I was changing my front brake pads and rotating my tires today front to back and back to front and notice that my OEM Wheels have what appear to be hairline cracks in the finish. Picture below.

All four of my GP3 OEM wheels have these 'cracks'. They are smooth to the touch and do not appear to be structural. Anyone else have these 'cracks' in the finish of their GP3 Wheels?

Mark Chiles
Hershey, PA
2021 MINI JCW GP #999
2019 MINI JCW International Orange Edition (manual)
2013 MINI Cooper (manual - winter car)

 

I read somewhere here that someone else had the same issue, just can't find the post. I think they mentioned that they appeared after auto-crossing the GP.

I would imagine they are warranty items

 

The Facebook group is filled with people who track their GP3's (autocross or track days) that have these cracks. I, myself, had all 4 get these cracks. One person claimed the problem is too much hardener put in the "paint"(?) of the wheels. Dunno, I'm not a wheel scientist. Anyway, I did get mine replaced under warranty. I believe one person on the FB group didn't because he swapped to wheel studs and his dealer claimed that that is what caused the cracks, so it voided his warranty. Most others that have posted on the FB group had them fixed under warranty.

I have no idea if they fixed whatever issues the wheels have and they'll now hold up under track use.

 

Hi there,
I have the exact same issue on my GP, but my local dealer told me MINI USA denied to cover this problem under warranty, they said they never seen any issue like this, and they blamed on me due to the clean product I use for car wash which is BS. How did you got them replaced under warranty?

 

Looking like a class action lawsuit maybe the only way to get MINI to cough up.

 

Had the same issue and were replaced under warranty, all 4 of them.

 

That was me who swapped to studs and was refused warranty coverage…. #0811 GP3…. I do have a list of 60 or so people with the ussue of cracked clear coat on the GP3 wheels… 75% of em got them replaced under warranty….

 

Just to clarify the cracks are in the clear coat only and do not represent a safety issue? My new-to-me GP3 is currently sitting on a set of ESR 18x9s but the owner included the original wheels so it's really hard for me to justify leaving them on a shelf just for aesthetic reasons. Also I'm pretty sure my wife will murder me if I buy *another* full set of wheels just to put track tires on and keep the factory wheels besides.

 

Yep i have seen them. Just the clear coat finish. New ones seem ok and don't crack in the clear. We free ship them to the USA.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...m/36116883943/

 

Cool thanks for confirming! I think I'll save my pennies though and just get them refinished if the cracking gets really bad or maybe just clearcoat them with their battle scars intact. That'll free up cash for more tires and maybe an aftermarket intercooler should that become necessary to support tracking it. It is good to know that should I actually damage one that replacements are available.

It's a race car not a museum piece.

 

Glad to help.

 

Has anyone tried fitting these to the JCW Clubman LCI yet?

 

I thought about it at one time but decided the offset was too aggressive for me.

 

Off set is ET39 GP3 wheel vs F54 JCW wheel ET57 https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-.../36116856049/0

 

That's equivalent to an 18mm spacer. Most will run a 15mm spacer and be fine. Stock ride height will likely be OK, too. I think a JCW Clubman would look pretty cool with GP3 wheels. Going with a 215/45-18 tire will give back a little bit of fender clearance, and fill out the wheel well a little more.

 

I don't want to hijack the thread any further. I have a few questions, mind if I PM?

 

Hello PM me