Anyone in the Boston area know of a good wheel shop to wrap some rubber on them? I'm trying to avoid the meat grinder places that will screw up my new wheels.

 

Thinking of doing the same...what wheels you go with?

 

Wheels are so subjective, but I started looking at wheels from NM Eng. (Neuspeed), HRE, BBS, Enkei, AC Schnitzer, Vossen, and Volk. Then I stepped back and decided I needed to decide the 'why', which for me was primarily about weight. I want to reduce unsprung weight. So the wheel had to be light. I wanted to stay with 18" and keep the OEM 18" tires but go with normal tires rather than RunFlats.

I almost went with NM Eng.'s RSe12 wheel, but the looks just didn't do it for me. Then I thought about the crappy roads in Mass and decided I didn't want cast/flow-formed wheels, but something a bit stronger...forged. In the end, I went with a similar looking BBS wheel (with 5mm spacers and longer lug bolts to clear the big brakes). It was much more expensive. I am waiting for the wheels to be delivered.

I will post up with pics once I get them installed.

I am looking at Fahey Tire and My Tire Guys (mobile). Fahey Tire has Hunter road force balancers, but they don't have touchless mounting. My Tire Guys have touchless mounting but don't have road force balancers. Still deliberating over this decision.

 

I've always had my Audi dealership mount and balance all my wheels. They've done a great job. I stay away from the Discount Tires and such as I've had a few bad experiences.

 

Just a note in case anyone is searching in the future. I've used HM Motorsport (Portland) a few times for tires. Last time out they butchered my rims. NEVER AGAIN.

 

I might give my dealership a call, and ask about their equipment. I don't have much faith in dealerships though.

Thanks for the tip Minnie.the.Moocher, when I eventually move back to the PNW I'll keep this in mind.

 

Finally got my spacers from BBS so I can get my new wheels installed!

 

I finally got my new wheels on! Sorry for the drawn-out teases above. It would have gone faster if I could have sourced everything I needed at once. Alas, that was not the case so it took a month to get everything I needed. The Michelin PS4S tires are grippy and quiet. Since they're non-run-flat, they're also a bit cushier than stock run-flats. I see what people mean now.


The net weight loss is 7.31 lbs per corner. Average new wheel weight is 44.03 lbs (spacers, longer bolts included) vs. the stock 51.34 lbs. stock setup.


The pics kind of suck, but best I could get with my phone:

 

Those look nice!

 

I'm diggin' 'em! The CM feels lighter on its feet and more nimble when cornering. It will be a bit of a downer to go back to stock for winter.

 

Hey F60JCW,

What was the offset for your BBS rims?

I am looking at set from RSSW but the offset is only 33mm, 14mm less than stock.

https://rssw.com/macpek/entries/view...63BGM/lang:eng

I am afraid it won't fit with the JCW brake kit and I don't want to add spacers.

Thanks,

 

Hey Blu_lite,

Nice looking wheel!

The offset is ET45. Technically, they fit with the JCW brakes, but only had 2mm of clearance for the caliper and Brembo recommends a minimum of 3mm, so for peace of mind I went with the 5mm BBS spacers.

I used https://www.wheel-size.com/size/mini/countryman/2018/

This helped estimate what would fit and what wouldn't.

Unfortunately, the one key measurement that it seems is never given is the space between the inside of the wheel spokes and the hub mounting surface. This is the most critical part to know if it will clear the caliper.

BBS was super helpful and provided a PDF with a template of the wheel's profile. I printed that out and glued it to a piece of cardboard to see what the clearance was. It was dead accurate. I'm doubting that a lot of wheel manufacturers will do that though:

 

Thanks for the info F60JCW. That is super tight. I not going to take a chance with 33mm. Now I see why most sites don't list JCW trim.

Thanks for the link.

I will see if RSSW is willing to send a template.

Thanks for the help again. I love the NAM community!!!

 

I wanted to not use spacers too. In the end, it was the only way to go. Good luck with your search!

 

 

I ended up going to Eastside Motoring in Waltham, MA. They have touchless mounting equipment and road force balancing as well. Rims came out looking as new as they went in. Highly recommended for anyone in the area.