Hi! I have a 2011 R56 Mini Cooper S with 17 inch wheels. I took the car to a wheel and tire place and they said that all 4 wheels are bent (not just the sides of them, but actually bent) with two of them to the point where it was incredibly difficult to even balance the wheels. The car was my dad's prior to me having it and I know that he wasn't beating on the car when he drove it. I'm very careful about avoiding potholes and such as well. My questions are: have others had this same problem with these wheels? and is this a problem that's inherent to the OEM wheels? I was thinking about getting replacement OEM wheels (or some used ones), but I don't want to run into the same issue if there's a problem with the wheels in general. If there's something inherently wrong with the OEM wheels, then I will go aftermarket. Any help or advice on this would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

 

been an owner since 2002

3 different MINI with different OE wheels

never bent one

that said do note that 17" wheels & low profile run flat tires is a combination more prone to such issues. a smaller wheel usually has a taller sidewall allowing more 'absorption' and a non runflat has more give by nature as compared to RF

 

The OEM wheels are pretty rock solid compared to the majority of after market wheels. First thing I would do is visit a different shop just to verify what the first shop told you. Unfortunately there are a lot of scammers in the car repair business trying to sell you stuff you don't need as well as those people who don't know what they are doing. I went to a reputable shop last new set of tires and got a really bad install job.

 

+1 what the Mooch said.
I bent a wheel a few years back, seven years this month, They had it off and back on perfect while I waited.
https://www.awrswheelrepair.com/

 

Good to know all the info. I will get a second opinion on the wheel and if it comes back the same diagnosis I will look into OEM wheels then. Thanks everyone for the advice!

 

a GOOD specialty wheel shop probably also has a repair service. This is who I'd have check the wheels. All four bent so far that they can't be balanced? I'd expect to be feeling TERRIBLE things when driving on these!!!!

There's half a dozen near me, and I'm not in a big city.

 

Do the wheels look out of round or bent? Very easy to see the wobble if put on a wheel balance machine. Imagine a bike wheel out of round.

I doubt that all four OEM wheels are bent, been driving on various wheels with my MCS since 2004 and never a bent wheel even over bad roads.

Likely they were trying to sell you replacements.

 

Not all OE wheels are the same....some are more prone to bending than others. However, there isn't much of a way to determine which wheels are good and which are the ones to avoid....very subjective and not much data. Weight does not equal strength. Agree with the advice to go to a good shop.

 

with 4 Minis in the stable, I have bent my fair share of wheels. I run 17" on 2, and 18" on the other 2 so I am more prone to bent wheels, especially with the road conditions in PA and NJ. Normally spend about $150 @ repair, but the wheel is straight again, and rides fine.

 

Some places can fix them but i had one MINI R112 wheel get really bent and they could not bend it back with heat, it would end up cracking in most cases. So some can be fixed and when it gets pass a aggressive bend, it might be too much.

 

I had bent wheels and the repair with heat almost fixed them, had to replace 1 with new from dealer. ( Ferman MINI of Tampa ships via eBay and for a decent price). I have the R111 Black Star Bullets 17 Inch wheels on my 09 Cooper S Cabrio. Too many potholes and had never gotten them repaired till this year. I noticed after repair that the ride improved greatly, however, it was still noticable above 50MPH. Slight disharmonious rumble from the wheels. All except the new one. Got them Road Force Balanced and checked, but the slight rumble at highway speeds was noticeable. I decided to order new wheels, it was time...
My experience with wheel repair is that it seems to depend on the number of bends ( whether inner rim or outer rim) and the art of the mechanic and how much they can get it back to true round. If you are in the DC/NOVA area, EliteWheelRepair (find him on yelp) does this and will work a decent price for you. Best of luck!

 

Left front

Right front

So I live in Chicago and we have potholes everywhere year round. Normally I’m great at avoiding but this time I couldn’t get around it. Not sure how the damage is only on the inside of both my wheels but I had a bubble in one tire and the shop pointed out the bend in my rims and suggested replacement. What do you guys think? Are these salvageable or do I need new rims? I did notice a little vibration in my steering column since and the front tires both have less tread left than my rear.

any input would be appreciated, thanks guys

 

Bump^

 

You would have to take it to a wheel specific guy, it looks like you could save it, but they have to look at it as that's what i did with mine. Also you have a small clunk out of the one tire. I would have them look at that also. Some large chunks are not safe to drive on.