These are the rims I just bought. They are 17" replicas of the 18" Mini GP rims.
Specs:17x7 42mm offset and 56.1 center bore.
They are aftermarkets but since they are "replicas" they have a single set of bolt holes and a 56.1 CB. No need for hub rings(I giggle every time I say hub ring, I'm not sure why) and stock Mini center caps will fit too. This will make customizing/changing/rechanging center caps(as my tastes change), down the road a lot easier.

Now I'm looking for tires. I'm planning to wait until I wear my 15" tires out first but I'm sure I'll get tired of that and just go for it. I was hoping to land a 17" tire diameter somewhere between the 23.96 of the 175/65x15 tires and the 24.26 of the 205/45x17 tires but that would be a 225/40x17 and I'm not sure those will really fit on my 17x7/42mm offset rims without rubbing or being squirrely. Has anyone tried that size? Erroring on the side of causion I've remained within the more common sizes below.

Some all season performance is acceptable but with the climate of this area it isn't necessary. A sporty feel and above average performance without the harshness of 17" runflats is preferred. I've narrowed it down to these four:
Hankook VENTUS V12 evo - only available in 205/45x17(most raved about in other Mini forums)
NITTO NEO GEN - 215/40x17(also raved about in other Mini forums)
General AltiMAX HP - 215/40/17(grand touring tire so less aggressive but folks still like them in the Mini forums)
GENERAL EXCLAIM UHP - 215/40x17(scored well in most reviews but not mentioned much in the other Mini forums)

I like the larger foot print of the 215/40x17 and is has the closest diameter to the stock 15" tires I have now. I'm leaning toward the Hankooks though, because of the comments in the forums, they have a wider sidewall than the 215's to protect the rims from bumps and potholes and the taller diameter will fill the wheel wells more. Who out there has what? What is you all's opinion?

 

17x7 et42 with 215/40 will fit perfectly!

Hankook also has a rebate for $80 going on currently

 

...working on getting the link working...

 

I ran the v12 evos in 205 45 17 on stock s lites, and were excellent street tires but not up to par with Dunlop direzza star specs on the track. If you don't see much track time then I would heartily recommend the v12 evos, especially considering how inexpensive they are along with the rebate.

I have a set for my Volvo v70r 300 hp wagon going on in the spring...

If you want some more sporting performance, also check out the hankook rs3. They will prob replace my direzzas for track only use on 16 inch oz ultraleggeras in the spring. In my opinion 205 width is also plenty wide for the mini, even on the track. Be careful of wider widths if you ever decide you want to switch out stock struts for coil overs. I do have very minor rubbing with my 205 s on oz wheels on inner rear fender liners, can fix with spacers but then I rub on outer plastic trim, since I am lowered a bit with kw variant 3 coil overs.

Oh and my car is heavily modded 2003 Cooper S....

 

Sweet rims... What brand and where did you pick them up from?

 

@AK.JCW Thanks, They're from a company called Radical-Z. I picked these wheels up on ebay for $349+$85 shipped. According to their listing these wheels are thoroughly tested. They're also a top seller so I don't think I'm taking any bigger chance buying on ebay than I would with any other wheel manufacturer. I weighed them today and they're about 21.6 lbs so they aren't all that light but not too bad for 17" wheels. Considering there are no more than about 300 Mini GPs in the US and say half might still have their original wheels, that would leave 150 probably in garages or closets somewhere, they will look very unique on my base BRG 2010 clubby. And............EASY to clean!

 

Get some BFG KDW 2s. That's pretty sport then use your 15s as winter wheels. Of course have seen if they will fit yet? Just wondering that is all.

 

I've seen these on eBay! Take some photos when you have them on when you get a chance.

 

Actually Porthos it seems I'm slowly spiraling in on a tire choice. Sometimes I wish I weren't such a research fanatic(w/A.D.D. I'm sure). Now I'm looking at the new Cooper Zeon RS3-S(summer) or the Zeon RS3-A(all-season)@ $130 a piece. I've read some great professional and customer reviews about both. I'm in Tidewater Virginia so winters aren't much of an issue but wet rainy conditions can be. The A's are reported to be quieter and better on the wet stuff than the S's so I'm leaning toward the A's. Also, PepBoys has a "Buy 3 get the 4th one free" mail-in rebate deal so, they should be around $525 installed and w/road hazard for 215/45-17s. Oh, yeah, I should jack the car up and try one of these rims on this afternoon to see if they fit. Keep you posted.

SooperSara, thanks for the encouragement. Yeah now that I have them in my hot little hands they look great and the price was right too. I will definitely post a pic or two after I get them installed. Keep an eye on this thread I guess.

 

For $130 a tire you might as well spend the extra $40 and get KDWs. But just remember a lot of summer performance tires don't like cold weather so a winter tire choice might be a good idea or just keep what you got on there and swap them over when it gets pretty cold.

 

Well, no offense Porthos, I did some research on those BFG KDW 2 and found out a couple of things. I dunno 'bout you but I work for a living. $40 more x4 turns is $160 plus the rebate is lost so add another $130 to that. So, $290 later I got a tire that according to my research doesn't score any better that the Coopers and is about to be discontinued soon by BFG to boot. So I'm in the same boat as other soon to be discontinued tires when it comes to a possible road hazard replacement for a tire that was discontinued. Nothing will annoy me more on a daily basis than having a mixed matched tire on my Mini cuz I didn't plan ahead. I've had to do that before, years ago, on other cars because of road hazard replacements. I would rather get a newly released tire so I know I can get replacements.

For what its worth I tried the new shoes on to make sure they fit during lunch and here are some shots

 

They will look nice once you get some tires mounted. Drive them Well.

 

If you spend much time in the 40-50 degree range just be prepared for significant traction loss on summer tires if it's wet. lol, I know from experience. 270 then off the road backwards into a ditch. Luckily the mud was extremely soft and there's very little overhang on the rear end, lol. That was on dunlop direzza star spec 1s, 41 and light rain in FL. Though I think there was something on the road, 4 more cars went off on the same ramp within 2 weeks time. And this was 2 years ago, and no I haven't finished hearing about it from my lady, who was in the car with me at the time.

 

Well Bosfordjd, a buddy of mine said the same thing as you especially when my clubby is my daily driver, an all-season would be the best choice. So, I ordered the Cooper Zeon RS3-A Yesterday. I should have them installed by next Friday.

 

Well, I got the new tires installed on Saturday. I think they look great and they have a very nice ride. I was expecting the Cooper Zeon RS3-A's(215/45-17) to be much harsher that the stock 15" wheels/tires but I am now pleasantly surprised. The ride is very similar as before except tighter, more precise. I haven't had a chance to really test them yet but they seem to be very grippy and are very quiet.