Maybe this is the wrong place to post this, but i thought I'd tap in to the knowledge here.

I'm spec'ing out my '06 and I'm leaning towards the R99 wheels (silver). Yes, I know there's better aftermarket wheels, but for simplicity's sake I'd like to stay stock and I've also heard (from whiteroofradio) that the manufacturer wheels seems to fit the car better for a smoother ride.

Anyway, I've heard the S-lites are actually fairly porky. I'm wondering if the R99's are any better? Or, if in general, anyone has any thoughts on the R99's.

Thanks!

 

R99s are real nice, unless you get R90s which are killer, did you consider JCW 18s? I am diggin' that stuff

 

R99 double-spoke ET48 21.9lb (9.95kg) [silver, anthracite, polished]
R85 S-spoke (aka LeMans, S-lite) ET50 25.1lb (11.4kg) [silver, white]

From MINI2.com

I have the R99 polished and think they look great!

 

The S-lites may be heavy, but at 7.5" they are the widest stock wheel for the MINI. Wider than the JCW 18" even.

 

i still think the R90's are the best looking factory wheels followed by the
s-lites.

 

I thought that all 17" MINI rims were 17x7

 

They are !

If you want light the 16" R84 X-lites are only 17.6lbs (8.0kg) and offer a smoother ride, better pothole protection, and better preformance.

 

I have the Bullets...and for 17"ers, aren't they the lightest you can get from Mini?

 

I literally spent several months researching aftermarket wheels for the MCS; everything from 16" to 18" from lower-priced wheels such as Rota to high-end wheels such as Volk and BBS.

I was dead-set on getting the lightest wheels possible, but in the end I opted for OEM, and the grey R99s in particular. These are made by BBS and are fantastic quality for the price. I don't regret my choice one bit.

 

Wider than the R99's?

EDIT: question already answered

 

Thanks for the replies, everyone! I'm glad the R99's are lighter, because I like them a *lot* more than the S-lites and I didn't like the weight of the S-lites either.

Also, they're cheaper a la carte (unless going with polished, which I don't htink i'm going to), as I'm probably going to piece together my "sports package" since I'm getting different wheels and paying for the silver hood stripes. which leads me to another question of whether I really need DSC (i'm getting LSD for sure), but I guess that's for another thread...

 

Yeah, I've been looking at aftermarket vs. the R99's, as there a lot of choices around $200 ($800/set) that would look just as nice and be lighter. Plus then I'd buy a set of actual performance (non-runflat) tires and get performance that way, too.

But i've heard that non-oem wheels don't fit as well or give as smooth a ride?? (whiteroofradio)

 

One last question:

Has anybody been able to work a deal with their dealer on the R99's (or similarly dealer add-on wheels) as an "upgrade" to their sports package? If not, were you able to keep the original set of 16's..? (and maybe sell them?)

 

I've seen some 16s and 15s sold on ebay by dealers (one in CO, another in CA) as take-offs, so perhaps upgrades do take place -- but I don't know. Also check with your local MINI club for dealer discounts. Some dealers give discounts 10-15 % off for club members on accessories such as the R99s.

 

anybody know how much the R90's and the sports-package-upgrade web spokes weigh?

Thanks

 

Simply order your car with the standard OEM 16" X-Lite wheels (R84s). These are relatively light (17.6 lbs) and you could use them as a winter wheel or sell the wheels/tires on ebay. Then you could order your R99s from Classic MINI in Ohio and get a 20% NAM discount (that's what I did, anyway).

 

^^^
I said the exact same thing in a PM to o-ron early this morning

 

When ordering the R99's, they come with tires, correct? (sorry, dumb question, but gotta ask :-) )

 

You can get them rims only or as a pkg with tires. Pickup the accessories catalog if you don't have it - prices are in there.

 

You can order just the wheels or wheels/tires (which will be OEM runflats). The wheels are either $365 each (polished), $250 each (silver) or $255 each (grey).

If you order the wheel/tire combo you're looking at $2295 (polished), $1995 (silver) or $2095 (grey).

BTW, the wheels don't come with center caps; they're an additional $2.75 for each wheel.

 

So if I don't order a sports package (just go with the 16's), and add the R99's in silver ($1011) in the "accessories" (step 5) of the miniusa customizer, I'll end up with a set of 16's with tires, and a set of 17" R99 wheels, but *NO* 17" tires???