The rim size thread was not giving me the answers I was looking for so I thought I would start a new thread (please don't hate me).

Give the option for the same exact rims in either 17's or 18's what would you do? I understand the 18's would be a rougher ride but will they handle better? or am I better off with the 17's?

Also since I am such a newb to replacing rims on a car what the heck are those hubcentric rings? (what do they do that is?) and are they necessary?

Thanks and sorry for the questions as I know some may be subject to preference but I really want to hear the angles especially from people who have done both.

Chris

 

chris.. overall 17s give better ride comfort, and lighter weight.. unless you go real expensive!

hub centric rings are used on most aftermarket rims to fit the hub... the mini's got a 56.1 mm hub, a aftermarket rim may not have the exact same size and so hubcentric rings are used to make the rim fit properly over the hub...

18s are real nice.. i saw a friend of mine's DS/DS MCS with ASA bbs style rims 18s... REAL nice... but i'd stick with 17s for overall look and performance...

 

stay with 17s and play around with the tires and wheels until you find out what you really want.
it will be better to have 17s from a overall concern like kyriian has just posted.

get a 17 with some good tires, you will love the look and handling.
go for the light weight wheels. too bad i have sold two sets of wheel and tires i had.

Plus 18 are too expensive on the wheels and tires. the way i finish those tires do not allow me to afford the 18s.

Just some of my thoughts(a guy has 5 sets in the past six months)

 

Thanks for the info. It makes sense. I am not sure I really want to go the 18" route. I will stick with the 17's.

Now to figure out if I want to go with the Kazera KT-s's that one of our other members has or the Mille Miglia's that I like the look of but have not seen on the car yet...... Hmmmmm

I hate these agonizing decisions.

Hopefully tomorrow at the local meet I see some different rims to give me some better ideas!

Chris

 

I would say 17".

 

I love the look of 18s...got the JCWs and love them...just put a set of pirelli 215/35s on and they look sweet...now to lower my baby and the stance will be very nice in my humble opinion...

windrider
http://homepage.mac.com/bc69/windy/PhotoAlbum11.html

 

CustomAV,
If you have certain questions about wheels then by all means just state the question especially if we didn't address your concerns.

Choosing between 17" and 18" in general:

For 17x7 or 17x7.5:
Pros
Looks large enough to some compared to 18"
Good selection of styles for wheels and for tires.
Lighter rims (less than 14 pounds) available more so than for 18" wheels
Reasonably good performance for street, autocross and track
Will fit Big Brake kits- sometimes needs 3 or 5 mm spacers
17x7 will work with stock runflats (use them up!)

Cons
Some styles of wheels and tires only available in 18" sizes
Cannot easily use any tires in 30 or 35 series sidewall
Still heavy compared to light 15x7" wheels and tires (29-30 pounds)

For 18x7 or wider rims:
Pros
Looks larger and nicer- depends on the viewer
Fits all Big brake kits with no or minimal spacers
Allows for 35 or even 30 series tires- pretty stiff
Will fit in a stock or lowered MINI

Cons
Higher cost of rims and tires-especially if rims are light
Rougher ride but depends on the tires
Not that much better performance than 17" wheels- depends more on the tires.
Usually heavy for both rims and tires
A light 17" rim is likely lighter than a "light" 18" rim.

If you are looking at the same rims in 17" vs 18" then which to get is determined by your desire to run 40 or 45 series tires vs 35 or smaller series tires, the look, and your budget. I doubt that on the street you can tell any performance difference/advantage to the 18" wheels. On the track or at autocross the 17" wheels are likely to be better overall due to lighter weight. I'd recommend the 17" if all is equal and you don't mind the look.
More weight is the enemy.

Hubcentric rings are not always needed if the inner side of the wheel fits exactly on the hub opening on the MINI which is 56.1mm. Most of the time the aftermarket wheels are built with a larger opening like 73mm and so a ring helps to allow the wheel to fit snugly, taking weight off of the nuts and helping to center the wheel exactly which helps to reduce vibration. I always use rings when I can with my aftermarket wheels. All of the stock rims don't use rings.

One problem with the rings is the plastic ones do get overheated when on the track and might melt or get stuck on the wheel hubs- you'll have to pry them off or break the rings. Alloy rings resist but still get overheated and may bind require some light grinding.

 

I've had both 17" and 18" on my MINI. If it wasn't for R-compound, I'd never want a 17" on the MINI again.

*18's have phenomenal steering response
*18's look awesome

*17's allow for a greater variety of sizes to tailor the situation
*17's do ride better, but just a bit (not a priority for me)

For my street and Dragon driving, 18" is the way to go.

 

Ryephile,

You got the best setup for 18" rims.

 

Thanks for the compliment!