Greetings all - checking in from Seattle and think this may be our first post! We just ordered an 07 MSC in Sparkling Silver and are having a tough time deciding on wheels.

We were considering upgrading to a set of black JCW 18" wheels; however, with the runflats we are wondering if the ride would be too harsh?

Looking for feedback on the ride with running 18" runflats. We were told by the dealer that the suspension on the '07's has been upgraded and the runflats will not feel as harsh as they would have on prior year models. If anyone has an '07 with 18's that would be helpful as well.

The 18" JCW's are a $3,000 upgrade and we just don't want to regret due to a harsh ride like we've experienced in other cars with runflats.

Regards,
Valerie

 

Valerie,

Aloha and welcome to NAM.

As with other MINIs and 18" JCW wheels we usually have found that the ride quality is about the same using 17" runflats as with 18" JCW wheels.

The wheels and tires despite the 17" vs 18" sizes are similar and it's the suspension that will determine ride quality more for a stock MINI.

Later if you want a smoother ride you can always use up the stock tires and pick a smoother riding non runflat tire.

Overall I think you will be fine with the 18" JCW wheels and tires for street use.

$3000 is a hefty premium(but it's covered on the car payments). One option is not to order the 17" wheels, just stick with 16" stock wheels and add aftermarket wheels of your choice with the tires of your choice. If you like 18" wheels then you get more designs to choose from but if you like the JCW design then you can choose something similar but in 17" which would be lighter and you can pick 205/45-17 tires which would fit and be more comfortable for street use.

 

minihune,
Thanks for the detailed reply. My 07 MCS is coming with the Sport Package, which includes the 17" wheels. After spending several hours on here researching, I was slowly coming to the conclusion of just keeping the 17" web spokes and upgrading later. $3k does seem like a lot of money! Thanks for the help.

Just one question though, since both the 17" wheels and the 18" JCW wheels are runflats, why do you say there would be no or little difference between the two? My experience has been the larger rim and lower profile tire equates to harsher ride and less traction...

 

You have many options.

The web spokes are nice. You can wear out the runflats and replace them with non runflats. Or sell the web spokes later.

You can buy the JCW wheels later. Or maybe they will come out with a better design later.

Runflats are already really stiff sidewalled and the difference in 17" and 18" runflats is fairly small. Since suspension on the stock MINI is not so stiff it all averages out and is not too harsh.

I've driven a 2005 MCS with JCW 18" wheels in the past with runflats and it was about the same as with my MCS with stock S-lyte 17" with runflats. Not too harsh, just a little. I was expecting more stiffness but it was fine.

If you have a lowered suspension and you switched from 17" non runflats in 45 series sidewall to 18" non runflats with 35 series sidewall then I think you would find that the difference is much more dramatic. Traction would be dependent on the tires you select and not a function of side wall height nor wheel diameter. I would expect that stiffer lower sidewalls would transmit road bumps more, add some noise, but improve handling in corners. 35 series tires tend to wear pretty fast and tire selection would be more limited compared to 45 series tires.

17" wheels will allow use of 40 or 45 series tires while 18" wheels you use 35 or 40 series tires. I use 15" wheels and can choose between 45, 50, 55, and 65 series tires.