I was looking at some wheels and they come in a 17x8 with a 30 offset. I know Chris (d6-mcs) ran 205/40 on his 17x8 and that gave the tire a small stretch which looked AMAZING. I'm going to drop my car on H-Sports. Would 215/45 rub on 8in wide rims given the offset? I am leaning more towards 215/40 just to be on the safe side. Would a 215/40 stretch at all on the 8in wide rim? I want it to stretch a little bit but if it doesn't it's ok. Also, a 215/40 won't rub will it?

 

Nearly 30 views and no one can respond? I know some of you out there know what you're talking about when it comes to wheels and tires and what fits and what doesn't. Help a fellow NAMer out, even if you don't agree with what I'm doing.

 

I know alot about wheels and tires on a MCS and I wouldn't consider a +30 wheel but my car is lowered.

 

Actually a +30 offset on an 8" wheel is not too bad, in fact it seems to be about right to clear the suspension.
205s are just too small and stretching them that much is over doing it. I think a 215 might work, but I think you will at the least have to trim out some plastic in the wheel well.

I would advise you to go into this kind of mod with the expectation that you will have to do some modifications. Also know that your car will not be as fun to drive. It will be a stiff ride and it will most likley not handle as well and won't be as fast. If it's the bling look that you are going for then that's up to you. But it's not really "Mini Cooper'ish"

 

Here is some info from the PIAA catalog,

They only sell a 17x7.5
these are also the wheels I have in my 05MCS

17X7.5 42 offset with 215/40/17
With this set up there is no rubbing at all.

Sorry no info on the 17x8

Victor

 

I have put about 55,000 miles on 17/8 Hamman with a variety of 215/45 series tires. There is minor rubbing on some occaisions but nothing that i have had any real problems with.

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

My 16x8, +42's clear the suspension, it's the fenders I'd be very worried about with anything other than a very short tire. Then, I'd still be worried if it was lowered.

 

I would worry about the fenders also. If 02///MCS uses a tire 215 and under then the wheel will be the widest part of the combo so hitting the body will not happen. If in fact he went with a 225 then he would have a problem.
A 17x8 with a 42 offset in the 17" wheel gets REAL close to the trailing arm.

To my very rough calculations;
17x8 w/ 30 offset gives you about 5 3/16" backspace
17x8 w/ 42 offset gives you about 5 5/8" backspace
17x7.5 w/ 40 offset gives you about 5 1/4" backspace (what I use)

I could not fit a 17x8 w/ 42 offset without spacers being I use 225s and 235s, .... but I have also done extensive wheel well mods to fit these..
So, all of this really depends on tires,

 

So any rubbing would be on the fenders correct? And I could just trim that off?

@ Randy (maxmini), thanks for your post and pics, really helpful! One last question for you, in those pics, how much of a drop are you running? Ok, one more lol, what is the offset on the hamann's?

@ onasled, thanks and yes, I will be going with a 215/40 series tire at widest. So far, I'm leaning towards that.

@ everyone else, thanks for your posts and comments. It is making my decisions A LOT easier when it comes to something so tricky as making wheels fit lol. I just hope the wheels aren't too expensive.

 

I am down about 1.5 inches . The Hammans are a 42 offsett.

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

maxmini & Onasled, what about 245/35/18? I'm running 225/40 right now and hoping for a bit more rubber

 

If you are willing to lose your inner fender liners and perhaps go with flares you have a shot but that is just a guess.

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

x

 

I think that unless you do some serious retuning that 245s will do a good job slowing you down. It's not really a great idea to go so wide unless you have a maxed out race car and the tires are actually slicks. Slicks can take advantage of the width whereas street tires and some R compounds will just start scrubbing off speed due to sliding (understeer most likely).

 

I would do a little bit more homework before you committed to these wheels. The 30 offset could cause more then just fender trimming as the might, might interfere with the body itself. There may be some small studs up in the fender well that need removing and you may have to do a bit of fender hammering.

My calculations are rough and you should confirm this stuff before you go on our word alone. Also understand that not all Minis are the same. What might fit on my car may not fit on someone else's.

 

What he said On the track I actually go to a smaller size Toyo ra/1 205 / 40 / 17. Pleanty of grip , no wide profile to push thru the wind, less rolling resistance and let go when YOU want them to I was assuming you were going with the wide meats for an appearance factor which would look pretty hot I admit.

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

Randy
This set up is use only for the street and for appearance factor I have a set of track tire set up. Since I've done all the trimming already including the body to tugged my 225/40/18 RA-1 with 2" PSS9 drop. I will do more research before doing it.

 

245/35/18!! That's insane man, GO FOR IT! lol... The wheels are the Keskin KT4's if you don't know by now. Same ones Chris (d6-mcs) had on his car only he decided to run 17x9 in the back. He ran a 205/40 series on the front and was dropped on KW V2's I think. Claimed he had no rubbing. I did some research on the wheels and I might be able to get them with a 35 offset. Would that steer me clear of the fender? I don't mind having to do minor modifications to the fender for these wheels to fit, I just don't want to do anything extreme.

From looking at Randy's pics of his 215/45 series on a 1.5inch drop with only minor rubbing in SOME occasions it gives me the impression that even with a 30offset a 215/40 series on a 1inch drop shouldn't really touch the fender. 215/45 series is about an inch more sidewall than the 215/40 series and he has .5inch more of a drop. I know not all MINI's are created equal but I have a 205/40 series on my car now on stock height and judging by the looks of it, I should only have rubbing under hard cornering, which I don't do too often.

 

Sounds like it might work out for you then. I know that Johnny of Johnny's Auto Clinic worked some 255's under his cabrio but did require a lot of modifing and some very involved flair work. Go for it and post some photos !!!

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

Ok I have a new question. I was reading RallyMINI2005's thread about the most aggressive offset and he was running an ET30 on a 15inch wheel. There was some talk about the offset being so aggressive that it adds alot more wear to the wheel bearings. So my question is, is this true, will running an ET30 wheel ruin my wheel bearings in the long run? I'm trying to find these wheels in a 35offset which is closer to the 40-42 that some people say would be the best for the MINI...

Would an ET35 still cause be enough to cause eventual damage to the wheel bearings?

 

just to clarify....its not the suspension that would be ruined....its usually the wheel bearings.

With that being said....tons of VW owners run aggressive offests (more than reccomended for their bearings) without encountering any problems.

Our minis might experience problems, but no one knows.

 

Thanks, I edited my post... So, in your opinion, if possible, ET35 or ET30... I want a clean "euro-esque" look without too much stretch or too much poke... Yes I know the vinyl doesn't help but if I get the wheels that's coming off...

 

i would go with 35 if i were you...

it will be "safer" in terms of not being too extreme...but will give you a nice wide stance that you want.

 

Well I've been e-mailing back and forth with TM Tuning and they've been great so far. E-mails responded VERY quickly. They do in fact have ET35 in stock so everything in terms of the wheels is set. I just hope the funds work out and I can have these on my car within the next week or so...

Thanks to all that have given their input in this thread. I greatly appreciate it.

 

I would stick with ET35. I'm running 17x7.5, ET35 w/ 215/45s and they're perfectly flush with the top of the fender flares. You can check out photos in my gallery (under BBS RX).

Just an FYI, the only time rubbing occurs is in the rear and that only happens when I drive over a extreme dip in the road (which is pretty rare). My car is bone stock, too.