Ok. Are the vmaxx coilovers good enough for lowering my car? I'd like to know before I order them.

 

Im on Vmaxx and Im slammed. I'll post pics tomorrow once I get my wheels on. I have the same wheels you do for now but in 15"

And dont waste your money on any more chunky tires right now. When you lower it, you're gonna need to stretch your tires to clear the fenders.

 

yeah but cuddakine is talking about sidewall ratio, tread width is still the same as what they have on the wheel now. 205 on an 8" wide wheel does stretch some.

cuddakine, i don't know how low you want to go... i am on bilsteins and they don't go as low as the vmaxx's. but i will say this, after doing about 5,000 daily driven miles on 205/40/16's i'm glad i bumped my setup back to a taller sidewall. the ride was too bone jarring for me and i didnt like that i had to be so low to kill the wheel gap.

don't get me wrong, i love lowriding, but i commute and low is just too much for me at 70 miles a day.

 

You guys are talking about tire stretching. Like as if I got the 215's? Making the tire wider? I was just thinking about buying taller tires so I wouldn't need to drop it as low as I would on the 40's. Would that work better? So I wouldn't be scraping everything.

 

tire stretching is putting a skinnier tire than the width of the rim, basically what you have going on with your tires right now.

right now your tires are smaller than the recommended sidewall ratio for the MINI. drawback is your speedometer is reading faster than you really are travelling. if you want to be closer to the ratio you'd need to get some 205/50/16's but that makes for a pretty meaty tire with those aggressive wheels and i'm not sure if that's the look you're going for.

 

Is there a other fix for the speedometer than putting bigger tires on there lol. Would bmw beable to re-adjust the meter? lol.

 

To me a 215 on an 8" wheel is a muddin tire lol. Im on 195/50s and I still think Im gonna need more stretch. Im gonna run 165/50s on my show wheels.

 

Besides, rally (the red cooper) has 205/50/15's on his car and it looks sweet. Idk if 50's would fit on my car with a rim size of 16. Is there some computer program that will tell you before you try it out?

Edit: Well I called my local mini dealership and they said that 205/50 will fit my car. Will it look similar to Rally's mini or will it look different since I have a bigger rim size then his. I plan on dropping the car afterwards if there is room for it.

 

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
stock size is 205/45/17.
205/50/16 most definitely fits but it's a big ol' sidewall, dunno if you want that. no way around the speeedometer thing.

205/50/15 is a taller sidewall than your current setup but does NOT fill the wheel well up much more than what you have now, approximately .3"

 

You'll look pretty similar to Rally's old Cooper as far as the poke/stretch goes but you'll need coils to get as low as him. IMO 195/50 will look better though.

 

I currently still have my old stock tires on the side (195/55/16). I don't suppose those would do the trick?

And yes. I would get the vmaxx coilovers after I fit the 205/50/16's on my mini and lower it.

 

As far as the stretch goes, a 195/55 will basically stretch the same amount as a 205/50. IMO you'll be happier in the long run if you spend $200 on a set of 195/50s and $600 on Vmaxx coils than you would be if you try and re-use tires and stuff.

You gotta be committed to that kind of stance though. You're basically gonna be driving slow everywhere you go, swerving around every pebble in the street, and taking super JDM angles to get over every speed bump and driveway you encounter. And you really cant be afraid of rubbing and scraping cause its gonna happen lol...ALOT. And you'll probably need a few extra sets of wheel arches too lol.

 

cudda, i think you can get away with reusing your 195/55/16's to see if you like stretching.

195/55=107.25mm sidewall
195/50=97.5mm sidewall

it's a difference in 10mm sidewall height. get accustomed to that to see if you like it, when the time comes for new tires, pick up what you feel is what you want after a little lower cost trial and error. it would suck to buy a set of brand new 195/50's and realize that you don't even like it and you've spent over $300.

 

Alright. I'm going to costco tomorrow to order some 205/50/16's on my car. When I get the money, I'll order the vmaxx coilovers too. Wish me luck! Haha.

Edit: ok. Should I order 45's or 50's. I'm trying to get the same look as rally's old mini. He has 50's but a rim size of 15". I'm of course going to lower my car but the reason I want to get taller tires is so I don't need to lower the car all the way to the ground.

 

If it was my car Id get 45s cause the wheels are 1 size bigger. The taller tire really wont make more than a quarter inch difference in ride height. You gotta be low to pull off that look.

Im putting my wheels on tomorrow so I'll post pics up in here for you to see. Im gonna have a very similar stance to rally's old car.

 

I'm with Johnny. go with 195/45/16 ... I have the same tim is cudda and my tires are 195/50/16 toyo proxes. once these wear off I will definitly get 195/45.. more stretch..u will need a adjustable camber kit upfront with the vmaxx CO. u can look into megansCO which they the camber kit already..i think megans are the best for ur buck co. I love mine so far... no complaints.

 

can someone post a pic of 195's stretched? I'm thinking about just using my old tires lol. if it looks good.

 

look here: http://www.tyrestretch.com/index.php

here's a rough comparison between the different tires we have discussing for your car:

 

You'll get more stretch going 205/45/16 falken 512's then you will 195/45/16 in any other brand out there...garaunteed.

Case in point, Johnny's wheels compared to my current wheels. He's running 195 kumhos on 8's and I'm running 205 falkens on 8's and mine stretch way more.

 

This man speaks the truth

 

+1 with Johnny. rally is the man when come to this stretch/poke..

rally: thanks the tire advice. I'll look into that. 205/45/16 falken512

 

Alright. Off to costco today. 205/45/16 it is.

 

205/45/16 falken 512

 

idk? They said they have bf goodrich. Are those good enough?

 

Discount Tire Direct.