I was originally going to get a set of 17" wheels and tires for my MC this year, now I am considering keeping my stock 15's and getting a wider set of tires. Does anyone know the maximum size that will fit on the stock 15's without causing any rubbing issues?

 

Copied from MINI 2:

Here is a list of tires fitting within the range of the speedo.

| TIRE SIZE | DIAMETER |
| 195/55-15 | 23.44in (595.5mm) |
| 205/40-17 | 23.46in (595.8mm) |
| 215/50-15 | 23.46in (596.0mm) |
| 215/45-16 | 23.62in (599.9mm) |
| 195/50-16 | 23.68in (601.4mm) |
| 185/60-15 | 23.74in (603.0mm) |
| 215/40-17 | 23.77in (603.8mm) |
| 205/55-15 | 23.88in (606.5mm) |
| 215/35-18 | 23.93in (607.7mm) |
| 175/65-15 | 23.96in (608.5mm) | * Stock
| 225/45-16 | 23.97in (608.9mm) |
| 205/50-16 | 24.07in (611.4mm) |

 

215/50-15
or
205/55-15
Both should not rub.
Check with Alex@tirerack to be certain.

 

Hey Thrilhouse,

I've got the factory 15's (8-spokes) and you need to remember that both the factory 15's are only 5 and 1/2 inches wide whereas the stock 16's are 6 and 1/2. The stock tire (all season Continentals) is 175/65/15 if I remember right. If I were to keep my rims and get tires I was thinking of only going up to a 195/60/15. Tires can stretch to fit a rim, but on the 5 and 1/2 inch wide rim I don't know if I'd go with a wider tire than 195. I think the 175 is pretty close to fitting the wheel straight. Minihune's advice to call Alex is good as he knows the limits. You won't have to worry about rubbing I don't think with the stock 15s.

The width of tire on the stock 16s is 195 (i.e., 195/55/16), so if you could go with a 195 on the 15's that would be quite wide, as I personally think the 195 width is actually very wide.

 

I am using the 205/55/15 with no rubbing

_________________
MINI... greater than the sum of its parts

 

Hey Thrilhouse,

You will also need to consider the offset of the wheels as you don't want anything too radical or you will get rubbing. In other words, you don't want the wheels too close to both the inner and outer wheel wells. The higher the wheel offset, the closer the wheels are to the inner wheel well, and the lower the offset, the closer the wheels are to the outer wheel well. I personally like a lower offset that pushes the wheels more to the outside and looks very aggressive. Someone has posted here on this site that if you are too far out that will cause more stress on suspension parts and things may not last as long. But for that extreme, we are talking really far out so that you would get rubbing. With 15's, you could get low profile tires and have a large wheel gap above the tires but be able to have a low offset, assuming you did not lower the car. The benefit of having the tires pushed out farther to the edges theoretically will help handling. Alex knows what will work and what won't. Hope that helps.

Which MINI 15 inch wheels do you have? I really like my MINI 8-spokes (15 lbs), but the other 15 inch wheel is 3 lbs. lighter.

 

Hey SynergyONE,

What wheels are you using? Are they the MINI 15 inch wheels? I think Thrilhouse is asking about the MINI 15 inch wheels. If you have the MINI 15 inch wheels, that is quite amazing to run 205's on them. Are you having any problems with that?

 

Just for clarification, I have the MINI 15" 8-spoke wheels.

 

Hey Thrilhouse,

I see we have the same stock wheels. Although I like them, I would really like to get some wider ones later. But I may get some replacement tires first for these wheels, and then upgrade the wheels and tires on that next set. We'll see. Let us know what you find out about what is the widest tire that will fit, and what you do. Remember that the wider you go with a tire, the more that tire will be stretched. And that will be a compromise of some kind.

 

Hey Thrilhouse,

I've got your answer. SynergyONE is right. 205 can be used. To get this answer, just go into the following (i.e., click on the following):

Tires Wheels & Brakes Forum
Wheel Weight and Ofsset/Tire Weight
16's -- tires
Bridgestone Potenza S03
Specs -- this is at the top of the Bridgestone section (about 3/4 way up)

This will give you a chart with many specs, such as rim width range, and measured rim width, for all the available rim sizes for that tire, i.e., 15, 16, 17, etc. You can do this for any tires that Alex has listed.

I checked this for the S03, Goodyear Eagle F1 G3-D3, Yokohama AVS ES100, Kumho ECSTA Supra 712, Dunlop SP Sport 9000, Continental Conti Touring Contack CH95, and Dunlop Winter Sport M2. Although each tire is different, there are some similarities. For example, the results are that the biggest tire width is the 205/55/15. Others are 205/50/15, and 195/50/15, 195/60/15, but 205 is the widest listed. This info is in the rim width range column, which gives a range. For example, the range for 195/50/15 is 5.5 to 7 inches, 205/50/15 is 5.5 to 7 or 7.5 inches depending on tire, and 205/55/15 is 5.5 to 7.5 inches. So, 5.5 is minimally acceptable as it is at the bottom of the range.

There are other measurements listed that are important too, so you can see what tires will suit your needs. For example, the actual tread width is listed. Bridgestone S03 for 205/55/15 is 7.6 inches. Whereas the 195/60/15 for the Yokohama AVS ES 100 is 6.8 inches. And 195/55/15 for the Kumho ECSTA Supra 712 is 6.8 inches.

Although it looks like you can put a 205/55/15 on the stock 15's, do you really want a 7.6 inch wide tire squeezed onto a 5.5 inch rim? If you were doing some serious spirited driving an curvy roads, you may get some additional tire flex or something -- that's not good for the road feel and steering feel. I'm no expert, but I would rather be more conservative and go with a 195 width tire until I could upgrade my wheels to wider ones. Evan a 195 IMO is still quite wide for that size rim, i.e., it will have a tire width of 6.8 inches squeezed onto a 5.5 inch rim. That's scary enough for me. Clint Eastwood comes to mind: Do ya feel lucky? :smile: :smile:

 

jazmini, sorry for the mislead...I am running the 15X7 Kosei K1 with the 205/55/15 Yokos. I suppose you can squeeze them on the stock 15 but I think it would look better on a wider wheel.

 

205/55/15 is ideal!

Alex

 

I am running 205/50/15 Kuhmo 710s on my stock 7 holes... (and they are more like a 225 in width) but those are for auto-x. Not easy to mount but they fit...LOL

For street a 205/55/15 should work great.. or even a "normal" 205/50/15

 

Hey guys,

enough with numbers. let's have some pics. i'm thinking about switching out of my MCS 17" runflats to 15inch rims with some nice tires to get better acceleration. how about some pictures?! :smile:

 

** bump **

Hey all, any more thoughts or results to share on this question? Specifically, is it okay to run 205s on a stock 5.5-inch rim (for street use), or is it a better idea to stay at 195? (I have read in several threads that 205s can be mounted on the rims, but haven't seen any long-term reports on how well it's worked out.)

Thanks

 

The stock 15x5.5" rim will accept a 205/50-15 or 205/55-15. If you want a smoother ride with a tire close to stock in size then the 205/55-15 is best but the tires you choose may not be available in that size in which case you can find the 205/50-15 might be available.

195 width tires are also available and are some 10mm more narrow- they will work OK, are a little lighter and maybe a little less costly but pretty close in performance and looks.Narrow tires work better in the snow, wider tires may offer more traction in corners with good weather. 195 will give less rolling resistance.

 

Hi All,

have had 205/55/15's on my stock 15 inch rims for just on 1000km now and they are fantastic. No more squealling when taking corners at speed and a HEAP More grip. These are a world of difference from the 175/65/15's

Cheers Rub