How big of wheels will fit on my 2005 mini cooper non-s?

 

I'm probably not the one to even try to answer that question, but those who can will want to know more before answering. Are you asking about increasing wheel diameter, wheel width, or both? Would it be just for show, a daily driver, or for autocross/track? Are the engine and suspension stock, or has it been lowered?

The stock non-S is somewhat power-challenged in terms of accelerating and slowing a lot of extra wheel and tire weight, but light weight aftermarket wheels could help reduce that ugly unsprung rotating mass somewhat.

 

The largest wheel available from MINI for that chassis is the R95, which was an 18" x 7" with a 52mm offset. It's also the largest wheel officially approved for the first gen. It would have come with a 205/40/18" tire if ordered as a package.

Edit: But as Jim points out above, it will turn an R50 into a pig. Just because you CAN fit them, doesn't mean you should. I'm thinking about stepping down to a set of lightweight 15" and my car is a bit more powerful than a stock R50.

 

Please explain - if the larger wheel is heavier, sure - but if you get a lighter wheel than OEM why would the larger rim make any difference at all, as long as you stay in the original dimensions (ie +1 +2 etc) - outer diameter should remain mostly constant yes?

I have 17's on my justacooper and there is no noticeable seat-of-the-pants acceleration issue from the 16's and I'm generally pretty sensitive to that stuff.

Handles better too because the tires are better (more performance oriented).

 

I was speaking about weight, but diameter seems to make an even bigger difference, in my experiance. I have a shorter tire on now than my winter tires are. Even though they are heavier (they are runflats, both my wheel sets are R83 Daytona), my 195/50/16s feel quicker than the 205's did. I must admit my testing is not very scientific, because I didn't actually weigh the setups. But if I could feel it, I'm imagining it must have been at least a few pounds per corner. Anyway, the difference in weight between your X-lites and your S-lites is 7.5lbs per corner. That is pretty hefty. BUT, the diameter difference between a stock 16" and stock 17" on a Cooper would be .2" with the 17" being taller. HOWEVER, with your 205/50/16 winter tires compared to your 195/45/17 summers, it tips the other way, with your 16" working out to be .2" TALLER than your 17"s. I don't know if that little of a diameter difference would negate the weight difference, but it definitely narrows the gap. This MIGHT be why you aren't noticing a difference between the two. The information I'm using for wheel weight comes from http://www.mini2.com/forum/faq.php?f...heel_tire_tech
and my diameters are from http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Actual tire measurements vary between make and model, and of course change as the tire wears.

By the way, I know what your snow tires were, because you gave them to me last summer :-P I hope California is treating you well. I should have let you know earlier that the tires worked out fantastic for me. Thanks again.

 

Hey, glad to hear it Can't say I missed the snow!

 

I can't say I did, either, seeing as we received very little. A very strange thing happened this year. All but one of the snowfalls occurred on a day when I didn't have to drive into work. I personally wouldn't mind if it snowed every weekend in the winter, but I didn't have to commute in it ever.

 

I guess that's works out..

 

Thanks for the responses, I kind of just left the thread after posting. I'm looking to get 2 new front tires (treads wearing out). I've got stock 15" wheels. They have 175/65 on them. Just wanting to know if I can maybe get up to 195 or maybe 205? Will that just look plain goofy? I don't even know if I can put different size tires on?

 

A fairly good selection of higher (Extreme, etc.) performance summer tires, and higher performance (e.g., Ultra High Performance) all-season tires are offered in the 195/55/15 size at Tire Rack. The 195/55/15 size fits wheel rim widths of 5.5" to 7", but they're molded to fit a 6" rim. Thus, they're not much of a stretch for your 5.5" rims. They are a little smaller in diameter though; 23.4" instead of the 24" diameter of the 175/65/15 tire.

The 195/60/15 tire size is about .2" more in diameter than your stock size tire, but the tire selection options in the high performance categories aren't as many, or as attractive, as in the 195/55/15 size.

Some use the 205/50/15 size (about .5" less diameter than stock). That size fits wheel widths from 5.5" to 7.5", but are molded for a 6" wide wheel. The 205/55/15 size is almost the same diameter as stock, but there are no street tires listed in that size at Tire Rack.

I don't have experience with using any tire size more than one size wider than stock, so I can't say how much handling is affected by going up several widths from stock.