I have a 2012 Justa, 'till now with the stock holies and 175/65-15 Contis. I've been thinking about upgrading. What I want is a compromise that gives me better dry and wet handling plus ice/snow improvement. But this is my daily driver, and I want to retain a comfortable ride also. So far, no mods to the suspension. I've had separate winter wheels/tires on a previous car, and am thinking of keeping the holies for that purpose and getting 16 inch wheels with a summer tire for most of the year.

Main question: are the light weight wheels, such as Kosei K4R, Enkei RPF1 or PF01, OZ Ultraleggera or Alleggerita, or Motegi MR125, more fragile for daily driver use? I've seen lots of comments about the importance of keeping wheel/tire weight low. The stock combo is 28 lb (just measured at 27.6 lb worn), and any 16 inch combo will be heavier. Which got me looking at the lighter wheels (looking primarily at Tirerack so far). With a 205/50-16 (currently leaning toward, for more choices) or a 195/55-16 summer, tire weights are 19-22 lb, which puts the combo at 33 lb or more, except for the Kosei wheel. In the PF01 thread, I saw a couple comments about the wheels perhaps being easier to damage. Is that specific to that wheel or a concern with all or most light wheels? Some manufacturers (OZ) seem to say their light wheels are built to be strong, with the special technologies. One comment seemed to say it is less of a concern with a 16 inch wheel-due to more tire to cushion the pothole impacts.

Right now thinking of the Conti DW for the wet performance and compromise toward comfort, plus decent price right now.

Thanks for comments,

Duane.

 

I've run 16" Volk TE37s & SSR Comp Cs for years with no problems.

 

I've had 205/50/16 on Konig feathers, 15lb (pretty cheap, cast Taiwan stuff.) for a few years with no problems. I'm probably going 15" Kosei next.

 

i have 17's with ultraleggeras, no issues yet and i have very bumpy roads

 

bahawton, dannyhavok, and Saltysalt - Thanks for the responses so far.

Duane.

 

Duane,

Generally speaking, using a 50+ series street tire on a alloy 16" wheel made by one of the companies you mentioned should be just fine. However if your roads are very bad and full of potholes you have to be careful about hitting a road hazzard at speed or you may damage your suspension, wheel or tire.

Using any of the light weight wheels is workable but combine that with a runflat or lower profile stiffer sidewall tire and you get better handling but a much firmer ride which is much less forgiving when you go over a bump or pothole.

The Conti DW is a good choice of street tire that will work well to protect your rims.
None of the wheel companies or models you mentioned are any less strong for street use. You can take a heavy OEM wheel and damage it by driving on bad roads.

Bottomline, just drive carefully when in areas that you don't know the roads, or when you drive at night or in bad weather. If you can't see/expect the road hazzard it's hard to avoid it.

 

Holies are a great, light-weight wheel for the Justa in serious demand by autocrossers until the recent rule change allowing wider wheels.

I would recommend seriously considering:

175/65-15 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 18 lbs $92 from TireRack.

Check the reviews, especially the release event comparison to Conti Extreme DW on a dry autocross course.

 

no worries, 50 series 16s have enough sidewall to absorb the road imperfections and road joints impact even at high speed and higher spring rate aftermarket suspension.

 

Thanks for the additional comments, especially the reasoning. That is helpful.

I looked at reviews of the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3. From what I've seen so far it trades winter snow and ice performance for better dry summer performance. Looks like a really good tire for an all-season, but I'm not sure it will do what I want for the winter.

Duane.

 

If you want something that is going to get you to work in the morning no matter what the weather is looking like then you should really be going for dedicated snow tires and dedicated summer tires. Getting a tire that is a compromise is going to be just that.

 

V10climber,

Looking at my original post, it was not the clearest. Not sure why I wrote "compromise," but my intent is to keep the 15 inch wheels and put winter tires on them, and get new 16 inch wheels with summer tires. I have not been happy with the all-seasons for the winter, especially the ice and "wintry mix" we get in central Maryland.

Thanks,

Duane.

 

OP you may want to go with a 16x8 and run a 205/55. More choices and the stretch will take care of the added height.

Strength often comes down to cast of forged wheels

 

I have been through the 15 to 17 now 16 inch wheels for my 2011 Justa auto clubman. My car came with the standard 15 inch and I bought a used set of 17 inch Mini lites which I found out were not light at all. They look great on my car by the extra weight could be felt, as well as decreased gas mileage. My wife even noticed the decrease in performance.

I was also concerned about ride quality. I found a set of 16 inch Rota but instead of putting a wider tires like a 205/55 tires , I put 195/60/16 tires on the 16 inch Rotas. This is the same size tire that Mini uses as snow tires, but I got an all season tire. First , it fills the wheel well and the increase tire height gives me extra cushion and a smoother ride. I know most people on this site will see this as heresy.*

Maybe if I had a manual shift or an S model, the extra weight of larger tires would be less of an issue.

 

Dr. Spade and SODA66,

I appreciate the nonstandard suggestions and your reasons. I'm not sure I like the stretch look, but there are more tire choices. I'll check into both those suggestions some more. *Re heresy, isn't part of the fun of a MINI that folks can be unique and do things differently?

Duane.

 

205 on an 8 may look a little more stretched than stock but would be optimal for autocross due to less sidewall flex/roll.