Hello all,
I did some extensive searching on this question, but didn't find much on this particular question. I'm spec-ing out a new MCS, and am thinking of going with the 16" wheel, but possibly adding the sport suspension package. I drove a test car with 16s and a regular suspension, and felt a little soft (but very comfortable). I like the merits of the lighter weight, better durability and lower cost of the 16 inch option, but was just wondering how much the sport suspension would tighten up the ride, and potentially increase the harshness. Anyone with this option?
thanks

 

I have 16" bridge spokes and sport suspension on my 07 S. (see gallery) It's just FINE. Proceed per that spec, you will be PLEASED. The setup drives FINE if you want to just cruise, but when you decide to hit the twisties hard, you will be rewarded. BTW, I am still running the runflats, and expect the ride to be even better when I go to a lower weight tire, hence less unsprung weight. As a side note, I researched the specs for my car before I became an early depositor for the 07's and read that the engineers felt the car was optimum factory setup in an S with sport suspension and 16's. Again, the setup works great. Even the lady of the house says the ride is great....but (from me, not her) still performs when you want it. (lady of the house does not drive this car, btw...she has a Toyota and is afraid to drive the Mini for fear she will HATE her Toyota...and she's right)

 

I concur.
The 16s will improve handling by reducing unsprung weight...
same contact patch...
the only thing 17s let you do is stick bigger rotors in there, which realy isn't needed in most street aps. for these toys

Happy ordering!

 

17s generally have a lower (and usually subsequently) stiffer sidewall tire, which can help turn in feel. You just have to weigh that against the weight of the wheel and all that fun stuff.

 

I just ordered, and was really on the fence with this one. I only test-drove on 17" run-flats, with and without SS. The ride was so much smoother without SS, I decided to forego it for now. I am getting 16" wheels, so am not so sure I made the right decision. Worst comes to worse, I figure I can go after-market, which will cost quite a bit more. I figured I'd take that risk, as opposed to the risk of getting SS and wishing I hadn't.

 

I have 16s and SS. I like it. Sure it's rougher than the normal suspension but not by too much.

The 17s with SS is a good bit harsher than with 16s.

The 17s are a little wider though - 195mm vs 205mm.

The s-winders are the lightest rim you can get on the S model.

 

My 07 MCS has SS plus 17" runflats. The suspension feels pretty comfortable to me.

 

I pondered this question last week when I ordered my mini. As to the "unsprung weight" difference, I am not sure that there is any difference. The stock wheels (16 and 17 weight ~22lbs) are apparently = in all that I could find. AND, all the tire weights seemed to be the same (runflats and non runflats (~21-22lbs). The difference is in rotational mass as the 17" will have a greater mass from the center and hence require more umph to initiate rotation. I went with the 17" cus they looked better to me...

 

Most of the 17" are around 22 lbs but the 16" s-winders are:

 

you could get the best of both worlds..... 16s + smaller sidewall

Stiffer sidewal
Lighter weight
Better gearing for acceleration

 

215/40/16 makes for great wheelspin in 2nd gear just by mashing the throttle without using the clutch - even if they are slicks. Oh yea, they handle corners great too. There is also some insane wheel gap with them.

 

you bring up a good point.....lowering the profile does increase the wheel gap which i guess would be a thumbsdown for that list

Still totally worth it in my opinion

 

People are putting 205 and wider tires on 16" wheels. The Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 in 215/55 16 or 205/55 16 seems to be popular.

And they weigh more than my Centerline RPM 17" wheels.
After-market 16" seem to be available in the 12-13 lb. range.

I think the thing to do is get the cheapest factory wheels and buy a another set of lightweight wheels.

 

I was refering to the stock sizes. I use 215/40/16 on a spare set of s-winders for autocross.

The s-winders ARE the cheapest from the factory on an S model. Sure you can BUY aftermarket wheels that are lighter. My posts have been oriented towards stock rims/tires (except for my r-compound autocross tires).

 

I spec'ed our shop MINI with the 16" S-Winders. (Cost: FREE!) It handled pretty well, considering the relatively tall/skinny tires. Rather than spend dough on OEM 17's that will weigh as much as ten pounds more EACH, I'd save your money and go with an aftermarket wheel down the road. As mentioned, the S-Winders are pretty light.

--Dan
Mach V
FastMINI.net

 

16lbs 10oz Where were you last week when I asked for wheel weights! Oh, well I got the SP and got DSC+xenons as well and paid under MRSP, so I can get aftermarket wheels anyway and keep the crown spokes (or not).

