Some time back I bought a set of 15 inch wheels for snow tires to use with my MCS (R82s). I decided to try them out with their stock MC Conti's before making the switch and I must say the ride is improved given the lousy roads I usually drive. So here's my cunning plan:

I'm thinking of replacing the 175/65R15's with 195/60R15 Falken Xe 512's. If I've done the math right, they are the closest in size to my current 205/45R17 Goodyear Runflats and have received excellent reviews. My question is this:

The 60 profile Xe 512's are H rated whereas the 55 profile tire is V rated. Although I might do a little "spirited" driving now and then, I'm mostly a highway driver and generally under 100 MPH at all times. How critical is it to have a V rated tire? I think the 55's will decrease the overall diameter of the wheel by something to the effect of 2 MPH at 60. Should I care? Does anyone have any experience or pictures of this size tire with an MCS? How does it look? I have the sport suspension -- will the smaller tire leave too much of a gap in the wheel well? Does size matter? (don't go there...)

Advice appreciated. Thanks.

 

gnhovis,

I've been toying with the same idea. See... I'm and old guy here. My Cobra has 15" tires and it rides really good. I don't like the Roller Skate Look of 17's and 18's and the ride Sucks! (Yes, it might go around a corner without any Squish but most of my miles are driven Straight.) My MCS has the stock wheels. I'd like to change them to 15's or 16's but I hate for it to look funny (funny=different from original). My new beetle has 16's and it rides 100% better than the Mini. I didn't know if the smaller wheels would clear the brakes on the MCS. If you've bolted on 15's I guess they will.

One your tire sizes. Call the Tire Rack. They know what larger sizes will fit. It might be possible to check the tire size on there site (as an option). Keep me posted on what works! On the Speed Rating? Screw it. The tire industry has a Safety Factor built in. The Ratings are not set at 2 minutes or 15 minutes. They'll run the tire loaded to the max (at the load on the sidewall for hours) before they fail. Unless you're racing the Mini, don't worry about the speed rating. I think the Tire Rack (or anyone) will try to sell you the rating the car MFG says. I have BFG (265/50-15 and 235/60-15) on the Cobra. They're rated at 100 mph. I've tested them to Over 140 for several miles without any problem. (The Cobra weighs in at 1,970 lbs.) Heck no the Viper didn't pass! Neither did the new C-5. I couldn't tell he was on the gas.

Mike

 

roughly...

You're only about 0.65cm diameter larger than 175/65/15's, so you're good
to go. 205/55/15 would be closer at -0.2cm diameter, but not sure
if such size exists nor if your wheel width is enough.

As long as you're within +/- 1cm diameter difference you're not going
to be able to tell that much difference in the rotation.

 

I have all three sizes of stock wheels for my S's. I use the 15" holies with the Conti touring tires as snow tires. I did keep them on well into the summer, though. They are most definitely more comfortable, and because there is more sidewall, you don't have an increased gap, as long as you stick with the stock sizes. Going with a lower aspect ratio will increase the gap, but will it matter? Only you can decide when you see it. Course, you could always lower your car......

 

National standard that the tire must be able to maintain top speed for 14 minutes under full load, without building up enough heat to cause a failure.

Running a tire below manufacture spec speed rating, and change vehcle handleing dynamics, as the tire's sidewall functions as the last spring in your suspension.

In this case Mini's come with an H or T rated tire, however S is the minimum required by Mini. Tirerack will sell anything S rated of higher on Mini.

The only exception is snow tires, where ultra soft compouds must be preserved by less ridgid sidwall. Most winter driving is not as agressive as 3 season driving.

Alex