Just purchased my first ever Mini on Tuesday and must say I now know what I have been missing. This thing is amazing. 2007 Cooper S in pure silver with 26K miles. Now it's time for wheels. Only problem is that I can't decide between 17" and 18". Any suggestions. I live in Ohio and drive to Chicago every month or so during the summer. Plus I plan on running the stock 16's in the winter. Also what size tires are people running? I don't really want to run a rubbber band for the tires and I still need to lower it.

Thanks.

 

Try the wheels, tires, brakes section in the MINIs in General area. Tons of pictures and suggestions.

Congrats on the new MINI!

 

I started out with 17" wheels and went to 16" for three reasons.
1. Ride is much softer with more tire sidewall to absorb bumps.
2. The smaller wheels tend to be lighter for better handling, braking, acceleration, and ride comfort.
3. Hitting a pothole is less likely to destroy the wheel with a larger tire sidewall.

The advantage of the larger wheel is mostly looks. The only performance advantage is a possible quicker turn-in, depending on tire brand and model. You will find that dedicated track racers are usually going for the smallest wheel that will fit over their brakes.

On a 16x7" wheel, you can fit either 205/50-16, or 205/55-16 tires. So, same tread width as the stock size for factory 17" wheels.