Hello all, I am some what new to the aftermarket wheel world and I have done my best to educate myself... I found some Enkei ts10 wheels in 4x100 they are 17x8 with 40mm offset. I am leaning towards purchasing them to change up the look of my car (currently with the mini 17x7 conical wheels 48mm offset). I have 205/45s on my current setup. My question is what size to put on the 8 inch wheels if I go through and purchase the enkeis. I have seen people putting 205s on 8 inch wheels and I have seen people putting 235s etc on 8 inch wheels. The more I research it the more confused I get. So if someone could help get me in the right direction I would really appreciate it!

To my knowledge if I put these on my car It will fill the fenders much better than my current wheels and will push outward 20mm which will look basically flush to the fender as my current wheels tuck under. If I am wrong please let me know!

I have attached some pictures of my current setup. And the Enkeis I would like to purchase.

 

 

So your suggestion is a 215? I cant wrap my head around how my 7 inch wheel currently has a 205 but if I go a full inch wider only a 215. Just confused...

 

7 inch - 195 - 225 suggested.
8 inch 215 - 245 suggested.
215/45/17 Michelin PS S4 - 7-8" suggested.
225/45/17 is getting a little too tall, and very few choices in 225/40/17.
235 or 245 is getting too wide for a MINI and squeezing it in will be more difficult.

 

215/45-17 is likely your best choice. A small stretch will aid cornering as tread will be utilized fully. A 235/40 would likely be slower around an autocross or road course.

I just switched to 215/40-17 Federal 595 RSRR. Previously ran 45. I like the smaller tire and slightly shorter gearing.

 

I am running Continental ExtremeContact Sports in 215/45/17, also on 17x8+40 wheels. If I could have, I would have liked to go with 215/40's purely for looks but that size isn't available in this tire. As it is, the 215/45's are very slightly stretched, feel great, and look great.

When wheel shopping I was looking at those wheels as well but ended up going with Rota Titan's. I'm really looking forward to seeing your car with the Enkei's on it!

 

Those are great tires.

 

Unfortunately the wheels were mis described and had very bad curb rash that was not visible in photos. I did not purchase them, now looking at my other options...
Could go for a brand new set but don't have the money at the moment :/ The search continues.

 

OK, just because it is possible to buy a 17x8" wheel doesn't mean it is a good match for your MINI.

OEM is 17x7" et48 with 205/45-17 or 215/45-17 tires, this fits the OEM suspension and works.

17x8" is much wider but doesn't always mean it's better unless you like a little more width to your wheel looks. Functionally it usually means more cost and more weight and tire sizes that aren't always available depending on your requirements for Summer vs All Season tires.

215/45-17 gives you very good tire selection choices so that is a good place to start. 235 and 245mm wide tires will fit 17x8" wheels but add to the cost and weight as well as fewer tires to choose from.

205/45-17 isn't a good size for a 17x8" wheel, it's more of a stretch fit. When you mount a tire that is not within the normal range of widths it is designed for you get added stress on the tire and performance and wear can be sub optimal. You want a perfect fit - look at tirerack specs on various tires and it shows what is perfect.

 

To add more to this conversation, here is an article I read a while back while selecting my wheel and tire set up. While I'm sure there are a lot of variables to tire selection depending on your need or desires, I think this article gives a really good explanation for kind of a baseline tire-to-wheel width selection.

https://motoiq.com/how-to-properly-s...performance/2/

This part of the article can basically be summed up as: For best handling, a tire's tread width (not the same as the number written on the side of the tire) should be the same as, or 0.5" less than, the wheels width.

 

for a little reference....heres one of my setups, 17x7 et21 fronts, 17x8 et40 rears with 225/45/17 all around... Conti ExtremeContact's ... ive never had issues with rubbing except when fully loaded on really large bumps (like bad bridge transitions.)

 

ohiojcw, thanks for your pics. You have an R56 MCS which has more suspension clearance than my R53 MCS, I would never be able to fit 225/45-17 on 17x8 wheels without rubbing. In fact with 1" drop and 215/45-17 on 17x7 et42 wheels I get rubbing in the rear with any non flat roads or with two rear passengers.