Looking for a way to reduce harsh ride and damage from every damn pothole I hit. Was thinking of swapping my JCW springs to sport or stock S springs but I'd really like to find some 16" wheels that I can run with the JCW brake kit. Going from 18" to 17" was a step in the right direction but I just destroyed another rim and I'm getting sick of this crap. Worst case I guess ill have to swap out the brakes too...

 

I feel your pain. After the second bent rim, I moved to 16" wheels this summer....no regrets. Handles just as well as before IMO.

Here's a wheel figment guide that I've used before and found quite helpful. About half way down it lists which stock wheels fit on which model. Good luck.

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

 

T-Van
The only wheels in 16" that may be a possibility are the SSR Comp's. I vagly remember a post where someone tried that fitment and it was really close. I have a set of these that I use on my GP but they are over the first generation JCW brakes which won't tell you anything about the fitment over the second generation JCW's. If you are ever in the neighborhood I would be happy to test and see if they would fit.
Steve

 

I don't know of any 16's that will fit over 2nd Gen JCW Brakes....in fact, it's hard to find 17's that will fit without at least 5mm spacers. If you're bent on going to 16's for a better ride you might consider trading an S owner for their front brakes in exchange for yours.....that would be quick deal with a lot of offers!

 

I tried our 16" SSR type-c on the JCW, they rotated but scraped the paint off one corner o the caliper. I never ran them on the road.

The most impact on your ride is going to be tire choice, what are you running? If they're run flat, try a real tire. If you have real tires try a better one. We run Conti DW tires on the JCW and it gives us as good a ride as we get on the 16" wheels. I was worried about the ride going to 17" wheels but it hasn't been a problem. We have the sport suspension.

 

if you said 18 or 19 i can see you saying harsh ride, but with 17" there's still plenty of meat on the tire. it shouldnt be that harsh. its most likely your run flat tires with the stiffer sides wall thats making it feel so harsh. i do see youre from NJ and from what ive heard the roads arent the best so im sure thats not helping either.

 

Btwyx
Yours must have been the previous post that I read in one of the threads. I am just a little curious on this subject because I have a set of SSR Comps. Is this area of contact on the caliper in a place where you might grind off a little metal and repaint to get the needed clearance? If all it is doing is removing the paint it sounds as if you are really close to working. The set of SSR Comp's I have are the polished lips 16X7 42 offset.
Thanks for the info.
Steve


[QUOTE=Btwyx;3648460]I tried our 16" SSR type-c on the JCW, they rotated but scraped the paint off one corner o the caliper. I never ran them on the road.

 

If you are still reading....
Gen1 jcw are the same as std gen2 brakes....and SOME (NOT ALL) 16's fit overthem....the gen 2 jcw bbk is even bigger....
So if you downsize to std gen2 brakes, you WILL still be limited in rim choice....
My take....get a set of 17's with kinda soft sidwalls and then change you suspension....sounds like your struts might be in bad shape....if lowered....that kinda explains tons...ride quality with lowering springs tend to be worse, and strut wear/failure occurs pretty fast.....

 

I don't know if it could be made to work or not, I didn't want to experiment. These are our track wheels, so would be subject to high loads. I didn't want the caliper machining through the rim under cornering loads. I feel a lot happier with 1/2" of clearance.

 

Here is my thought so you can stick with 17s. I have 17 inch R112 Challenge wheels with Bridgstone Re11 tires on it. They are not run flats but the sidewall is incredibly stiff. The sidewall protection of these tires are incredible. I have hit some horrible things and got out of the car scared to find no damage at all. I am on my second set of these tires because I feel they have saved my wheels many times over. The ride is great, and the handling is awesome. Before giving in to 16 inch, think out this option and you can have the best of all worlds.

 

I'm running Kuhmo Ecsta tires. 32psi. '09 factory JCW so the springs are stiffer than sport and 10mm lower. I think struts are a bit stiffer too. I have 18" R139 that came with car with oem run flats that really ride like crap but i only use them in the summer and im thinking of selling them because the 17" are way better but still not great for everyday driving on crappy roads. The car only has 25k miles so I don't think there is any prob with worn suspension

 

The facotry suspension is the same you get on the Cooper-S. To get the JCW suspension you have to have it dealer installed, it doesn't come form the factory that way.

 

Anyway to tell difference between S and JCW springs? I noticed a few paint stripes on the ends. Prob a code? I think I have a copy of the window sticker hopefully it will have it listed. I was told it has every JCW option. I've driven a few S with sport suspension and they were noticeably softer than my car. If I decide to ever swap springs I don't want to put the same damn thing back in.

 

Jcw springs are red.

 

T-Van
You can buy a JCW with std suspension (black springs), up grade to sport suspension (black springs), or opt for JCW springs (red) which is dealer installed.
Steve

[QUOTE=T-Van;3649624]Anyway to tell difference between S and JCW springs?

