Hey !

So I have just gotten a set of 16'' wheels exact specs are 16X7 ET40. The car itself has H&R street coilovers installed and are set at a conservative height.

Now i'm looking at tire options. I don't like the ''bubble'' aspect of the stock tire sizing so i'm looking at serie 40 & 45. I'd like to get some help from folks runing 16''

Current options are

205/40
205/45
215/40
215/45

I am using the car as a daily driver, I have no plans to hit the track with it. I drive on less than perfect roads (most people will point me to 45 with this). Looks is a priority.

Thanks !

 

16x7 ET40 is reasonably close to stock (16x6.5 ET48), but being 0.5" (12.7mm) wider and 8mm sticking further out from the hub, the inside lip of your new wheels will be 8-12.7/2 = 1.65mm closer to the strut. The outside of the wheel will be 8+12.7/2 = 14.35mm closer to the fender. That's not terminal, just something to keep an eye on.

What is the "bubble" aspect of stock tires?
I don't find anything sub-optimal about about mounting stock 195/55 R16 tires on 16x6.5" wheels.

You have 0.5" wider wheels, and can safely mount winder tires onto them.
However, anything wider than 225mm (depending on aspect ratio and specific tire model's true size) may lead to rubbing.


You can't pick aspect ratio *****-nilly.
The goal is to stay as close to the stock tire diameter as possible, to minimize gearing changes and speedometer error.

205/55-16 works well.
225/50-16 works well as well.

There are a bunch of 215mm tire sizes that work (215/50-16), but there aren't many actual tires available in that size, so you either have to pick from 205 or 225 inventory:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...erformance=ALL

I've run both sizes, and found that for some reason performance summer tires in 225mm size are usually ~$10/per cheaper.
Other than that. expect to eat a ~2mpg penalty if you go with 225mm wide tires.

Good luck shopping,
a

 

Thx for your info!

To be honest i am not worried about the speedometer.

What i meant by bubble aspect is the high sidewall and the way it extends out of the wheel when you look at it straight from the front or rear.

 

You should be, because speedometer error indicates that you've effectively changed the gear ratios on your car.

For example, installing 205/40-16 tires will lower the gearing by -8.13%. You will be hopping gears way too quickly, and running higher RPMs throughout the rev range. You will burn noticeably more gas at the same speed vs. before, and max out the speed in top gear at 8.13% lower actual speed vs. indicated.

Unless you KNOW EXACTLY why you desire 8.13% gearing change, you should avoid that.

Good - that gives you wheel lip some protection from curbing.
I would worry less about the looks of the tire, and more about its performance. Read tirerack.com reviews for the latter.

a

 

Well I have no technical argument but i'm thinking I could live with changing gears more often and worst case spend 1 $ per week more in fuel to have my MINI look the way I think it should.

With that being said, 205/40 which has the highest difference with stock tires is pretty much the least desirable choice. I'm thinking 215/40 maybe be my best but i'm afraid of rubbing.

I'd love to see more pics of minis on 16'' and have their exact wheel, suspension and tire specs. Like I said, I really want to get that look I want, for me the MINI is much more of a daily driver and I want to like the looks of it. I also like the driving feeling partt of it but for that inspired driving thing, I got my bikes that take care of it, the MINI is option B when it's rainy or too cold to drive the bikes.

thx for your input A

 

Ok, you don't care about diameter and you want reduced sidewall height and side bulge of a tire fitting on your new 16x7 wheels. I assume your OEM was 195/55 on 16x6.5.

A 215/40-16 has a diameter of 22.7 (1.7" shorter than OEM), a sidewall height of 3.35" (.87" shorter than OEM), and a side bulge of .85 (.05" more than OEM).

A 195/45-16 has a diameter of 22.9, a sidewall height of 3.45 and a side buldge of .35 (.5 inch less than OEM).

I don't recommend it because of the seriously reduced diameter changing your suspension geometry but it seems to be what you are describing.

 

195/55/16, 16x7 et35 wheels, H&R sport springs.

 

Imo to reach your goal you should go with larger rims to have less tire. IMHO a larger than stock tire is a not a bad thing but smaller (diameter) is. One will in essence make your car quicker and one slower. If your wanting your ride to stay less harsh may e 17 ' is the way to go. Your going form over function atm which is fine guess if you only care about looks and not performance.

 

That or a narrower tire and a wider rim. Narrow tire and wide rim=stretch=no sidewall bulge.

 

I'm starting to think the stretch is the way to achieve the look I want.

A good example of the look I'm trying to achieve is this that I took on an other thread