 

Hi,

I ordered my MCS with SS and 16" Bridgespokes. I liked the looks of the
Bridgespokes best, but if I would have know the S-winders were so much lighter I might have went with them. I ordered all season tires so I'm only using the stock wheels and tires for winter. I went with 16 x 6.5 Rota, 45 offset Slipstreams with BFG KDW 215/50/16s. The wheels are a little under 13 1/2 lbs. The tires are just a little taller than the stock 195/55/16s. They ride better and handle better than the stock runflats though they probably aren't lighter. I'd have went with 15" wheels, but I think any off them would need a spacer in the rear to clear. I just didn't want that much offset. The 16 Slipstreams I have keep the 215's just inside the fenders with no rubbing. I think I could lower the car with no problems. They don't require any spacers or hub rings so they are easy to swap on and off. This was important to me since I'll do some autocrossing and probably some track stuff once some starts making some track worthy brake pads to fit the MCS.

I'm very happy with the ride. It is much better than the 06 MCS. I have a friend with an 02 MCS with 205/40/17's and stock suspension. The ride is really harsh. I think the SS is a bargain. Just the bigger front bar is almost worth it's purchase price once you consider the labor to swap it if you didn't do it yourself. I don't think the 17's bring any advantages unless you like there looks which many people do. I much prefer the looks of the 16s and really like 15's.

Do the 16s you won't regret it.

 

Thanks for all the input, guys. I'm hoping to drive a SS vs. non-SS back to back tomorrow if the dealer has one, and make my decision then. If they don't have one, I'll probably still try the SS. I've had a couple of 5.0 Mustangs in years past, and I'm sure it won't have a ride as bad as either of them.

 

I read in an interview where one of the guys that worked on the JCW package said the Bridge Spokes give a little extra room inside the wheel, enough for the JCW brake upgrade, while the S-winders do not. Something to think about...

gl

 

For my Mini, 16's are big enough.

 

Hey guys,
Just to bring this thing full circle...I drove a few more Minis today (and ordered one ).

I drove one with the 17" wheels the the "Hypersport" suspension, and one with the 17" wheels and the "Sport" suspension.

For me, even the hypersport wasn't really too bad. It would kind of toss you on the bigger bumps and heaves, but no sharp, square-edged impacts made it up through the suspension from expansion joints and such. I did think that the hypersport transmitted more road noise into the interior vs. the regular sport suspension. I was very impressed by how flat the hypersport cornered around the freeway on-ramp.

I then drove a MCS with the regular sport suspension and 17s, and I thought it was just fine. No issues with comfort at all. It still gives a firmly snubbed response to bumps, but less noise and a better ride than the hypersport; but, a bit more body roll, too.

I still went with the 16 inch wheels and the sport suspension package, taking into account that I can always change with aftermarket. All in all, I think it's going to be a very sporty, yet comfortable package.

I appreciate all the input from the folks here on the board. Thanks again.

 

On my current car, an 04 Subaru STi, I changed to higher profile tires and recently discovered after been pulled over my speedo is now reading roughly 10-15% below actual speed. In this case what you are suggesting would have the opposite effect. Does the MINI compensate for this when you reset the tire pressure sensors? If not, a tire calculator will help anyone considering lowering the diameter of their wheel+tire combo compute the difference.

 

Just wondering how mcuh do the bridge spokes weigh?

 

Are you sure you tested two different suspensions? My understanding is that 'hypersport' is just the name of the package that includes SS, same as you can get a la carte.

 

Hi Pastabatman
I think you have a good question, and I think I've figured out the difference. When I looked at the Monroney sticker on the two cars after driving them, the one with the Hypersport package said something about an Aero Kit and a Sports Suspension Plus. IIRC, the other car had the Sports Package which I originally though had the sports suspension.

I did some looking here on the site after you asked the question and on another site, and there seems to be the thought that the Hypersport suspension is the same as the "a la carte" sports suspension.

So, I now believe after looking at the MINI site and a couple of other places that the cars I drove had a 17" hypersport (includes a sport suspension that is the same as the stand-alone option) and the second car had the "Sports Package" which has the regular suspension.

Does that make more sense? I knew there was a definite difference in how they handled.

So, now I'm really wondering what my 16"/SS combo is going to be like when it gets here. Should be interesting!