Hello, I'm new to this forum and not sure where to post this but this general section seemed to be the best place to put it. Has anyone used the 15in 7 hole mini cooper base wheels on their r53 cooper S and got a noticeable gain in gas mileage? I was thinking of running these wheels on my r53 cooper s and see if the gas mileage would get significantly better since is a much smaller wheel and only weighs 12lbs. Well any input is appreciated, thanks

 

I could be wrong, but I don't think the brakes from a Cooper S will fit into a set of 15" wheels.

 

For better MPG, run low rolling resistance tires on the wheels you have, like the "green x" Michelins in my sig.

Of all the recommended oil weights, 0W/30 will net the best MPG.

Driving habits are the biggie though - light foot and use of cruise control wil help.

 

Oh alright, what about these pictures I just found?
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...es-on-mcs.html

 

15" wheels, including the factory "holies" that you're asking about, will fit on an R53 with no problems. The other posters may be thinking about the newer R56 'S', which has brakes that are too big to work with the holies.

I used holies on my 2006 'S' for autocross wheels for a while and liked them. They're pretty much the lightest OEM MINI wheels ever.

 

You can use them but I doubt you'll get 'significantly' better mileage. People generally get lighter wheels for improved acceleration/handling. But if you end up getting them, report back and let us know!

 

did you ever try the 15's out? I am curious about the same thing. my 03 mcs is getting about 22-24 with in town driving on the stock 17's... I really like the look of the hollies, if I could get 27 mpg with them it would be worth the cost to buy them.

 

If the overall diameter of the tires on the 15" wheel is the same as that of the 17" wheel, you might expect a very slight increase in city MPG but no noticeable gain in freeway MPG.

If the tires for the 15" wheels have a smaller overall diameter, you may see some improvement--but most of that will be an illusion. The speedometer and odometer don't know what size wheels are on the car, so they just count wheel revolutions to figure out the speed or the distance traveled. So they will be reporting a higher speed and farther distance traveled than the car is actually going.

One guy on a forum I frequent replaced the stock 14s (?) on his Scion with 18s with larger diameter tires. The new package was much heavier than the old, but it effectively geared his car "taller". When he took into account the difference in the odometer reading, the new wheel package improved his freeway MPG noticeably and did not affect his city MPG much at all.

Your mileage may vary, obviously, but that's at least one data point that the weight isn't as important as the gearing.

 

My options.
1. S lites with 205/45/17 riken raptor zr
2. Spoolers with 185/65/15 kumho 785's

What wheel and tire combo is best for mileage and city driving?
I am not heavy on the gas petal.

And what wheel tire combo would be best on the highway?

 

If I do the math correctly, it looks like the 185/60-15s have a slightly larger overall diameter than the 205/45-17s. (25.45" versus 25.25") Which means they'll probably give you very slightly better freeway economy once you factor in the actual distance traveled. That assumes everything else is equal.

The difference is quite small as you can see, and the tread compound and tire design should have more effect than the effective gearing change. And I don't know enough about either of those two tires to say which would have a lower rolling resistance.

It is likely that any difference would be relatively small, compared to how the way you drive effects the MPGs anyway.

The short answer: Get whichever one you like better.

 

I have 195/60/15 they work out just fine, stock was 175/65/15.

 

gestero,
did you notice any change in your mpg switching from 175/65/15 to 195/60/15?

thanks

 

I have had this car for three weeks the tires were replaced by the previous owner. The car gets great gas mileage.

 

with the non-s are you in the high 30's or low 40's?

do you feel the non s has enough power?

 

Hi I am not sure what you are asking regarding "high 30s or low 40s"
As for enough power, I feel it just fine I really like the car.

 

What is the actual gas mileage you are getting?

 

I've been averaging 32 mpg for the past month.

 

Got it, 32 - 33 mpg @ this time.

 

These are wrong. It is 23.7 in for the 185/60-15 and 24.3 for the 205/45-17.

 

I have 185/65/15 so I think it's 24.5.

 

Uh-oh, did I screw up the math?? Let's double-check that...

185mm * 0.6 = 111mm sidewall. *2 for 2 sidewalls on the wheel = 222mm for 2 sidewalls. Divide by 25.4 to convert to inches = 8.74" for both sidewalls. Add to the rim diameter of 15" = 23.74" overall diameter.

So the 185/60-15s are 23.74" in diameter, notionally. Rats, I did the math wrong the first time!

205mm * 0.45 = 92.25mm * 2 = 184.5mm for both sidewalls. Convert to inches = 7.26" for both sidewalls. Add to the 17" rims and you get 24.26" for the overall diameter.

Did the math wrong on both, obviously!!


...OK, so the conclusion is that the effective gearing on the 17s is 1.025 times that of the 15s, meaning there is about a 2.5% difference. So the 17s should give you very slightly better freeway mileage once you take the 2.5% difference into account.

Still small enough to be overwhelmed by measurement errors, uphill/downhills, wind, temperatures, tire construction, tire pressures, and driving style.

So it still boils down to: Pick the wheels and tires you like best.