My wife's MINI has 12mm lug bolts, while mine has the new 14mm bolts. I'm looking at getting new wheels, but having the 14mm bolts limits my choices in aftermarket wheels.

What parts would I have to swap between the two cars in order to end up with the 12mm bolts on my car and the 14mm bolts on her car? Are the hubs identical between the older and newer cars, except for the actual hole diameter and thread pitch for the lug bolts?

Thanks,
Scott

 

In theory Scott replacing the bearing/hub assembly will do what you need. Plus new lugs of course. However...I'm betting the M12 parts will become scarce in due time and you'll only have the M14 option.

Speculation for sure but I've seen it before.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm just afraid that the 2006 MINIs with 14mm bolts will end up being "tweeners", especially if the brake kits for the 2007+ cars don't end up being interchangeable with the earlier cars.

I also don't know if wheel manufacturers are concerned enough about the MINI to change the specs for their wheels just to accomodate us. In particular, I don't expect SSR to enlarge the bolt holes on their wheels just because the MINI now has larger lug bolts. I'd love to be wrong, of course - 8.8 pounds for the 15 X 6 really looks good for my autocross wheels.

Scott