How does one change the appearance of the stock tires to look wider?

I have always liked a tire that looks a little wider in the wheel well of a car.
I saw on Mini Mania something about spacers. Would a 5mm spacer actually do that much. Does it also require new lugs?

Do wider or spacing out the tires cause axle or bearing problems? I don't want to go extreme just a slight "bulldog" look.

Thanks this "mod" thing is new to me.

Laters Kelly

 

Yea, the Madness spacers are probably the way to go. 5mm or 8mm don't really need new lug bolts, but while you're at it, you may as well do a lug conversion and get slightly longer clearance, or get some longer lug bolts.

http://www.mini-madness.com/index.as...ROD&ProdID=132


http://www.mini-madness.com/index.as...ROD&ProdID=242


http://www.lakeshorewheelandtire.com...22&prevstart=0
These should do. (?)(check first)

-[[[S]]]

 

That seems to be a lot of money for not much gain. The 8mm spacer are $50 each (1 kit = 2 spacers), and the lugs are $200. That is $400 for 16mm. That is not much more than a 6 tenths of an inch. Would that be even noticeable? How about getting some wider wheels with a different offset to tuck up in the well? Another alternative is to purchase wider tires that will fit your existing rims. The X-lites I have can with are 6.5" wide and came 195 tires. I was able to get 215 tires on them. Made a big difference. Then you really would be wider, not just "look" it and end up costing about the same as the spacers.

 

If you have stock suspension and stock 17x7 rims then replace the stock tires with non runflats in 225/45-17 or maybe even 235/40-17.
Talk to Alex@tirerack.com for more info.

 

i saw someone running what looked like stock x-lites with spacers making
it pushed out to the fender. it looked hidious imho.

unless you got some wide wheels and a slightly stretched tire look,
just keep a more conservative offset.

 

What size are the stock 17" runflats? I replaced my wheels and tires with PIAA Sport Mesh and Dunlop 215/40-17. They DEFINITELY give a slightly more bulldog-like stance but not too much.

I have to say they are quite a bit noisier than the stock runflats. That's why I'm curious about the size.

These Dunlops read 215/40ZR17. I think the "R" stands for Radial but I have no clue on the "Z".

 

The stock 17" runflats are 205/45-17.

The "Z" is the tire's speed rating. a "Z" rating means that the tire is rated for speeds in excess of 149 MPH.

 

I've noticed the tires feel a little squishy or too grippy. Does that have to do with the Z rating?

If so, what should I look for that is a performance wheel but more like 100 MPH and under? I'm really looking at a top speed of 80-90 MPH.

 

We need to stay on topic. (Wide tire look)

You can start your own thread but best is to search since this has been discussed before.

Speed ratings have to do with tire design. Search tirerack.com for technical articles about tire speed ratings. H rated is OK for MINIs for street driving but many of the best speed ratings are usable and preferable for the high performance driving that many MINIs do. W, Y, Z speed ratings are all appropriate. Not for driving at 169 mph but for the tire to be handling the high temperatures generated by performance driving.

How can tires feel too squishy or too grippy? This is a function of your tires (tread design, rubber compound, size, tire class, etc). You picked 40 series which is lower profile than stock- this is a very low profile side sidewall tire.

Back to topic-
Wide look is- can be for appearance. You can move the tires out wider as far as they can go but too wide usually means looking at wider fenders. A little wider is also OK but somewhat subtle if only 5mm wider.

Or it can be done with wider rims and wider tires, net effect is similar.
Wider track helps a little with stability and wide tires give more tread contact patch but wide rims and tires mean more weight so if it is for show then you get more weight and a bit less performance. You can counter this with lighter wheels and tires.

Spacers and longer studs or bolts add to weight unless you can keep the stud length/spacer width to a minimum and use alloy nuts.