I need to get some 17" summer wheels for my MINI. Originally I was going to stick with OEM wheels, but because I can't find any that I really like - and because the one or two I like are outrageously expensive - I think I'm going to look at aftermarket wheels.

I don't want to spend huge amounts of money, but I want a quality wheel, something with the same quality as an OEM wheel that won't damage easily. Any recommendations on what brands to look at and what to avoid?

Thanks,
Ron

 

Find another set of German Made wheels would be my suggestion.
Ronal, BBS, Borbet, ATS.

 

ronmichael,

I believe you will find lots of MINI Motorers have aftermarket wheels and all of them have an opinion on what are the best quality wheels.

We had our MINI dealer swap the standard wheels for R99s (BBS made) when we purchased our MCSa (good deal with "buyback credit"). Last fall I purchased a complete set of winter wheels (OZ wheels) from the Tire Rack.

My two suggestions on getting quality 17" wheels are 1) checkout the Tire Rack [www.tirerack.com] (NAM vendor) and 2) check for the MINI wheels you like in the NAM Marketplace / Wheels and Tires For Sale forum.

 

There are just too many to mention. You need to be a little more specific regarding what you're looking for...most go after market from the OEM wheels because we're looking for something with either different style or lighter weight. Almost all the the OEM wheels are rather heavy as compared to what's available aftermarket. Which style of MINI OEM wheels did you like that you'd rather look for in the aftermarket world? Given that folks can help you find a good aftermarket alternative to that style...

 

check out the SportEditions from tirerack.com

i had the 5spokes in the past and they exceeded my expectations
for a cheep set of wheels. the paint was high quality, very durable
even in the salt. I would consider them OE quality. good luck.

 

What wheels were you looking at (oem) that you liked, maybe that will help some of us to guide you....

 

I guess my primary concerns are that the wheels not be too heavy (I'd like to stay at around 20lbs each, the weight of my current bullet wheels). And I want them to be well built and strong - this is my daily driver and it has to survive typically crappy Pennsylvania and Philadelphia roads. I've looked at Tirerack's wheel selection a lot and I wanted to get an idea of what brands are "cheap" that I should avoid, and what brands are good. As far as individual wheels, I don't want anything really fancy, or too bland, something nice and in the middle. I like my OEM bullets for example. My favorite OEM wheek is the X-Lites, although it's too bad there is no 17" version. I kinda like the look of the 17" S-Lites but they are so much heavier. I do like the R99's and may actually get one of those if I don't find a non-OEM wheel I could live with.

 

from what ive seen (ive been to their IN store in person) the wheels
they carry are not of poor quality you would see in such example as
ADR wheels.

cheap and junk are two different things. sporteditions are not junk,
they are actually pretty good and very affordable.