Hello Mini community. I am looking for QUALITY 17" wheels for my MCS!!! I have only bought aftermarket wheels once before for a previous vehicle. And after paying BIG bucks and having been reassured that I was getting top quality wheels, those wheels turned out to be a nightmare!!!! I only used them on the mean streets of Las Vegas under normal driving conditions, not abusing them, and they dented continually and even cracked!!! I tried to get help from the company I bought them from, and they wouldn't even talk to the manufacturer.

I've learned a valuable (costly) lesson about the vendor whom I choose to do business with, but now I am looking to the experience of you all to help guide me in making a wise decision on the next set of wheels I buy! I just don't want to end up at the wheel repairman's door unneccesarily.

Thanks in advance for your replies!!!

 

How about BBS forged from the Tire Rack??

 

if you want quality. Usually a little heavier, but that means more endurance too.

Lots of style choices. Pretty easily found used--ebay, Craigslist locally, here i classified's, etc.

And, for well used cars I always want stock anyway as a buyer--non-stock to me usually isn't my taste, but can also signal subliminally harder life and abuse. Thus, I think of aftermarket wheels as a value subtract, absent a few high end brands you don't ever get your money back on a resale anyway.

 

Well... How much do you want to spend?

The way the wheel is made makes a difference how light, strong, and expensive it is. Tire Rack has a nice article about this process. Without going into too many details, generally there are two main ways to manufacture wheels: cast and forged. Each way has different methods to produce that type of wheel, which also helps define the wheel in terms of it's weight, durability, and price. It's generally accepted that a forged wheel is lighter, stronger, and more expensive then it's cast counterpart. That isn't to say that there's no such thing as a good cast wheel. You might be fine with something that is low pressure casted, but since your normal routine might be somewhat hard on the wheels, I'd probably stay away from something gravity cast. As an example, O.Z. makes some nice strong, light cast wheels. BBS also makes some nice flow formed cast wheels that are pretty great.

If you are planning on dropping some good money on your wheels, you can't really go wrong with a forged wheel in general. Some popular brands to look at are BBS, SSR's forged line, and Volk. I myself use SSR Type C RS wheels which are semi solid forged and I've loved them so far.

Another thing to consider is the size and type of tire you use. That's another can of worms that I'll let someone else go over, though.

Everyone's going to have their own opinion, so good luck making a decision and finding the wheel that's right for you.

 

Just how bad are Las Vegas streets? It might be better to go with 16s than 17s or 18s.

 

Can't go wrong with Volk wheels, they may not make a 4x100 patterned 17" wheel right now though.

 

Thanks all for your posts! That is a great arguement for OEM. I have heard that forged wheels are stronger than cast. The car came stock with 17" wheels and Bridgestone RF's, but if I went to a smaller wheel, I'm sure I could get more comfort from the tires and maybe extend the life of the wheel? Anyway, thanks for the suggestions and the names of manufacturers to look at!

 

OEM BBS R90s, Ronal R98s and Borbet R112 are all strong wheels.
As far as aftermarket try:
Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2
Enkei Racing RPF1
O.Z. Superturismo
O.Z. Ultraleggera
Kosei K1 TS

 

great ideas u guys have

 

First you start with a good vendor then you figure out a budget.
Don't forget good tires for those wheels.

Really depends on your budget

Stock MINI wheels are OK but expensive unless you get them used and heavy.

You can get light wheels but they will cost a lot more if you want them strong and light weight.

Strong and heavy is not too tough but more weight is not good if you can avoid it.

For Las Vegas 16" wheels is not a bad thought but if you really need 17 then-

First check out tirerack.com and talk to Alex@tirerack for ideas.

Some examples-

Volk CE28N 17x7.5 4x100 bolt pattern et 43mm
comes in Bronze, Gold or Titanium Silver
About $732 each

Volk TE37 17x7.5 4x100 bolt pattern et 40 mm Bronze $760 each

Volk RE30 17x7.5 4x100 bolt pattern et 43 mm
Bronze or Chrome Silver
$787 each

Advan RGII 17x7.5 4x100 bolt pattern et 41mm $499 each
Gold, White, Silver, Bright Chrome (+$90)

Advan RZ 17x7 4x100, et 42 mm $513 each
Bronze, Gun Metal, Hyper Silver (+$100)

Advan Kreutzer Series Vi 17x7 4x100, et 42 mm $711 each
Platinum Silver, Machined Silver


Problem is many very good light and strong wheels cater to larger sizes from 18" on up but for the MINI 17" is OK as 18" wheels require lower profile tires that are not good for bad roads.