I love the look of the 18" wheels on a MINI but Kansas City has the 3rd worst roads in the U.S. I am looking at 18" ASA AR1s with either the Kumho ECSTA ASX or the Kumho ECSTA AST. Have any of you in areas with bad roads had problems with 18s? Also has anyone had experience with the Kumho ASX or AST in snow?

 

Would the 18s be 40 or 35 series tires?

 

18s! 215/35/18 is the proper tire size

 

OR 205/40/18

 

true, depends on rim width as well

 

I'm running 215/35'18's w/18x7.5 wheels. I can't see going with a 40 series tire now that I have run those.

 

Not really, they both use 7" rims.
225/35/18 will need at least 7 1/2' rims (yes they will rub some)

 

They are 215/35/18.

Thanks everyone for the responses, I am going to go with the 18s. I think I will get the Kumho ECSTA ASX.

Thanks,
David

 

hah hah haaa..... I was talking in general tho

 

18"s and lowered 1" great look IMO!

 

17's

 

18's haha

 

I got the 18" ASA AR1 with Kumho ECSATA ASX. The ride is so much better, now if we can get some dry weather I can really try them out.

 

18's wrapped in Toyo Proxes 4 205/40/18

 

ddminikc, that looks AMAZING. I love those wheels for the price and finish. Now you need to drop your car an inch or two. Then they'll look HUGE haha... awesome man. When the weather clears up, wash the car and post some more pics from different angles!

 

225/40/18. A little rub in the back, but I never trimmed my plastic either

 

Maybe this photoshop will get you thinking about a drop... That's prolly a 1.5-2 inch drop...

 

I am thinking about it, but I have some other mods in line before that. It does look good though

 

So you're getting rubbing at stock ride height?

 

We had a beautiful day today so in between the various projects I had a chance to get the MINI clean. There are a few more pics in my gallery.

I had to have the tire rebalanced because there was a lot of vibration aroun 50 to 65 mph. I went for a little drive around now that I have dry roads and was able to push a lot harder with no squeeling or sliding. Now the vibration is gone, the tires are quiet and motoring is even more fun!

 

They do look nice.. But, you do need a drop... If you don't mind me asking, how much was it for wheels/tires?

 

I went with 17's just because replacement tires are about 30% cheaper.

 

Yes, 225/40/18 will rub at stock height, even after trimming the rear wheel wells. 215/35/18 is the perfect size, no rubbing ever!!

I went through this a few moths ago, real world experience speaking here.

 

It was $1080 for the wheels & tires including shipping from Tire Rack. I was very happy with the price although I did have to have them rebalanced after I put them on which cost me $40 more than they reimbursed.

 

Do you have to do anything to keep the 18's from rubing the inside of the fender?