I major change...from 225/45/17 RE71s to 245/45/17 RE71s. Yes they are taller (raised spring perches a bit for clearance) but that might be a plus when it comes to speed in 2nd gear AND they are W>>>I>>>D>>>E>>>R which was a fitment issue I think I have solved. I did have to go back to 5mm spacers in the rear and left the 10mm in the front...

Changed oil and plugs at 3500 miles...oil was clean and the plugs were looking great.

Left Alignment alone for now...want to see/feel the difference based on tires without a lot of other things involved.

More to come tomorrow! 110 pre-registered already (169 drivers last AutoX) and there will be more with nationals coming up...

 

Finished 1st in STU...6 Competitors
1st 50.5.28 (Mini JCW)
2nd 51.713 (Audi S3)

Outran STX and STH and STS

The 245/45/17s were wider tread and taller sidewall...took some getting used to IMO. It was HOT in the third heat...over 100 degrees and felt like 106 degrees.
My runs were 51.706...50.528...51.034...51.170

Tried adjusting air pressures after 2nd run but nothing worked...definitely will have to try again at next weeks AutoX with some minor adjustments???

 

Congrats!
What wasn't working that you were trying to change with pressures?

 

They definitely felt different than the 225/40/17s (much shorter overall height) that I have been using the last 6 AutoXs...a bit more "drifty" ??? (Note:I did have to raise the Spring Perches for clearance)
Tires were new...usually they are not their fastest when brand new in my past experiences.
They felt like the sidewalls could be flexing a bit too much compared to my previous 225/40/17's.
Thought maybe the 33psi front and 30 psi rear was just a bit too low for them.
In actuality it could have been the temps today because adjusting to 35psi front and 32psi rear really didn't change much when it came to times.
I actually wanted the 245/...40.../17s but calculated they might be a bit too wide...funny thing a friend in STH with a AWD Subaru had just purchased 245/40/17s and ran them. He was the only one in STH

225/45/17 Circumference 78.5" OD 25.0" Section Width 8.9" Tread Width 7.6" Revs 835

245/45/17 Circumference 80.7" OD 25.7" Section Width 9.6" Tread Width 8.2" Revs 812

(Numbers based on different rim widths which affect numbers)

245/40/17 Circumference 77,6" OD 24.7" Section Width 9.8" Tread Width 8.6" Revs 843 (I like these numbers a bit more now...LOL)



Inspected the tires after I got home today and the wear pattern was normal and pretty even SO it might have been the combination of The Newness & The Heat along with the requirement to test them a bit.

 

245s- wow! Any rubbing, either inside or outside?

 

No rubbing inside...10mm spacers up from on RSe05 17x7.5 Wheels … 5mm spacers in back. Adjusted ride height up just a bit. The tires did rub some of the plastic off the outside fender caps but did not affect the
look on the outside. Just a little clean up work to rub off the aftermath of the rubbing and all is good. There "might" be enuff room up front to just use a 5mm spacer with my Bilstein b14/16 PSS suspension setup but with the 10mm
working I left them alone. Pretty weird that the rears were the biggest challenge...

 

Nice- what offset are the wheels? I think those camber plates are doing the trick for you! I bet you gained 10mm, or however far they moved off from zero. Explains why the fronts fit easier than the rears, too.

I took a dremmel to the inside edge of my fenders, trimmed a bit of the plastic back that was rubbing on hard turns.

 

Front Wheels: The NM RSe05 is a FLOW FORMED wheel with unmatched quality, perfectly spec-ed for your Mini. With its design adapted from the European touring challenge cars and weighing just a mere 17 Lbs., the RSe05 will enhance your motoring experience cosmetically as well as performance by reducing the rotational mass or unsprung weight.

Now offering a fitment specifically spec-ed for the JCW which translates to complete direct bolt-on utilizing factory lug bolts, center caps, as well as tire pressure monitoring sensors – the only aftermarket wheel that bolts-on over the big JCW brake caliper without any spacer and still offer ample of clearance.

Specification:

Size: 17x7.5
Offset: +40 mm
PCD: 5-112 mm
Bore: 66.5 mm
Lug Opening: 14mm Conical Seat

The rear I can adjust camber with the … http://www.nm-eng.com/338/2/0/3117/n...ntrol-arm.html
I did use a Dremel on the rear plastic fender trim parts...the front barely touched at all and the tires did a slight bit of natural burn off of the plastic fender trim.

I will be adding a bit more camber front and rear this week for this weekends AutoX and adjusting tire pressures a bit. The tires actually showed a nice even wear pattern that covered the whole tread section
so I thing it was the newness and outside heat that caused a bit of the :feel: