I know jack about wheels and tires, so I was hoping you all could help me with what questions to ask / thing to tell when ordering?

I love the look and reasonable price of the Rota Subzero wheels. I really want to put some white 17x7.5 on my 2009 MSC. I was looking to purchase here or here. They both seem to have decent prices. Anybody use either lately? Any place better? Closer to Wisconsin.

I've read about "hubcentric rings" and still don't really know what it means. The center bore on the Subzero is 67.1mm and a mini is 56.1mm so I assume I need an centering ring. Do I get it from the wheel guy?

Does the car having Tire pressure monitoring sensors matter to the wheel guy?

My mini is stock with 16" so I shouldn't have any problems with fitment right?

As far as tires go I very much want to ditch the bone rattling runflats that came stock. I don't track my car but do drive it like I stole it. So I prefer a less pricy tire. I'd like better comfort and performance. Strickly a summer tire but decent in the rain. I was looking at the Kumho Ecsta MX at tirerack in 225/45/17.

Size wise I'm the most lost. I don't have plans to lower the car any time soon so I figure a higher sidewall would be good. Protect the rim a bit better from our gigantico potholes here in WI and fill up the gap better. I found a pic on flickr of this exact setup and they looked nice, albeit they arn't on a car.

Once I have the wheels and tires, do I just take it somewhere to have them mounted? Will they balance them off the car should I just have them balance/mount/put on the car all in one shot. I'd prefer to do as much as I can myself, as I'll be doing it twice a year from now on.

Thanks for any help / advice you can offer. Everybody's been so helpful so far. I realize I'm like the 50th person this week to ask about wheels and tires. I feel I've done my homework just want to make sure I get it right. Maybe once I figure it out I be of help too.
All my other cars I've had were just transportation. Take it to Sams and have them slap on the "on sale" goodyear eagles on my stock rims and drive it till they fall off. Its different with my mini. I have a real CAR. Now I care. Cheers.

 

Haven't used either so I can't help ya there.

You can get them from a variety of sources. Many people debate on whether Hub Centric rings are necessary or not, but that's a decision for you to make.

Yes. You will need a new set to mount in the new wheels/tires.

If you are planning on getting 16's with the same tire size then of course, but you are by no means limited to just that size.

That may be too big. For 17's you'll want to be looking at 215/45, but if you want to run 225, then you may need a bit lower profile such as 225/40. Although since you are not lowered, you may be able to squeeze the 225/45 in there.

Yup. You can even just bring the wheels and tires to a place and have them mounted and balanced. You can put them on the car yourself.

 

Thanks AstroBlackS! I guess I can figure out the tire issues when and if I can get the rims. Doesn't look like they are the easiest to find in stock. The forum comes through again.

 

I am not totally in the know about TPMS but you should be able to pull them off your old rims and stick them on your new ones if they have space. I have actually looked at ordering a set of slip streams from your first link so it would be cool to hear about them.

I am going to say you should look at a slightly "lower performing" tire, the MX will have great dry performance, but it sacrifices some wet performance and ride quality to get that. I would look at the UHP catagory of summer tires, the catagory has a huge selection and many well priced tires that good performance.

The second gen has a bit more room in the wells than the first gen it seems, so 225/45 is likely doable if the tire you pick doesnt run large. That said 225/45 is oversized so it is going to reduce your acceleration (and in my case MPG). Make sure you have the correct offset, somewhere in the 40's would probably be what you want. The 225's I run are on a 50mm offset rim, but mine are only 7in wide.

Unless you have your own equipment you will need to take them somwhere to have them mounted. Tirerack has a list of places that can do it for you. It sounds like you will be running snow tires as well, I suggest you re-purpose as winter rims so you dont have to mount and unmount tires.

 

I have that very wheel on my R53. First off, good luck finding them in white. They apparently stopped making them some time ago. I found mine on Craigslist right here in town (miracle). One brand new (bought as a spare, never used), three used but one in OK shape. All were white. Took worst 2 in and had them repaired and powder-coated. Rattle canned the third to freshen it up. I bought General Exclaims from Tire rack and took them all to a Discount tire for mounting and installing. They found one of the powder-coated wheels to be bent. Cr^p.

So I went online and found several folks advertising white SubZeros but nobody had them in stock...if they even bothered to return my call/email.

Bottom line, I was forced to order a bronze wheel and paint it.

Advice...ditch the OEM brake pads and go with a low dust ceramic. White wheels and BMW brakes and a royal pain in the ^$$.

 

Oh, and about hub-centering rings. If the hub to which the wheel mounts is a different size than the hole in the wheel, then you need rings...they act as adapters to help center the wheel while you're torquing it down.

 

Looks like I'll have to do some more homework on the tires. I guess my focus will be on the rims.
Sin MINI, your Mini is so sweet and its the reason I wanted those rims so bad. Bummer bout the availability. Maybe I'll just have to get another color and have them painted. Kinda defeats the whole purpose of affordibility though.
About the brake pads. I swapped mine out a week after I got my car. Hawk Ceramics are the bomb. Two weeks of driving 500+ miles and my wheels are still WHITE.
Thanks all.