After destroying yet another rim this month I have had enough, either this car goes or I have to make a serious change. Im really sick of paying for damage to suspension and rims from the AWFUL roads here in north Jersey. after fitting my 17" winter wheels I realized just how terrible the 18"s with run flats ride. Pretty sure they will never go back on even though they look great. I am currently limited to 17" rims due to the oversize brake kit but I am considering changing them to accommodate some 15"s. I know my handling may suffer but the 1 or 2 track days I will attend are not worth the crappy ride I have to deal with year round. Add to that the cost of replacing rims and repairing suspension too
Any suggestions? I would prob go with some high end rims/tires like Motegi tracklites to keep weight down and maybe a Wilwood kit to retain performance. Can I leave the rear as is or will I need to change all four?

 

You are running runflats???

 

My 18"s have the oem run flats and I hate them. My winter wheels are Motegi Sp10 17"" with Kumho ecsta tires. Ride is way better, wheels are about 6 lbs lighter each and is a huge improvement all around. That's what got me thinking of going even further to a 15". Even lighter and lots more Cush from a taller sidewall.

 

I'll trade you. 205 45 16 non run flat pirelli p6 and stock cooper s brakes.

Sean

 

Thanks for the offer, I'm going to do some more research and price out a few options and then decide. I don't want to give up too much braking performance but I also don't want to invest a lot of $$$ either way, any parts I sell will be offered here first.

 

Will a 15" wheel fit over the JCW rear brake or will I need to change that too and how would a Wilwood 11" front kit and JCW rear work together? Any issues with balance?

 

Rear brakes are same as The S models.

 

contact Jan from Revolution MINI he has a great brake kit that you can still use 15 inch wheels.

 

--

 

15s will fit over S brakes , but will need an et40 or greater. The standard S brakes are pretty good, but unless you really want 15s, it would be costly to downgrade to S brakes.

Instead use that money to buy 17inch track wheels with a good tire like dunlop star specs.

 

I believe TSW makes a few kits intended to fit under 15s. The Wilwood 11.75" setup probably will too, but it doesn't have a rotor with anywhere near as much mass as the BDM. I have the Wilwood 12.2 kit under 16s for the winter and they fit perfectly, if you're willing to consider 16s.

--Matt

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but there's some 16" wheels that fit the JCW brakes right? If so, just go that route. It's crazy to swap out the JCW brakes just to go to 15 wheels. Compared to 16's with non-RF, the 18 with RF will feel like bricks.

 

Dear MINI,

This is what you get when you design your suspension to have almost 0 compression travel. Jerks. And on top of that, offer 18 inch wheels with runflat tires. That's just silly.

- Andrew

 

I will second that. I think that bottoming out is the main cause of all the damage. The 18's are just a marketing ploy. Aside from looks they offer no advantage over smaller wheels, are heavier and ride like crap.

 

My R56 came with 15s from the factory, and I have to say they rode much smoother than my current 17s. It was much "quicker" from a standstill with the 15s. Also, with 15s it had a lower stance. Honestly, if mini would have equipped the car with say, 15x7 or even 15x6.5 I wouldn't have gone to 17s, but at 15x5.5 there just isn't enough rubber on the road to suit me and my driving style. Whatever you choose, 15 or 16, make sure you pick up some that are lightweight!

 

This is a major problem with low profile tires in general. 17" is better than 18s, 16" are better than 17"...etc. Personally, I run the 16" in the winter time just for the pot holes in upstate NY and have not had a problem. I also stick with the stock MINI wheels. Even though they are heavy, they are stronger than many of the aftermarket wheels.

There are a couple of threads that may help you. These show wheels for BBKs and the JCW Brakes and may help you to get to a smaller wheel:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ated-list.html

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...cw-brakes.html

One very important thing that you said is you would like to continue to track your car. Degrading the brakes is the last thing that you want to do. On any track the JCW is at least 10% faster than the "S". That is 20% more energy that has to be dissipated. The brakes on an S are marginal for the track. In a faster car, such as a JCW, they will be even less effective. And, for sure, you don't want to go to the Justa brakes that would fit 15" wheels.

IMHO the only option that you have if you want to change the brakes is to stay with a BBK. Wilwood makes two kits for the MINI. The 12.2" is basically the same braking capacity as the JCW brakes and will easily fit the MINI 16" wheels. The 11.75" will fit 15" wheels and are still very track worthy. I have experience with 12.2" kit and would highly recommend it. I have a friend with a very fast track MINI who uses the 11.75" kit with no problems. I have had problems with the stock MINI S brakes. Also these kits are only slightly more expensive than buying a set of stock MINI brakes. See:

http://www.tceperformanceproducts.com/mini/kits-16/

Another big benefit of these kits is they have a much lower unsprung weight. This will be big plus in keeping the wheels from being destroyed.

Another option is to go to the sport suspension springs. These would raise the car 10 mm and are slightly softer than the JCW springs, so you won't lose much in the way of handling. These about the only springs available that are stock height.

Good luck with this.

 

My plans are to sell the 18s and pick up the sport springs and see how it feels along with the 17s. If I want to go even further I will get the Wilwood 11" kit and pick up some lightweight 15s, then sell the 17s and my front JCW brakes. Hopefully in the end I can break even and have a car better suited for street use. I'm not too concerned with track performance, I'm positive a good driving instructor would do me more good than anything I do to the car. I will prob only go once this year anyway as it still places third in my hobbies behind dirt bikes and mountain biking.
Any ideas on what my parts are worth?
R113-18" with Pzero run flats -18k miles in nice shape
Jcw springs
JCW front brakes 24k on them