I ordered 16 x 7 Panasports with the spokes powder-coated gunmetal gray. I had seen them pictured on a Nissan "Z" vendor website and thought they looked very nice. A warning regarding ordering Panasports that are not standard on-the-shelf inventory: Be prepared to wait a long time.

I ordered in June. I received a call last week that they are finally on the ship and heading to the US. With any luck I will have them by the end of December. I have my doubts.

As for the vendor: I bought them from Dave Turner Motorsports and intend to pick them up at their shop in San Diego. Turner does not handle tires so he is arranging for me to have my tires installed at a shop close to their store. I bought used 16" run-flats from another MINI owner here on the site. The folks at Turner warned me about the wait but only that it might be three or more months. We are approaching six months now.

I will run photos when this ordeal is over and I will be selling my chromed S-lites at that time.

KFD

 

Call me a purist, but if you can afford it I'd go for the Minilites.

A while back I was swopping e-mails with Don Simmons at Minilite UK (a really helpful guy who can be contacted at bev.minilite@virgin.net). He put me in touch with their US distributor, Steve Francis of Main Street Motorsports.

Here's some info I received from Steve (pricing may be a little low because of the dollar's current weakness). I suggest you take a look at their website. There are actually two different designs for the MINI, the EVO2000-JP and the regular EVO2000 (the latter looking more like the classic minilite). The EV1670J wheel (16x7") is supplied with a standardised offset of ET43, though they are happy to supply a specific offset within the (recommended) range of ET36 to ET45.

[font=Arial][size=2]Hello Bill,[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]The UK Minilite office suggested I respond to your wheel questions. We pulled our prices on my website to the exchange rate floating around.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]15"x 6" EV2000-JP is $270 each.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]16"x 7" EV2000-JP is $320 each.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]The UK factory knows what offset to machine the wheels to for the new Mini.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]Regular EV2000 in 15"x 6" is $270 ea. Offset range is 26-46mm.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]Regular EV2000 in 16"x 7" is $310 ea. Offset range is 38-58mm.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]Above are heat treated cast aluminum.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]16" wheel weights should be about 19 lbs.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]Lugs, caps and chrome valve stems are included. Lead time about 6 weeks.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]All wheels are available in the colors listed on my website. Anthracite is a $15 per wheel option. The polished (highlighted) rim edge is a $20 per wheel option.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]I do not recommend magnesium for road use, besides......our magnesium 15"x 7" EV2000 is nearly $750 per wheel. We do not offer a 15"x 6" in magnesium for the Mini, only for vintage cars such as the Chevrolet Camaro, etc and this wheel is nearly $850 per wheel. Our magnesium wheels are about 1/3rd lighter than the aluminum versions. [/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]No plans for a 16"x 7" in magnesium. In the 8 years that I've been the USA agent, I've never taken an order for a magnesium wheel.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]Regards,[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]Steve Francis[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]Main Street Motorsport LLC[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]Historic Racing Services[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]Connecticut, USA[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]sales@minilitewheels.com[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=2]www.minilitewheels.com[/size][/font]

 

Oh man, the Minilites look absolutely AWESOME on the MINI. I didn't think they would look good in a larger diameter but WOW! They look as cool as the 10!"

 

The OEM S-Lites are not actually Minilites (they're lookalikes) and they're not actually light either

 

Does anyone know the offset for the 16" Panasport FS16 for the MINI Cooper?

Thanks,
John

 

Okay, through the miracle of the search function, I found the answer to my question in this older post: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ight=panasport The offset is 40mm if you're curious.

John

 

The ordeal is over. My much anticipated gunmetal gray / polished rim Panasport FS-16 wheels arrived and are on my "S." Forgive the night shots but I wanted to post something ASAP. Will follow with better shots. These took 6 months to arrive because of the powder coat. Wheels were purchased at Dave Turner Motorsports in San Diego.

K. F. Duke

 

So the Panasports are 7x16 with an offset of 40mm. Does anyone have information on whether or not they are hub-centric and the weight of the wheel?

 

The Panasports are hub centric (56.1 mm center bore) and I would guess that the weight is very similar to the 17 lbs quoted by Moss Motors on the 16 x 7 Panasport for Miata applications.

REDWORF, the powdercoated wheels look fantastic on your MINI. Great choice!

John

 

I just posted some better photos of my gunmetal gray powder-coated FS-16 Panasports. Find them in the "Show us your wheels...." section.

K. Duke

 

just fyi...i was looking at 15" white classic wheels for my mcs.

i had a difficult time getting straight forward answers regarding panasports. basically, if it was offerred, it would be a long wait, at least 6 months +. and most likely it would not be offerred, as i would need to get a handful of other similar orders together in order to make it financially feasible for panasports in japan to make a production out of it. i'm guessing they'd hafta swap molds, etc. which would take time and money to do.

i ended up going with minilites and got my 15x6 white ev2000-jp shipped to hawaii for <$1300. and it took <2 months, probably more like 4-6 weeks. just waiting for my so3's to come in so i can take some pics.