Well I am about to take the plunge and order an 08 Cooper S and I have a question on the sports package. It seems that for $500 more dollars you can upgrade to the web spoke rims as opposed to the 17 inch S lites. So are these rims that much better? Also it looks like fleabay has a set of like OEM for 400 USD http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...191817161&rd=1

Fortunately, I will purchase the car through military sales in Germany so hopefully the nightmares about poor service are confined to the US dealer net work.

 

Define better... If your talking about weight, the OEM rims are not the way to go. If you are looking for styling, the R98 webspokes are, in my opinion, the best looking rim style for the MINI .

Here is a site where the information on all OEM wheels can be found.

 

I am not a fan of the crown spokes either. I would go with the web spokes (or the flame spokes - see my siggy)

 

I think aftermarket wheels are a better value (and lighter!),but if I HAD to get OEM wheels, it'd be the flame spokes.

--Dan
Mach V

 

Man, why limit yourself with the poor choices from MINI, go aftermarket where the sky's the limit. My .02

 

I figure go with the crown spokes with the run crap all seasons and use the $500 I would have paid on the web spokes for a nice set of RH or Rota 16-17 inch with performance tires for summer use.

 

You can get Aftermarket Rims that are lighter. I like the crown spokes. But if I had another MINI without 17" rims, I would get aftermarket 17" or 18" rims.

 

If you order from Ramstein, talk to Antony about your Mini. I ordered mine from him last month and his is great. Good luck!!

 

I deal with the guys from Pentagon located in Einsiedlerhof.

 

I'd also recommend going aftermarket.

If I had to go OEM non-JCW though, I'd go for the web-spokes.

 

Any decent sites to check out for rims? I'm looking to get some that are all black to go with my black roof and mirrors.

 

R99 R99 R99 R99 :D

 

fair enough...where can I order them from?

 

Good starting place is The Tire Rack. Edge Racing, Mach V, ALTA, and Out Motoring are a couple other sites to check out.

The R99's are OEM wheels so you can find them at your local MINI dealer.

 

Web spokes are very nice OEM wheels ( I have them and diteched the RFs) However, I did bang one up and it cost $450. to get a new one.

I would look at the OZ ultraleggera if I was going aftermarket.

 

The problem with ultraleggera's is the offset of 37. Still can work, but depending on wheel and tire size you get rubbing in the back.

 

If I did it all over, I wouldnt of spent the extra on the wheels, just buy aftermarket. Also I dont know where youre located, but the BMW dealer in Wurzburg by leighton they really did great work and was absolutely an awesome painless experience.
http://www.militarycarsalesgermany.com/home/home.html

 

I have OZ Ultraleggera's on my 2007 MCS, with 205/50/16 tires. No rubbing issues whatever, front or rear. Nice wheels.

 

Well, I ordered my ultraleggera's, but I will be running 215/45/17's. I'll report back as to whether or not I need to trim the rears.

 

I am at Landstuhl/KMC. Anyhow, I just ordered an 08 Cooper S and went with the sport pkg with the S lite run craps on all season tires. I will use these through winter and get a set of 16 inch summer rims. I am thinking of the Rota RBs or the RH V line AQ-Maxlite Mini Cooper Replica Wheel. Anyone try the RHs? Also would 16 be better for a daily driver as opposed to 17s?

http://www.rh-wheels.com/index.cfm?P...tail&PID=67574

 

16" wheels can give you a little softer ride because of the extra sidewall to cushion bumps. 17" will have a faster turn-in. All this assuming tires are the same make and model.

I have Rota RBs. They are good, but not the easiest wheels to clean.

 

I ordered my 08 from Pentagon right by Ramstein. I went with the 16s, because I plan on upgrading to 17s with HP summer tires. My MINI should be in the showroom next week

 

I'm in the market now for wheels for my '05 - saw this thread and wanted to threadjack and say THANK YOU FOR SERVING to any and all serving now or that have ever served!!!

-Noreen

 

Does anyone actually have any experience with the quality of the OEM replicas that are up on eBay? I love the look, and the price- just curious if anyone's actually seen them in person or run them without issue.

 

I passed on the sport package (don't like the wheel choices and don't want stripes), but ordered the sports suspension a la carte.

I opted for the 16" bridge spoke wheels with the runflat all season tires, and will use those as my winter wheels. I've ordered Enkei RP03s with non-runflat 215/45-17 F1 GSD3s for spring/summer/fall. (Also ordered a compressor w/latex tire goop, and a Dynaplug kit)

That seemed like the best compromise for my situation.