Hey All,

I'm new to the mini club. I had just purchased a 05 Mini Cooper S(R53) and planning to get some wheels. I will be putting coilover but will 16x8 +25 work? If so, what tire size should I go with and how much camber is needed? Kinda want the stance look .

Any suggestions and photo would be greatly appreciated.

 

Welcome,

What are you using your MINI for? Street driving only? How do you drive- aggressive and fast or goes with the traffic, nothing special?

What are your priorities for your tires and what is your budget for tires? Do you want:
Crisp handling
Ride comfort
Low Noise
Long treadlife
Good in wet weather
Good in cold weather/snow (if you live or drive to the mountains)
Looks good- unique tread design/ for car shows

By knowing your priorities on tires we can start to narrow the large selection of tires that will fit a MINI and 16x8 wheels-
195/55-16 (stretch tire fit)
205/50-16 (mild stretch tire fit)
205/55-16 (mild stretch tire fit)
215/45-16 (for aggressive driving/track or autocross) 23.6" tire diam. smaller than OEM
215/50-16 (smaller selection of possible tires)
225/45-16 (for aggressive driving/track or autocross) 23.7" tire diam.
225/50-16 (taller than OEM tire diameter at 24.9" less clearance for lowered suspension)

Using the 16x8 rim et25 is very aggressive. Depending on which tire you choose it could stick out 1-1.5" more than stock. 1" is not bad but more negative camber may be needed to get it just right or you can use a more narrow tire on a wider rim (stretched fit). To get more negative camber in front you need fully adjustable camber plates. While fixed front camber plates will give you some increased negative camber you cannot control how much nor can you balance right and left, you get what you get. To get more negative camber in the rear you need adjustable rear control arms. The standard R53 has some rear negative camber adjustment built in but it may not be enough.

Which coilovers you choose also play a factor, some allow more front negative camber and some get in the way when you want to max out negative front camber. Talk to some shops that do MINI tuning and find out what works. There is no magic number for negative camber. With coilovers and adjustable camber plates you can expect to get about -2 degrees in front and more than -2 degrees in the rear. If you care how your MINI handles you would want to not go more than -2 degrees in the rear. The more you drop your MINI the more negative camber runs.

 

I run 15x10 in front 15x9 rear. Those should work.

 

Minihune

Sorry for the late reply and thanks for all the great info. I live in MN so there's winter but I'm not to concern. I mean I do have a set of wheels with winter tires. I am mainly looking for a good look(no wheel gap) and ok driving. My setup is going to be VMAXX coilover and 16x8 BBS RS styles wrap with 205/50/16 or 205/55/16. So I'm guessing it's a MUST to get camber plates and rear camber arms but what is a good brand for the money?

Thanks for the help

 

For a tire you could consider an Ultra High Performance All Season tire, a good blend of handling and grip in any weather with longer treadlife for street use and well priced. A good example that comes in many sizes that fit is Kumho Ecsta 4X.

Yes, you will need to adjust ride height enough to get the tire height just where you want it then use front adjustable camber plates (see Ireland Engineering for function and value) and rear adjustable control arms (many brands to choose from function the same, prices vary as does durability but you are only using them for street use- contact Way at Way Motor Works for his opinion).

 

bringing up an old thread.. if not slamming a car but maybe a lowering spring drop 1" or so would you need camber plates. I was thinking of running 16x8 et25 with my 205/55 tires on my r56. its not lowered yet but looking to do nm or H&R springs.