Arghhhhhh.
I bought a 2006 MINI convertible two weeks ago, hated the wheels and rushed into buying some refurbished. R85 S-Lite
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgrefu...PM&h=275&w=275
So aside from the fact that I think I overpaid, there are no lug nuts or wheelcaps included. I know, sooo dumb, I'm a lady and didn't think of these things. I've bought tires in the past but never wheels.
The wheels that are on the car now are awful...chrome not OEM, and would like to sell with everything included on CL later.
But can anyone tell me what kind of lug nuts I'll need when the new wheels arrive and are ready to be installed? And anything else I need?

PS. Already bought the wheelcaps.

 

You could just use the lug bolts you have now. Unless they are a color you don't like.

It looks like ECS Tuning has a pretty wide selection if you do want to order some new ones.

 

Yes, keep your current lugs and reuse them. Lugs are typically not included when wheels are sold.

 

Hi Jcauseyfd,
Thanks for responding. If you take a look at my gallery you can see the wheels that are currently on. Whatever is under the caps I know I won't like. Want the black kind that go with the S-lites but it looks like they are $50 for a kit for just one wheel. I don't even know if lug nuts sets are different sizes for different wheels. Can I buy used lug nuts? The thought of spending $200 additional because of being so dang stupid kills me.

 

No biggie - it seems that you paid a fair price for the rims. ECS Tuning gets 220 plus shipping for that part - not a big delta. These are new not refurbished BTW.

Your wheels are stock rims so the lug bolts that are on the car should be fine. Mini's use a bolt to attach the wheel to the hub. Cars that have a threaded stud screwed into the hub use a nut.

For the center caps I would call ECS @ 1.800.924.5172 and give them the wheel part number (36-11-6-773-945) looks like the cost is around 10 per cap.

 

ECS Tuning has bolts on sale, a whole set of 16 for $38

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-pan-kits.html

But LOOK at yours first, they could be black.

 

Thanks very much Rkw, Thefarside and Cerenkov.
Feeling a little better. Popped the rim off and lug nuts are dull silver and ugly but oh well. Happy to know that they will work.
Wish to heck I'd taken the time to come here first before I leapt.

And $38 x 4 seems a little easier to swallow than $50.

Can I ask...if the old lug nuts spoil the look of the new wheels...would it be costly to have them switched out?

Is there a special tool used to put these wheels on...see a wrench included in some of these sets.

This must be an amusing thread to most of you who know your way around a car. Maybe in my next life I'll get to be a pit crew member.

 

The $38 for the set at ECS Tuning is for 16 bolts - enough for all four wheels. You don't need to multiply it by 4.

 

Whoa Jcauseyfd. That's fantastic!!! Knew I'd get what I needed here. This community is amazing. Have received so much great know-how already here. Thanks very much :-)

 

There ought to be a lug wrench in the car..... that and the jack are the only special tools you'll need to remove and replace the wheels.
Using them with losing an appendage is another matter....

 

You don't have a brother, boyfriend, father, neighbor. Someone that has knowledge to help you?. It could be a good learning experience. And once you do it, you'll see how easy it is and have the knowledge to do it in the future. Would not want you to do it yourself as. You could get hurt or have yor wheels fly off on the highway.

 

Jkapinos,
Actually I have a husband! Yet he's heavily into reassembling a Norton that he damaged badly in an accident. So he's made it clear that "this is your (Petunia's) project".
No worries! This was never something I'd planned to do myself. Want to be sure that I have all the equipment I need before heading to the tire store to have tires and wheels put on. Thanks for your help

 

Beg borrow or steal a torque wrench and 13 MM socket to torque those lug bolts to 90#. That isn't the exact setting but it's close enough. The book calls for meter/newtons which is sumptin' like 87# but who goes by that? After you get them tightened down, take the car out for a short drive then re-check them all. You will get some slack out of a few. You'll want to rotate the tires every 5K miles. To make that a less onerous job get a 1 1/2 ton race jack...or 1/2 case of beer and take that to the local tire shop close to closing time. It pays to make good friends with those type of guys.

 

I don't think they are 13 mm; 17 perhaps.

 

Relax! You haven't done anything terrible, expensive or stupid.

My wife's mini has the same wheels you just purchased. I just went out and looked at them, the lug bolts are black. But in all honestly, silver would look just as good. As others posted, I would reuse the existing lug bolts. You'll need to take the wheels into a tire place and have them move and balance the old tires to the new wheels. They will be more than happy to bolt them up for you.

One last thought. You'll might need them to transfer the TPMS sensors (the gizmos that monitor tire pressure) to the new wheels. I don't remember if 2006 had them or not (probably not, I think that might have started in 2007). In any case, not a big deal, any quality tire store will know what to do.

Whew, hope this helps..

 

JAB said the magic word and wins ****. My bad, it is 17 MM, NOT 13MM. I've even got one just like I suggested with the race jack and lots of other goodies and can't remember a socket size. Must be much older than I feel.

 

I could of swore it was over 100 for the torque on lug nuts, like 103?

 

I've used 90 as a guide for 12 years with no issues both with bolts and then when I converted to studs. I rotate through 3 sets of wheels/ tires depending on the activity so I am doing this quite frequently. Be sure to check them a 100 miles or so in case they settle a bit.


Randy

 

Not for the R52. The Meter/Newton number translates to somewhere in the neighborhood of 87 and a fraction ft/lbs so I just rounded it up and 90 works great. That 4 or 5 mile run around the bypass settles things well and I can always get a bit of slack out of a few when I re-torque.

 

MINI switched lug bolts in 7/2006 (start of 2007 model year production).
Previously, MINI used 12mm x 1.5 lugs torqued to 88.
Starting from 7/2006 production, MINI uses 14mm x 1.25 lugs torqued to 103. The 2007-2008 R52 also use the 14mm bolts.