Newbie here.

Wife has an '07 S Coupe with Sport Suspension and Sport Package (17" wheels), all courtesy of the original owner. Neat car, but we don't autocross or do track days, and this thing can beat her to death on typical Philly-area roads. After nearly 4 years of balancing joy at the go-kart handling vs. teeth-rattling ride, she's had enough -- but we're not going to spend the money to revert to a standard S suspension setup at this point. I did a search and found a few relevant posts, but wanted to surface this since I do not believe any were directed at an '07.

So, a two part question:
1) Would a fitment of standard 16" wheels/tires be feasible? How about 15"? Looks like lots of room to fit brakes but would like confirmation...
2) Would there be a noticeable improvement in ride quality if the switch were made? I'm thinking 15" would have to be a noticeable improvement if the brakes on the S are not too big for that...

I exaggerate a bit about the harsh ride in that we both like firm vehicles -- but when her car is MUCH rougher than my Z51 Vette, well, perhaps it is time to soften up the Mini a bit!

Thanks in advance for advice...

 

Welcome!
This is just my limited experience with an '02 'S', your '07 may be a little different.
Check the tire pressures - 32psi seems about right.
Check the tires - run-flat tires are significantly harsher/less compliant.
All-season tires are fine for a daily driver - I doubt if you'd notice any change in handling - others will disagree!
I have 185 65 15 snows on OEM steel rims
& 205 45 17 on OEM (rather heavy) alloys.
The ride on the snows is significantly smoother by virtue of the 65% sidewalls.
Others will know better than I, but you might consider 195 55 17 or even 185 65 17, although the alloy rims may be too wide.

 

I had an 08 MCS with sport suspension. At about 60k miles, I had a minor accident where I went up against a curb and messed up the 17” stock wheels......had a friend who had a set of 16” stock MINI wheels in his garage not being used.....he gave them to me. The ride quality improvement with the 16” wheels (forget what the stock tire size was) was quite noticeable. I also took that car to the mountains a couple times after that and honestly, there was no perceivable degradation in handling in my opinion for that type of spirited driving. If anything, the car felt more nimble because the 16” wheel setup weighed quite a bit less than the original 17”. I never tracked the car or anything of that sort.....folks who autoX may disagree with my assessment here.

Something else to consider......if your car is an 07 and has the original struts, they are likely toast by now. Replacing your struts could improve things if they are in fact worn out.

 

MVPeters and Fastlane are correct. Your best opportunities to improve your ride are getting rid of RunFlat tires if you have them (you can get a kit to seal a flat), convert to 16 inch wheels (they will fit unless your car is a JCW with red brake calipers), replace the struts (shocks) if your car has 80,000 miles or more as the original equipment struts get very stiff as they age. A good option for your consideration is a set of Koni FSD struts. You can read quite a bit about them on NAM, including here-

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...oni-fsd-s.html

A note on wheels.....original equipment 16 inch wheels are readily available on CraigsList for not much money....there are many styles. Pay attention to weight....heavier wheels tend to be stronger against potholes, and while heavier wheels might not offer as smooth of a ride, it isn't noticeable. Another option would be to purchase a set of wheels and tires through mail order from one of our NAM vendors, including Tire Rack. Check out the Tires, Wheels, Brakes sub-forum in Minis in General. A change from 17 inch to 16 inch wheels may not sound like much, but it does make a noticeable difference in every day driving. If you decide to purchase non-original equipment wheels, research the brand....cheaper wheels often deteriorate cosmetically very quickly (for example, the clear coat on low end wheels can look pretty nasty after two Northeast winters). Also, your car will accelerate a little faster because 16 inch wheels/tires weigh less.

 

For the past 16 years been trying to change my 02 MCS Sports suspension (69,000 miles as of today) to ride like a cadillac (never be) but none seems to works, change this and that, replaced everything to base Cooper suspension parts and still ride like a Go Cart, from Koni FSD to 15" all season tires, Mini is going to be a Mini ride no matter what, rattle here and there etc....my last bet will be coil-over but to go to that direction i'm hesitant because in order to get a safety inspections i had to get a Re-constructions certificate and sticker and don't want the hustle to deal (a.........) states workers!

 

I run 15" wheels and 185/65/15 tires during the winter on my Gen 1 and this setup is a little softer than my summer tires which are 215/45/18 but not the night/ day difference I was expecting. Good luck with whatever direction you end up going.

Also I don't think OEM 15" wheels will fit over the front brakes of your car but I can't be dogmatic about that.

 

Yep, I removed the 17" wheels and (non-run flat) tires and put 16" wheels with Dunlop tires. I also went up one tire size diameter, so the new ones are slightly taller. With very little handling degradation.
The ride is noticeably smoother, and my tire pick is also quieter than the tires I got with the car, so there is that to think about too. Though I don't see how one would be able to visibly, pick a quiet tire vs. a noisy one.
Some even go down to 15" wheels.

Very happy I did the swap. Even looks better...to me..! I like a little more sidewall showing between the rim and the ground.

Mike

 

You and I are behind the curve on the hottest current trend. It is to fine tune your slammed Mini that the edge of the rim just in perfect reveal at the fender lip. Oh, do not apply if you don't have overstretch skinny tyres on excessively wide rims.

i had a hard time finding a foto of a perfect specimen so this one has to do

 

I ordered my 2012 with the same sports suspension. The 16” wheels will definitely help. A bigger help will be to replace the MINI shocks that came with that option. Those shocks are really poor (some would say “crappy”) and they don’t last long. I put on Bilstein B8s and, with the RFT tires, the car rides better than it did with the MINI shocks and non-RFTs. Night and day difference with the change of shocks. The Koni FSDs or B6 Bilsteins would make a vast improvement in ride quality.

 

15" wheels won't fit over your front brake calipers.

Check to make sure that the 16" wheels you want will fit the front brakes, if MINI OEM then more likely, not all aftermarket wheels will fit.

Once you determine 16" wheels are OK then look at tire sizes like 205/55-16 or 205/50-16 not OEM 195/55-16 which are for runflats.

Look at tire selection (in those sizes) and see what might work for your area. If you have to drive in cold or snow then look at Ultra High Peformance All Season and if you want longer wear and more comfort then Grand Touring all season tires.

 

Thanks to everybody who commented and especially those who provided advice and shared experiences.

Just this morning, we fitted 16" wheels with 195/55 Michelin Premier A/S radials (about 1/2 used; meaning we'll still get 30K+ miles out of them.) These are non-runflat tires, as were the tires we replaced.

On the ride back from our mechanic's shop, I noticed an improvement in the ride from "harsh" to "firm." Most important judge, however, was my wife as it is her car.

The verdict? "I hit the usual bumps and ripples and my fillings are no longer being rattled. And, the ride is a bit quieter, plus there is much less buzzing and rattling in the interior when I hit bumps." So, the operation was a complete success. We had one hiccup -- the TPS monitoring system had to be reset (thankfully our mini did not come with the in-tire sensors). That was easy to do following the instructions in the owner's manual...

Finally, my mechanic checked on our shocks and struts. Turns out they were not original (Delphis, of all things!!!). For some reason the prior owner's voluminous service records did not include receipts for this. Anyway, they are still going strong and so the very high tab for replacing them is unneccessary, thank goodness...