so, I picked up my 2012 MCS about 2 months ago... it only had 14,800km! (it was a lease return, and to my understanding, an old couple leased it as a 2nd car and apparently didn't drive it much).

It's White-Silver-Metallic with black top... I'm loving everything about this car, but the only thing that's always bothered me is the stock 16s with runflats... I'm NOT diggin' the looks of the 16s and I'm NOT a fan of the ride with the runflats... I know that they come with runflats because there's no room for a spare tire... but to be honest, I don't travel far from home much and I have roadside assistance. So, I've decided to ditch the runflats when I get new wheels

Anyways, so I'm currently in the market for wheels... after hours of browsing through the wheels thread, I've decided that I want GOLD XXR 530s in 17"...like these in the picture below (I'll just quote the post from the wheels' thread, and thanks to mini coop for posting)




needless to say, I don't have a big brakes nor do I have painted brake calipers... but I really DO like these and YES! I'm going to go bold and get the gold even though they come in black and I believe matte black which would match the black accents of my MCS...





.
HOWEVER...

locally, there's someone selling his 18" JCW wheels... in black, and I'm also tempted to go that route too... here's a picture from his ad






so, his tires aren't runflats, but they are 18s therefore less rubber... my question is... In terms of ride comfort, how much difference would there be between 17s and 18s (both with non-runflat tires)? I know some people will tell me about performance, and that's great... but maybe 10 years ago, it would be a criteria, but now.... I'm more about aesthetics and comfort


thanks in advance for any inputs and suggestions.

 

Just curious to know what wheels you decided on. I'm currently looking to upgrade my wheels to 18s soon.

 

I went with the XXR (gold) and LOVE it! I'm sooooo glad I didn't do black, IMO black wheels are played out. I get a lot of compliments, especially at a few Mini Cooper meetups earlier this year

 

I just need to lower it now, but if/when I do, I'm going with Coilovers instead of just springs, which means more $$$, it'll have to wait for now :(

 

 

Yes, 17s

 

Good choice! Looks great!

 

Just came across this thread, thats my JCW coupe at the top Glad you like it! Your car looks great with the 530s. They're a great bang for the buck!

 

thanks, I just need to lower it now... that gap is killin' me