anybody have pics of 1st gen mini with 15mm spacers on either web spokes or s-lites? trying to see if it is too much. if you have trimmed the wheel arch and inner fender, how much can be removed? does it leave a gaping hole in the inner fender? thanks

 

sure would appreciate any feedback on using 15mm spacers with wheels that are approx. 48 et offset like the stockers. my webspokes look like they could take that much, although i know i'm adding more unsprung weight. what problems did you run into trimming the wheel arch and lining? thanks.

 

Well, you're not getting a lot of traffic on this one, and I can't give you a specific answer, but my searches through NAM lead me to conclude that 15mm spacers are pushing the envelope on the capacity of the front wheel bearings wrt longevity. That said, I know of people running 15, though they are few. You should have no problems of rubbing with et48 and 15mm spacers, even on 17" wheels. I run et45 + 8mm with 18" wheels and get minor rubbing (35 series tires==> 24" OD).

btw, it's easy to trim the inside of the wheel arch with a Dremel.

 

Problem is a 17" S-lite is 40mm offset. You would have to do quite a bit of triiiiiiiimming to not get rub, if lowered even worse. I have the s-lites and TSW springs and rubbed some with 6mm spacers in the turns, now have a good set of 5mm's..

 

I thought S-lites were 50mm offset?

Is the effect of putting a spacer just lowering the offset? So if S0-lites were really 40mm then he would be looking at a 25mm offset? Is that correct or the wrong direction? If correct that sounds pretty aggressive of an offset.

 

Pretty sure they or 40mm, we need Rally to chime in, he's the wheelspert...

 

they are 50mm if i rmb correctly.. can't be 40mm for sure..

 

both the webspokes and S-lites are 17x7 et48.....et33 after 15mm spacers

et33 is getting pretty agressive. What size tires are you going to run? As long as your tires aren't too wide, you shouldn't have problems rubbing.

You can shave about a quarter inch off the inside of the plastic arch.

 

Just googled it and some did say 50mm, is there a difference in the earlier s-lites and later on? If Rally says 48 i"m going with that...

 

I'm going with Rally. He knows *everything* about wheels for the Mini. and lots of other things as well, but he's #1 in this area fur shure...

 

Glad this thread came along I was about to pull the trigger on a set of 35et RPF1's....Imagine my surprise when I bolted those on....

 

thanks, guys. everything was based on et 48 for the webspokes, giving me an et of 33 which i thought was pushing it. i do see others running even smaller et saying they don't rub, but i sure don't know how. i have purchased a set of 17x7 superleggeras with 37 et and will experiment with tire size 205/45 or 215/40, and possibly 205/40 if necessary.

 

Let us know how it goes with the tires size. Other than rubbing are there any other concerns about increased wear/tear on parts from being further out? I have a set of Team Dynamic wheels with an offset of +38 which I plan on using as a track wheel. I assume with hub centric rings that it will be just fine. I am positive they do not rub with 205/45 tires.

 

good to know on the 38 et w/205/45 not rubbing. that's what i plan to put on these rims. gotta do some measuring/fitting this weekend before i order tires just to make sure how they'll fit on mine. i'll let you know.