Looks sharp, is it lowered also? Love the pictures of the wheels on the scale on your personal site...

 

OK, you 18" wheel people, what do you think about your performance with this setup????

I'm real stumped on what I want to do, go 17 or 18. I like the 18 look, but I'm afraid of the harshness of the ride. I'm on Pirelli run flats now and I know they are considered very hard, so are the 35 profiles harder?

Any comments are wanted

 

Currently running 18" jcw on factory Dunlop runflats. The ride is pretty firm but not overly harsh IMHO.

 

It depends on the state of your roads. On smooth roads, the difference isn't as noticable between rfs and non rfs. In S.F. the roads here are bad and the rfs will beat the car up over time. Oh, and beat you up as well. It's not so much bouncing but hitting certain bumps and you have a thunk and feel it at the same time. With non runflats, bumps like that are absorbed a bit more and much less is transmitted into the car. I switched to non runflats last week and traveled over the same roads as I did with runflats and the difference was huge. And I drove almost 400 miles in two days over the weekend and I wasn't beat up at all with the non rfs.

That's only my experience and with 17's rf and non rfs..YMMV.

 

Meanboy, thanks for the input , BUT what I need to know is the effect of 215-35-18". I do know that a non runflat is softer then a runflat when they are the same profile, but how do they compare when the regular tire has a smaller profile.

Thanks

 

You're welcome. The big question is, how are the conditions of the roads you travel? I think if you are okay with your rfs in 17" then you should be fine with 18" in non rfs. Maybe, even if with 18" rf

205/45/17

sidewall 3.6 in
radius 12.1 in
diameter 24.3 in
circumf 76.2 in
revs/mi. 831.0

215/35/18

sidewall 3.0 in
radius 12.0 in
diameter 23.9 in
circumf 75.2 in
revs/mi 843.0 in

 

http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp?action=submit

 

I live in Detroit. Everyone else that claims they have rough roads is just a wimp. I have friends that have had the suspensions on their JEEP's ripped off (and I'm not joking!) by missing sections of pavement we call "potholes". Sections of pavement that are smooth really have inch+ expansion cracks, or sections of concrete that are not level to one another. Because of this, the MINI is perfect to navigate around these obstacles. Travelling in a straight line is as easy as doing a continuous slalom. Lines painted on the road are merely suggestions as to where your vehicle should be on average. I have yet to bend a 17" wheel here. Then again I am avid in obstacle-avoidance, as any good Detroit-Metro Motorer is. So far so good with my 18"s, though I am a bit scared it will be only a matter of time before something bad happens and the road reaches out and eats one.

Performance-wise? I'll have to comment more in-depth in two weeks after I come back from The Dragon, but so far, the 18's have hella-better steering response and way less "fluff" in general. The ride doesn't seem harsher, but more "crisp" and communicative. I'm rather suprized that I can hit several inch high "speed bumps" [randomly placed in the roads] with not any more of a jolt than the 17" setup.

So, the question is; are your roads as horrible as Detroit? Chances are, probably not! Thus, 18's are possible.

 

Ryephile---looks amazing!!! what bulbs do you use in you front turn signals?

Flashback---you are my hero!!! love the BBK and those BBS are gorgeous!! just wish i could afford them too.

 

Ryephile,

Come on over to S.F. I've got some roads that will take out your 18's without a problem along with a jeep's suspension and anything else you want to try out. And there is NO avoiding the bumps. The only way is to not travel on that street. Anyone in S.F, want to try this road? Come on over to the construction area on third street. I challenge you to drive your Mini at normal street speeds. I am willing to bet you will not have your engine attached to your car afterwards, if you're lucky. I've driven over it at ten miles an hour and it was as I was driving in a car that had cut springs hitting the bump stops every three feet. However, in another year it should be smooth.

More sane but pot hole filled streets...Industrial street...Cortland is bumpy but doesn't have a lot of potholes. Alemany is another..right around the farmers market. The road even shakes our Lexus...imagine the noise it causes with a car with runflats!

Seriously, if the your 17's rfs are fine then the 18's should be the same.


P.S. My neighbors old corolla lost an alloy(broken, not bent) to a pothole on 5th street. And I forgot about the bump on Harrison street. Go too fast(over 25 miles an hour) and your car will be air borne. Life in CA is grand.

 

It does depend, i'm the fool in front of you dodging potholes like there roadkill. But I do have problems, such as I can't have 4 people in the car without running the risk of rubbing on even the slightest bump.

 

Thanks all, but keep'm coming.

Now, how about performance difference? Anyone notice that with the add-ons of 18" that there is any performance drops? I figure they do have a better handling feel, but what about slower acceleration? Do you feel that the theory of a larger wheel means less HP to the road is true in your actual experience?

 

I love these! They are close replicas of the famous Racing Hart CP-035R (@$600+/each).

Pics of the real Racing Harts:

 

Not sure, I didn't keep my stock 15s on long enough to ge ta feel for them. But the tires are th biggest difference to me. I can allow my mini to corner as it should and its just nice.

 

here I go again.... I really wasn't too convinced with the hyperblack tz10s so I went out during lunch and got these.... team dynamics mirage 17 x 7.5 ..... hypersilver this time... I think these are it.... it really brings the car's PW out..... sorry for the crappy pic... only had my phone cam with me.... :smile:

I know, I know... indecision will do that to a guy :smile: in any case, my buddy ended up buying my tz10s for his car.....

 

Yep, those are nice looking wheels. Always thought so. Good job!

 

here are better pics from my digicam as opposed to the phone cam....

 

Nice looking wheels. What tire size are you running?

 

I love those, wonder how'd they look on Pure silver.

 

thinking about the Rota Sub-Zeros in 17x7.5 with 45mm offset in Bronze for my BRG/B MCS what do you all think of that color combo?

 

running 215/40/17 Hankook Ventus II

 

How do you like them so far?

 

Here is mine, running Enkei RSV Bronze 17x7 with the OEM 17" runflats.

 

they're good.... really can't tell that much of a difference in ride from the runfalts and xlites... so much so with the tz10s that I had (for a day).... :smile:

before


after

 

18" with 215/40/18 Pirelli M&S
das bling bling