). I've about 700 track miles, plus maybe another 1.5k of street miles on them right now and no flaking or scratches. But these are my track wheels and I really do not care if they have scratches or get dirt, brake dust, or rubber clag on them.

If you want cheap wheels, be prepared for them to be cheap in many aspects. I liked the FTDs because they were much lighter than the OEM and the price was right for my budget. YMMV...

 

Uhhhh, what?

 

Not my car. Its my moms. Shes a girl. She does HPDE's and DD with this car. She is at the point were her street tires arn't being able to take both driving to work and the track.

She is interested in getting new wheels for some sticky tires for the track but wants them to look good (Normal girl responce when wanting to buy something). So this is when I step in trying to find that wheel that does almost all of the above.

Smaller then 17's will make the car look funny because it isn't lowered.
Good looking wheels that my mom may like arn't going to be light.
I can't have that happen. I want to make my mom happy and get some added performance out of spending above $1500 for this new set of wheels.
So I am working with her to find all of the light wheels then having her pick out the ones she likes. Then she will buy them, I will repaint them to black if they arn't black from the factory and we will all be happy.


On-Topic: I will look at those FTD's, thanks.

 

The old Kosei K1-Racing was the "standard" for light, cheap, good enough track wheel. Unfortunately, they aren't making that anymore.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Wheel...Silver+Painted

The new Kosei K1-TS is close, but it's more expensive and a little less "good looking", IMHO.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Wheel...Silver+Painted

Team Dynamics wheels are another popular choice, especially in the Miata community (Miatas and MINIs have the same bolt pattern and close enough offset requirements that most Miata wheels fit the MINI).

http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-coop...-pro-race.html

Lots of people are using Rota wheels for track also.

 

Click to see the FTDs on my car

Good luck with your search. I think it is awesome that your mom is big into the driving events.