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I like the look of the R114 wheels... they are not too wide....at 5.5Jx17", ET-42.... originally intended for winter tires.
I have project Ice-Blue Mini R56 I'm working on.... and was considering the 205/50R17 Michelin PILOT SPORT A/S 3+ tires.
At only slightly larger diameter than the factory tire...and with the 42ET spacing out farther than the stock tires... AND it is still a 205 wide...
My thinking.... nice wheels, clears JCW brakes, has plenty of rim protection from curbs... and would be a softer ride with the 50 series...
The michelins are great all season tires without a doubt...
Wondering what might be the 'downside' of this?
ECS has these wheels at a smoking good price of $600 for set !
Because tires have flexible sidewalls, a single tire size will fit on a variety of rim widths. A tire's rim width range identifies the narrowest to the widest rim widths upon which the tire is designed to be mounted during its tens-of-thousands of miles and years of service.
The width of the rim will influence the width of the tire. A tire mounted on a narrow rim would be "narrower" than if the same size tire was mounted on a wide rim.
Note: Because the overall diameter of a steel-belted radial is essentially determined by the steel belts, there is little, if any, change to the overall diameter of the tire due to differences in rim width.
The industry rule of thumb is that for every 1/2" change in rim width, the tire's section width will correspondingly change by approximately 2/10".
For example, a tire in the P205/60R15 size is measured on a 6.0" wide wheel and this size tire has an approved rim width range from 5.5" to 7.5" wide. The tire has a section width of 8.23" (209mm) when mounted on a 6.0" wide wheel
Because of the different wheel widths used in the above example, there is a 8/10" projected difference in tire section width when comparing a tire mounted on the narrowest rim to the widest rim within its range. This may affect fenderwell and frame clearances when selecting optional aftermarket wheel and tire packages.
I hear ya... but it sits within the RECOMMENDED wheel widths by Michelin for the tire... I’ve seen MINIs with this size tire mounted on a wheel at the other end of the range as well (stretched)
And plenty of good tires and prices in the 205/50R17 size.... heaps of choices... from Extreme perf summer.... to full studded winter... The Nokian Hakapilitta-8 looks great for winter, Michelin all season and Max perf summer tires looking good too .
Nokian Hakiplita-8
Michelin Pilot A/S 3+ (UHP A/S)
Bridgestone POTENZA S-04 POLE POSITION (Max perf summer)
Even a Extreme perf Summer (I think overkill for a 50 series tire tho)
Yokohama ADVAN NEOVA AD08 R
Last edited by mountainhorse; Oct 13, 2019 at 12:30 PM.
I was wondering if anyone had any solid fact-based info on putting a tire, one that is WITHIN the tire-manufacturers recommended wheel-width, on a wheel at is at the minimum-recommended-wheel-width compared to the max-recommended-wheel-width.
For example...this factory-MINI R114 wheel is 5.5" wide.
... for the 205/50R17 size...the Tire-Manufacturer recommended wheel-width is 5.5" wide to 7.5" wide.
I can see wheel protection from running the tire on this R114 at 5.5"-wide... as an advantage.
What is a disadvantage??
Running this same 205/50R17 on a 7.5"-wide wheel...What is an advantage?
Disadvantage ??
Disadvantage of a tire on a wheel at
the narrow end of the recommended
range is decreased steering response
and less cornering ability at the limit.
This doesn’t matter much for a winter
tire but a summer tire would do better
with a wheel width from the middle
to the wider end of the recommended
range.
