I drive an '03 MINI Cooper S and have a slight predicament. I roasted the crap Yokohama tires that I ran last summer on my stock 17" S-Lites. I'm not a fan of the Yokohama's, but to replace the tires, I'm looking at $600+ worth of tires due to the odd sizing the stock wheels require.


I also have a set of 15" steel wheels with Kumho Ecsta's for the winter, which the car is currently on.

So here's my thought:
Do I buy new 17" tires to put on boring, stock wheels? The car has more contact with the road due to the larger width tires on the stock 17's, but will cost me quite a bit and with my "spirited" driving will end up needing replaced again rather quickly. I like the stance it gives the car with this amount of wheel, but my kidneys are liquified on longer trips, especially with any kind of potholes. If you've ever driven through North East Ohio, you'll know how hard it is to find a road without 15,000 potholes/bumps! In addition, the stock wheels are notoriously heavy.

OR:

Do I drop a few hundred bucks and put the car on some 15" wheels? I found a few good, inexpensive options online and, at the end of winter, could switch my Kumho's onto the new 15" wheels. It'd give the car a new look, give me some comfort while driving (i.e. my kidneys will be intact when I arrive to my destination), lighten the car (even if it's very slight) and when I eventually have to replace the 15" tires, it'll be much more manageable. However, running 15" wheels is like going back 15 years in automotive trends and I'll have a smaller contact patch with the road due to the smaller width of tire.


So what do you think? If it were your MINI would you shell out the money for tires to put on stock wheels, or go for a new look and spend a little less, while compromising some performance?
Opinions, please!

 

for only $600 budget, get some Dunlop SportMaxx from alex over at
tirerack. that's wat i run right now. 205/45/17. it's a wide 205 for
a nice look.

grips very well. made in japan at the sumitomo plant.

 

As someone who drives Northern Ohio roads I'd have to say a low profile 17" tire has got to hurt.

What I did on my car is went with a 16" wheel & tire package. Lots of wheel selection at Tire Rack.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/resul...All&sort=Brand

Tire Rack also have Goodyear F1 GSD tires 205/50/16 on sale for $49 each. Call Alex & he'll set you up with a nice package.

 

My thought is that since I already have perfectly good 15" tires, why not just throw some nice wheels on them?

I like low-profile tires, but I also like to have a unique car. Everyone goes with a bigger wheel, so why not be different and use a 15" wheel?

But my 17" S-Lites do look nice and offer some serious contact surface...

 

Tough choice I know. It is so easy to spend someone else's money.

IMO S Lites were miss named, S boat anchors is more like it. Like the look not the weight.

Konig rewinds are very nice & come in 15". Those look very nice on a MINI.

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/whe...43081&pc=45467

Good luck with a tough choice.

 

Hmm... very nice Konigs! Gives me the look of S-boat anchors with the size I want!

And yes, it is easy to spend other people's money... but also hard to part with your own, so I need some opinions! haha