have a 2003 R50. first i want to drop form a 16" to a 15" rim. and want to make sure it will work. it is the borbet type CA from tire rack- 40mm offset will it work ok?

link: http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Wheel...lModel=Type+CA

second what size tire will work with no issues? right now i have 195*55*16 and one of the sales associates at tir rack said if i stick w/ a 16" rim and go to a 205*55*16 i may have issues so he recommended a 205*50*16 tire. i dont want a gap between tires and suspension. i liek the way it looks w/ the 195*55*16 bt would like to go a little wider and a smaller rim.

but since i do not want gaps and since i am dropping to a 15" rim -not sure if it THAT will make a difference- but, what would work best for me 205*55*15 or 205*50*15?

i have no plans to lower my cooper. but any issues with either of these tires sizes would be great as i narrow down on my decision.

thank you in advance.

The 40mm offset is fine for a 15x6.5 Shouldn't be any problems.

The 205/50/15 will leave a pretty large gap...especially if you don't plan on lowering the car. The 205/55/15's will be better...it's only slightly smaller in diameter than your current tires.

The Overall Diameters

195/55/16 (current tires): 24.44 in

205/55/15: 23.87 in

205/50/15: 23.07 in

a-ha. thank you! so NO issues with rubbing or wacky speedo then?

No...no rubbing issues. The wheels are only 6.5"s wide and that offset is pretty conservative, so you should be safe in terms of rubbing.

There will be a 2% difference in the speedo....but that is not something that will be noticable. At 35mph that's only .7 MPH off, and at 60mph it's only 1.2mph. So obviously, it's not much of a deal.

awesome. thank you very much for helping me in this decision. i owe you one.

Anytime Make sure to post up some pics when you get the Borbets installed