Just got my wheels back from powder coating and pretty sure i'm going with 205/45/16. Does anyone know a good brand of tire that they can recommend that doesn't have too square of sidewalls?



Thanks,

David

 

Tirerack.com has pictures of the tires they sell. Search by size, then filter results by other parameters such as runflat, all-season, load, speed rating, etc. And, of course, you'll be stretching a 205/45 on an 8" wheel.

 

A search of tirerack.com in that size yields-
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...erformance=ALL

What are you going to use your MINI for? Street use only vs track, autocross, car shows?
What are your priorities? Comfort, handling and performance Dry vs Wet, long treadlife, strict budget, noise, appearance?
What is your weather like where you will be driving? Any cold weather less than 40 degrees?

Note that tire size fits rims 6.5-7.5" wide and is perfect for a 7" wide rim so as mentioned your fitment on the 16x8" will be a tire stretch. This automatically rounds out the shoulder treads due to the stretch and puts more stress on the sidewalls that have to function to support weight and resist flex under load and serve as treads to contact the road. For performance driving this would be the last thing you would want to do if given a choice. For car shows, it's done all the time. Note too that with so little tire your wide wheels will be prone or be at risk for curb rash. In addition a compromised sidewall is not going to be suited for bad roads so be careful or you can damage your rim, suspension or tire going over a pothole.

 

Thanks for the time you spent answering this. Sorry I didn't get a chance to check back earlier but I ended up going with 205-50-16 Toyo Proxes 4 plus. It really doesn't seem to be a stretch and the tire protects the wheel from curb rash.

I'll take a picture once everything is on the car.

thanks again!

David