 

Ok. My springs are red. I thought the sport springs were red also. That def narrows it down. Any difference in the struts?
I will prob go with the sport springs and see how it feels. If I still want to go with 15" or 16" wheels I will sell the front JCW Brembos and buy a Wilwood kit with smaller rotor. I would like to go with some really lightweight 15"s with summer tires and pick up some cheap oem mini wheels and install winter tires for this time of year.

 

You seem to be getting some info mixed up...
15's will just barely fit on a r53 (gen1)....and the STOCK calipers/rotors on the gen2 (if you downgrade) will generally not fit under many 16's....guess you might try spacers, but with them, you risk hub/bearing wear....
you might find a wildwood bbk kit that fits a 16'.....but to go to a 15 you will need to go to dramatically undersized cooper brakes....on a jcw...so big powerful car..(for a mini)....tiny brakes....not a great combo...

 

The Wilwood Dynapro kit with 11.75 " rotor is listed as fitting 15" wheels. I will have to contact them to be sure I guess. Can't imagine is would be that much of a downgrade in performance especially with lighter wheels
Any other reason 15" won't fit aside from rotor diameter?

 

15" wheels are the bomb. The RSR Motorsport team had them on the MINIs they ran in the Continental Tire Street Tuner class of the Rolex Grand-Am series. Not sure what rims they were using but they were able to fit the first gen JCW calipers inside their 15" rims. There might have been, probably were, some spacers involved. Not sure if it was to fit the calipers or just to widen the track for other reasons.

Not sure that the JCW brake brackets will work with a smaller disk size. I think that RSR might have made custom brackets to fit the JCW caliper to the std. MCS rotor. It might just be easier to go to the Wilwood 11.75" kit which is an excellent kit. Besides rotor diameter there is the shape of the caliper that also has to fit inside the rim. The Wilwood is a very compact unit with very easy pad changing. Select the right pads and you will have all the brakes you will ever need.

Don't think of 15" wheels as a downgrade, think of them as a performance upgrade. The smaller overall diameter of the tire and wheel will give you better acceleration. The reduced mass will improve; acceleration, deceleration, handling, and decreased ride harshness.

If you haven't replaced the stock shocks yet I would highly recommend it. With 25,000 miles on the OEM suspension they are getting pretty tired. I could not believe what a difference it made. I changed mine at about the same mileage. It was immediately obvious in the reduced harshness on the street. I would only recommend shocks from either Koni or Bilstein. Either the Koni Sport, the Koni FSD, or Bilstein B6 or B8.

I could not believe the ride difference when I put on the Koni Sport shocks with the stock springs. Even with them on their softest setting the ride harshness was greatly reduced. There is plenty of adjustment for auto-x or track day experimentation. All of the US R53 MCS came stock with Sport Suspension Plus. The SS+ option was dropped with the arrival of the R56. Now you only have the optional, slightly softer, Sport Suspension that must be selected when ordering.

 

Thanks Bilbo, that's exactly what I wanted to hear. Maybe I'll start with brakes and wheels, then wait until I have the $ to do the struts at the same time as the springs.

 

The stock MINI Cooper 15" 7-hole wheel (R81) is a great one for your winter tires. It is 15x5.5" and only 12.5 lbs. I have some 185/65R15 Nokian snow tires that have been fantastic. Would highly recommend them.

Did your car come with an LSD? They make winter driving so much more fun.

 

Just a suggestion, if you want to stay with 17" consider Rally Wheels, they're pretty robust. Or you could go with a set of Schmidt Wheels. If you bend Schmidt's you pretty much hit a wall. (Pricey)

 

15's are great on a mini...run them for the winter...steering feel is more nimble!!
if wildwwod says they fit, then you are good to go...and the shape/size of the caliper is usually the issue...but careful placement of wheel balancing weights or use of half height ones can help when it is a close fit....with 15 it CAN be that close.
Just remember to stick to a 15 that has the weight cabibilities/load range you need ...that will limit the tire choice a bit, but better than a blowoutfromm a bump on a overloaded tire!!

 

Not sure on the LSD. Is there an easy way to tell?

 

On a gen2, lsd is a computer implemented part of the traction control....unless you installed an seperate aftermarket unit...i do not know tons of gen2 stuff, but i remember hearing about it...check for your model year and see it was "turned on".
one thing i might add...to matain a similar contact patch with the road, ESPECIALLY with a JCW, you may want to use something wider than the stock mini 15 size that the oen rims support...i run a tire that is slightly narrower than stock 16's for winter on my Mini but much wider than the stock 15, and i wish i was just a big wider....go too narrow and you are trying to put fown too much hp to too small a contact patck....rims are sold in (usually) one half or full inch width varriations....so look at a few tire choices that have about the same outside diameter as stock...look at the load ratings/tires you csn get in that size, then find the recomened RIM width for that tire....usually about an inch range....too wide/narrow you get poke/stretch....a look some folks like, but generaly negative performance wise...a bit of work, but a hour or so weighing the posibilites i bet of rim/tire choices to go with the new bbk. Enjoy!! Since gen2 cars generally ride BETTER than gen1, it will be interesting to hear the outcome!!