This is my first post, but I have been following the forums here for awhile now.

I purchased my first MINI, an 06 MCS about 2 months ago, and prior to buying it I saw alot of aftermarket and OEM MINI wheels for sale locally. Mine came with the factory s-lites and what look to be the original run flats. My goal was to upgrade on the cheap by getting one of these used sets on CL.

So I finally found wheels that had the exact look I wanted and already had Yokohama Advan Neova tires mounted. They were Avid1 16x8, 20 offset, and 225/50/16 tires. The guy I got them from had an R53 (I saw the car for sale) and apparently sold it without the wheels. He said they fit without rubbing, but his car was heavily modded and mine is stock.

Got them on my car, they seemed to fit ok, but over a 20 mile drive I hit maybe 1-2 larger bumps that caused the rears to rub and nearly break the rear plastic fenders off. It seems like there should be plenty of room, but I guess it could be a combo of the larger tire and offset. Previous threads in the forums seem to indicate that the tires should fit with minimal rubbing.

From most angles the wheels look fantastic, they are a gold/bronze color and my car is BRG. Although, the wheels stick out a little and there are times I look at it and think they stick out just a little too much. The car also sits higher, I guess due to the larger tire size. (It started to rain, but i'll get some pictures posted). Overall I think they look good and make the car look very aggressive/track ready, but ideally they would not stick out as much.

Is the 16x8 (w/20 offset) just not a good fit for the MINI? Should I just accept that and move on? Will getting 205/50 sized tires resolve the rubbing problem and still perform well? I fear that narrower tire may accentuate the wheels sticking out.


My other question is all of my previous cars had the wheel bolts on the hub, which would allow me to slide the wheel on and then tighten the lug nuts. But as you all probably know, the MINI has the threads on the nut, so as far as I can see the wheel needs to be manually held up and aligned with the holes while the lug nuts are screwed in. This makes it difficult for a person to do by themselves. Are there any tricks for this, because it was a real pain when I did it.

 

20mm offset is a whole inch wider than stock, id think that would adversely affect handling even if you put smaler tires that clear.

you can get "wheel pins" to align the wheels putting them on.

 

Pretty much decided they are too big/not the right fit and took them off today. Got a few pictures before I did though.

 

Anything below a 35mm offset is pretty extreme

 

That's a shame because they are a nice setup but that offset is too much.

 

Take those wheels OFF! If you are a fast mover and roll over a big dip those plastic wheel arches will slice your sidewalls (not tread) just like a razor. Kissing DEATH is not a nice experience.

ISAMIN

 

Took them right off after one short drive. Looking at the wheel the offset is actually 25.