OK I have Flame Spoke wheels on my MCS now My Car's picture below


I Really like the web-Spoke wheels like this car below....


I want everyone's opinion. Which looks better on the mellow yellow? My Car's wheels or the bottom photo? They are both the same size 17" just the web-spoke wheels (bottom) look smaller in size for some reason. And it would cost me about 600 more dollars to get the web-spoke. Or should I get a set at tirerack like these below? Should I stick with runflats or non runflats and save $$

I liked these:

 

Personally, I like the web spoke wheels better than the crown spoke. I'm sure you'll get a lot of people telling you just to get a basic wheel and then replace them with lighter aftermarket wheels. I like web spokes, I'm getting them on my DS/B MCS and not planning to trade them. One thing though, you can only get high performance tires on the web spokes, they don't ship with all season tires.

 

Keep the cheap(er) ones for winter and get what you really want for summer. Personally, I think white or black wheels would look good. I think you have the names of the wheels backwards, too. The thicker spokes are the web-spokes. (I think).

 

The thick ones are crown spokes, the thinner ones are web spokes.

 

The first photo is of crown spokes. Flame spokes look like this:

 

All the wheels look good. When I need to replace tires I'm getting rid of the run flats.

 

I claim sick-brain.

 

Never been a fan of the web spokes myself, personal opinion. I'm with misslindsey about which to get and what to do after.

Since you are in New England I'd probably get the cheapest factory wheel possible with all season tires for winter use, may need to replace the tires depending on how the car drives in the snow. Buy the aftermarket wheels with some nice non-runflat high performance tires for summer motoring.

Since I live in the south I'm going to sell the 16" wheels and runflats pretty soon after I get the car and replace them with a set of OZ's, haven't decided on tires yet.

 

I actually got the webspokes for my summer tires and the ASA's as my winter wheels...
Check out how they look in my sig.

-JB

 

All MINI OEM wheels are seriously overweight and compromise handling. Whatever aftermarket wheels you buy, your primary concern should be to get the lightest wheels (and tires) possible. By numerous accounts, the MINI designers optimised the suspension for 16" wheels, which are lighter than any of the possible larger diameter rims the MINI can wear. Your best bet is to replace your OEM wheels with LIGHTWEIGHT, 16" aftermarket rims in whatever style you prefer, then choose some grippy and lightweight performance tires. Keep the OEM wheels and runflats (I presume they are all-seasons) for winter use.

 

I have the mini-not-so-lite (Crown) spokes... they will be my new winter rims. I have an aftermarket set of rims (purchased used here) for summer use that look a lot like the webspokes, which I like better.

Both rims have non-run-flats (haakas for winter and F1 GS-D3s for summer)

BTW, the webspokes are made by BBS for BMW (Mini).

 

I love the web-spokes but was not happy that you could not put all-seasons on them. I don't understand why they just don't make the all-season available on all of the wheels selections.

 

Firstly the S-winders are actually very light for an OEM setup and even with RF's they don't change the characteristics of the car that much.
As for the design of the suspension for a certain wheel size I have never heard that, I have heard that the speedo is calibrated for a certain diameter that is met by have a wheel of size 15-18" and then a tire of different sidewall heights.

Aftermarket are certainly generally lighter but you could easily get 17's lighter than OEM 16"'s and then still be ahead of the game.

 

whatever is lighter is what i would go with.

 

OK, unless you're racing, does the difference in weight between OEMs and after-market wheels really matter? Will it make that much of a difference?

 

semi off topic, but will a 17" w/tire fit in the back ('boot'?)? if I swap wheels and tires I figure if it fits, I can leave one of the original 17s in back as a spare on longer drives, in case goo/slime/whatever cant repair flat damage.

 

I like the crown spokes too.

 

A 17" will fit if you remove the rear parcel shelf (easy to do quickly) on my '06 MCS (R53). The compact MINI spare that I have fits with the shelf in place.

I think your R56 has a bit deeper boot area, so your 17" might fit...

 

Whatev dude.

This is **** poor advice considering you have NO idea what he plans to do with his car. Buying "the lightest wheels possible" for a daily driver is flat out retarded, as the chance of bending a rim when hitting a pot hole increases dramatically when rolling ultra light wheels.

Now if these are strictly track wheels, then yes, you want the lightest wheels possible. Otherwise, go with what you like if they're just for cruising around town.

Oh, and you have CROWN spokes, now FLAME spokes. Just FYI.

 

Actually, this is not true. It is possible to find aftermarket wheels that are both stong and light - these are not mutually exclusive attributes. Furthermore, using a lighter wheel tends to enhance overall performance and feel accross the board.

Now, the issue of aesthetic quality is a whole other can of worms... I prefer the web spokes.

 

Yeah I mean it does not matter to me how light the rim is. It's just a daily driver car and I just wanted to find a goodlooking set of rims.

I just keep staring at the photo of my rims and the webspokes, for some reason to me they dont look that good on the Mellow Yellow? Or am I just nuts? Ive seen them on the Sparkling silver, pepper white etc and they look great. Maybe its just that photo. The ones I have on there now seem to make the whole wheel look bigger, what i'm liking about that.


By the way I dont need winter tires. I already have a 15" set on now, so I would get rid of my current 17" crownspokes if I were to get new ones. And I think I would stay with runflats, I got snows for winter, just cause I dont want to worry about flat tire etc ya know.

 

I am extremely happy with my 16 inch R91s ordered from Morristown MINI. Visit my gallery for before and after photos. Morristown MINI has great internet ordering prices.

 

I'd go with the ASA AR1's and a good set of performance non-RF's (Goodyear GS-D3 for example). They're far from lightweight, but better than the web-spokes. Even if you're not going to track your MINI, lighter weight (but strong) wheels are better on the street as well. Better acceleration, braking, general handling and even ride - all as a result of reduced unsprung weight (any car's enemy). Also I really like the lip on the AR1's.

I do see what you're saying about the crown-spokes though. I had them on my first MINI and something about the look of them with the MINI's proportions makes them appear larger than other 17" wheels. Many hate those wheels, but I personally like the look; just the weight that bothers me. Also wheels with exposed lugs look better to me, but I'm sure others would prefer the opposite.

Web-spokes are a very good look as well. IMO they go fine with any color MINI. If for some reason I was forced to get a set of non-JCW OEM wheels, it'd be the web-spokes hands down. Also if you're determined to stay with run-flats, I supposed it'd make sense to stick with OEM wheels as well.

Curious, has anyone put run-flats on aftermarket wheels? It seems all who 'upgrade' their wheels go for non-RF tires. I'm included in that group.

Best of luck on your decision.

 

i've noticed much better gas mileage with the lighter wheels.
just my $.02

 

i like my asa ar1s. i got them in 18s but i guess they don't make them in that size anymore. good luck on your decision!