I need wheels and tires in 15, 16, or 17" for my car (in sig) within 2 weeks. I only have 22,000 miles on my car but my S-Lites have about 100 miles of tread left.

I've spent like 30 hours this week trying to figure out some replacements, and I am back to ground zero. I ordered some O.Z. Ultraleggeras in 16x7 from The Tire Rack. Apparently those are not going to work on my car without some modification to the bumper.

I'm so frustrated!

Well my local Mini dealership in Bloomington, MN is offering a wheel and tire package for $508. It consists of 15" black steel wheels and Continental non-runflat tires. I am going to talk to them about that tomorrow.

Make a recommendation please.

 

Wait....why wont the OZ's fit? Based on your sig, you're not even lowered. You shouldn't have to touch your bumper.....unless I'm missing something

 

A guy from the tire rack called my dad and told him they won't fit. Third hand, it was something like the wheel well near the bumper would have to be sanded down because of the aggressive offset of the wheels.

 

Unless you got some custom offset....the offset of the OZ's in 16x7 is 37mm. That is kinda aggressive....but not so agressive that you need to do much trimming....especially if you're not lowered. Just stay away from really wired tires. Stick with 205 width tires and they should fit no problem at all

Lots of people run that width and offset for the OZ's and have no problem.

 

Agreed, issues arise with 215's and the et 37.

Alex

 

Oh that's just fantastic. I cancelled my order for the 16x7 OZ Ultraleggeras and 195/55R16s!:impatient

 

If you had adjustable camber on a lowered mini could you make 215 work on this offset?

I'm looking at ultras again and wanted to put 215/45 on it

 

Sure, with some camber and dremel work.

Alex

 

that sounds like a lot of work just to make a set of rims fit...

 

Don't rush with your decision. Step back for a minute and make the right choice with your order. You can always re order the Ultraleggeras but, I think you should pick an off set that you can work with down the road with any suspension mods (lowering) that you might use down the line and do so with out cutting the wheel wells IMOP. I'm running a 16x7 with a 40mm off set. My tires are a 205/50/16 and I run M7 lowering springs. I have no rubbing issues and am very happy with the fit and performance. I myself didn't want to cut (dremel) away my wheel wells. Stick with a wheel that fits without the need to cut. As far as what your dealer is offering, I myself would pass. Just my two cents.

 

adding camber and 10 minutes with a razor blade or Dremel?

 

It's really not that hard. It's a mod worth doing.

I takes a whole lot longer to get the tires mounted and wheels balanced....but people deem that worth doing

 

I'm running 215/45-R17 Haka's on a set of Enkei rims with et40 offset and NO issue.
(these were bought from PGT)

Personally, I'd go 16" rims unless you'r planning on upsizing your brakes.
Lighter wheel, less cost with with tires, better perf.
The only issue is that 16" perf. tires will become harder and harder to find... in 7-10 yrs or so.
15" tires perf. tires WILL be hard to find...

 

16x7 et 37 is a high offset and won't cause problems down the road...even when lowered. Tire rack just plays it safe a lot of the time. Tons of people are running wider wheels and lower offsets while lowered a GREAT DEAL on coilovers and have no rubbing. You yourself just mentioned 16x7 et40 not rubbing on M7's (one of the lowest springs)....his would only be 3mm's difference.....if you're curious, get out a ruler and check out how minuscule that is. On top of that, he is/was planning to run 195/55's......so he's at even less risk of rubbing than you are with your 205's on a slightly higher offset.

It's funny that people worry about trimming the arches....i wonder how many people realize that BMW actually trimmed the same part on the new r56's to avoid rubbing. Look up under there and you will see that they removed part of the lip....the same part people trim when lowering their car. We're not talking about cutting into the actually arch or anything crazy....just removing the little plastic lip on the inside of the arch cause it's not needed. You can do it in 3-5 minutes (per wheel) with an exacto knife depending how much you want to trim, and it can't even be seen from the outside of the car.

So many people run 17x7 et37 OZ's with no rubbing when lowered(springs and coilovers alike)...why would the 16 be any different at the same width and offset...especially with a 195 tire? I've run 15x7 et35 with zero problems and no trimming (on coilovers and on springs). I really think he has nothing to worry about. Worse case scenario.....he somehow rubs....all he has to do is trim it a little bit.

 

or, if you don't have much rubbing (ie not audible), let the tire and arch work out amongst themselves

 

17x7 et 37 oz ul's here with 5mm spacers in the front (essentially et32) dropped about 1.75 inches over stock on old (read: sagging) hsport springs and no rubbing with 205's. Granted I have camber plates and 2 degrees of camber up front... but even if i didn't the rubbing would be so minuscule without the spacers that I wouldn't even need to trim... the tires would do the 1mm of necessary trimming for me.

just relax and go for it.

 

I have done extensive research (thanks to a 9mm offset) and my tires have proven that the arch actually rubs away, not the tire. On cars with metal arches, rubbing means its rubber on metal......the rubber always loses which can be very dangerous as it wears through the tire. On our car....the arch actually rubs away LONG before the tire shows ANY wear. It's a self-solving solution really

 

I think the lesson here is when ordering from the Tirerack go through Alex! He knows MINI's!

 

16" Ultraleggeras with 205/50/16 non-runflats. Much lighter than OEM, better handling and ride, no rubbing issues. Suggest you consider 16's.

 

That's what he ordered

 

I recommend the 15" steel rims. Not the ones from the dealer, turns out you can get them through Tirerack. I have mine with Nokian Vs, they are summer tires 195/60/15. They perform very well, but didn't have a long time to test them before leaving for Japan. They gripped as well if not a bit better than my older Kumho Ecsta 711s, 205/50/15. IMO you cannot beat the steel rim look. (^_^)b