I have 2009 Cooper S
will it be a huge problem to run 15" winters?
will this affect speed sensors?
trying to save money and use the 15's i had for my cooper..i realize i will need to buy new wheels but it will save me some money if I can at least reuse the tires

 

Hi,

I am not 100% sure, but I don't think 15" wheels of any sort will clear the brakes. I think the 'S' needs 16" at a min.

 

Don't know about the S I have a MC and run 15's, no problem.

 

Not sure what you are asking - But the overall diameter of the wheel & tire combination should not change much. The height of the sidewall gets larger with a smaller diameter wheel. This link has tire size calculator where you can compare tire & wheel sizes. The rule of thumb is to stay within 3% of original diameter.

http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp

 

I run 16s in the Winter and 17s in the Summer, not sure if your 15s are all season or were you live, but I would tell you to buy dedicated snows for your car if you get anything more then a dusting of snow. You can get a good 15 inch snow tire for a good price, plus the tire will be narrow and will be good in the snow. My opinion of all season tires is not that that good, and worse on a small light car like the Mini. Alot of people talk about saving money on things with there car, all I can say is dont look to save money on tires, your life and the life of others are riding on them. Being able to stop even 3 or 4 feet sooner in the snow can save you an accident and the cost of the tires, again this is just my opinion.

 

I have a '04 MCS and run 15" snow tires in the winter and 17" summer tires from spring to fall. I haven't seen any problems at all. One thing I would highly recommend: buy a set of MINI wheels for your winter tires. They look a lot better than steel wheels and you don't have to deal with plastic hubcaps. You can get great buys on used wheels here on NAM or eBay. I paid about $180 for a set of 15" MINI wheels with only a few scratches. You won't believe what a difference snow tires make!

 

If you go to the Tirerack site and search winter tire/wheel packages for your R56S you will find 15" wheels that will fit your car. Most 15" wheels won't clear your front brake rotors...Tirerack has ones that do.

 

You will need to first find out if they fit over the front brakes. If they do, then you can use them, if not, then you can't.

 

Found a breakdown of OEM rims sizes to model chart here.

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

Looks like not all OEM 16" rims will fit the R56s.