I will be going with aftermarket wheels on my S. Will probably go with 17" or 18". My question is: what is the maximum width wheel that will 'comfortably' fit in the wheel well and not cause it too look 'ghettoish'/stick out funny, and not rub when turnining or going over bumps. Will an 7.5" or 8" wide wheel work? What type of offset?
Thx.
-W

 

You should know a couple of things before you lay out money. Unfortunately I found this all out by experience...and lost some money in the process.

1 - There are a number of wheel options that will fit the mini. I put on 18 x 7.5 and there was no issue at all.

2 - The mini apparently uses the same approach as the BMW. The mini wheel is attached to the rotor using a lug BOLT. This means that when you take the wheel off if will have holes in the rotor. The typical car has bolts extending out of the rotor, then you attach it with a lug NUT.

3 - In order to go with any other wheel besides the approved Mini aftermarket accessory wheels you will need a conversion kit. This means they will have to screw bolts into your rotor, torque them down, and then mount the wheel. Then they use Lug NUTS to secure the wheel.

I had all kinds of problems with this conversion, including the 2 lug nuts sheering off while driving home. Apparently the bolts were defective, or at least that's what they told me.

4 - For whatever reason the car tracked right after the new wheels. They re-balanced them at 75mph and still no difference.

At the end of the day I decided the wheels didn't look as good as the stock 17" wheels that come on the S. I put the run flats back on and the car tracks perfect again.

So, just be careful. I have decided now to have the stock wheels chromed. It is much cheaper, and I will have the look I like.

Good luck!