Hey All. Proud owner of a 2005 cooper S. Looking to put a new summer setup on the car. Keep the old wheels and winter tires for the winter but have a second set of wheels and tires for fair weather. So I was wondering what are the max dimensions for a wheel and tire combo to fit on the car. If different sizes fit to front and back, that's fine. Just want the widest tires possible on this car with relatively slim sidewalls and on the max possible diameter rim (I'm guessing around 17 or 18" rims with slim sport tires). Also need tire recommendations. I've heard Continental ExtremeContact DW and Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position are good. Any other suggestions? Okay. Thanks so much, hope to heard tons of input!

 

Those are very good summer tires. The DW is quite a bit lighter than the S-04,
but the latter has better dry grip and response. The Michelin Pilot Sport combines
the light weight of the DW with the increased performance of the S-04, and all
three of these are good in the wet and have comfortable manners and good tread
life. If looking for something even better and sportier in the dry, then would consider
the Bridgestone RE-11a (still good for a daily driver), or some even more aggressive
extreme performance tires. All of these can be had in 205/45/17 or 215/45/17, which
I'd recommend over 18" rims and tires.

I have the DW in 205/50/16 currently as my summer tires. Most of the ones listed
above (except the Michelin) are currently available in 205/55/16.

 

Thanks so much. So 17" is what you're recommending. But what is the maximum width of the tire. Is 205 the max all around? Or can I go wider?

 

215/45/17 fits ok, only a little taller than stock 205/45/17. 17x7 or 17x7.5 wheels work well.
Tire Rack is a good resource for wheels (if you're not sticking with MINI brand wheels) and tires.
They have useful surveys and reviews on the tires and it's easy to search and compare choices.

 

You can go with an 18" wheel. A couple of the MINI factory wheels were 18's. Though I think anything more than 17" looks too big on the R53. On the newer R56 the 18's look good. Just my opinion though.

 

Okay. Thanks. I think I'm going to go with the 17" wheels. But any idea what the maximum width is. Cristo said 215 "should be okay" but I believe the front and back have different maximums, do you know what will fit? Even if I need to put wheel spacers in (5-10mm) just to get a little wider on each wheel.

 

I run a 215/45/17 on mine. Not sure if you can get anything wider under there. I think the next size up would be a 225.

 

Yep, can use 205/45/17 or 215/45/17 front and back, but
would keep the same size on all 4 - don't stagger sizes or
it will confuse the ABS and the flat tire monitor.

Here's a survey table of 215/45/17 Max performance tires:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...=true&filter=y

And extreme performance in 215/45/17:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...=true&filter=y

Choices are similar but slightly different for 205/45/17:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...wdp=N&showcm=N
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...=true&filter=y

Note that these tables don't include a few tires that are available but too new to have survey data listed.