Tire size conundrum
 

I'm sure this has been covered before, but what tire sizes can fit the 16" V-spoke rim?

According to the Tire Rack website, OEM tire size 195/55-16 brings back only 4 tires that fit, and 2 are snow tires.

What am I missing?

Can the V-spoke take a 205/55-16?

Or is this my convenient excuse to get a new set of white Kosei K-1 wheels?

The X-Lite is 6.5" wide, and can easily fit 205's...most 215's will also fit, but the "suggested" rim width is usually 7" minimum.

If your car is lowered, 215's will probably rub. (PO of my car had 215/45/17s on it, and it's lowered with H Sports. They rubbed some nice
grooves on the inside edges of the fender trim..;)

I put this bit together from http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html



Specification Sidewall Radius Diameter Circumference Revs/Mile Diff
195/55-16(OE) 4.2in 12.2in 24.4in 76.8in 825 0.0%
205/55-16 4.4in 12.4in 24.9in 78.2in 811 1.8%
205/50-16 4.0in 12.0in 24.1in 75.6in 838 -1.5%
215/50-16 4.2in 12.2in 24.5in 76.9in 824 0.1%
205/45-17(OE) 3.6in 12.1in 24.3in 76.2in 831 -0.7%
215/45-17 3.8in 12.3in 24.6in 77.3in 819 0.7%



That said, I'm probably going to go with 205/50-16 Kumho ASXs shortly. Would prefer the 215/50, closer
revs/mile to keep the speedo/mileage the same...but it'd be to close a fit for me. If you're not lowered, the 215/50-16 should be just fine.


...david

Discount Tire [.com] has a link where you can plot out different tires to run instead of what you have right now. It even shows how many revs more [or less] that you can get from each tire, as well as what the speed would be, as compared to what you are running now. You don't have to buy from them...it's just good FYI stuff.

Tire Size Calculator

After you plug in your tire size, it will tell you the rim widths that are supported.

The most common 16" replacement chosen by MINI owners seems to be 205/50/16. There are tons of choices in this size and no worries with rubbing or other strangeness.

Cheers - Bodinski

You did not state which year your MINI was. For all other than the '05s some like to go to a slightly under size(diameter) tire to get a reduction in the overall gearing. Something like a 205/45R16 or a 215/45R16 would still be within the allowable range for the speedo error and rim fit.

If you have an '05 and the new lower overall transmission gearing then the taller tires are OK, such as the 205/50R16, 205/55R16, 215/50R16.

Smaller diameter tires also lower the car without sacrificing suspension travel. There are so many variables, it is difficult to have one "best" answer.

Are you going to Auto-X or track your car? If not then lowering it is of no importance.
It certainly wouldn't make any difference for street driving because no one would ever endanger the lives of others by driving recklessly on public roads.:eek: :eek2:

Love the comparison calculator!:thumbsup:

It's an '04 MCS, and it's never been run on the track or AutoX course.

Wouldn't a 205/50/16 be a smaller diameter than stock? :roll:

Back to the tire calculator I go!

215/50R16 has almost exactly the same diameter as 195/55R16. The difference is so small that at 100mph, your speedo should only be inaccurate by .8 mph.

I got a Qeustion on this topic. I got 215/45/17 on my 02 Copper. When there is more then just me in the car its fine but put 3 in and when you hit a bump i hear plalstic scarping. It was in the shop today and i was lookingi could find any place that looked like it was scraped other then the front chin spoiler. What am i missing. Does it need stiffer shocks?

That's par-for-the-course with 215. You're hearing the outside of the rear tire scraping the inner lip of the fender-flare. It's hitting plastic, and you might start to see a thin line of plastic building up on your tire.

I just don't let anyone over 100 lbs in the rear seats.:wink:

Well what can i do to stop it? The tires are perfect for the car i dont want the smaller ones.

Most of us just deal with it.

It doesn't seem to be doing any damage to my tires. I'm not about to cut the fender-liner; I have no desire to expose the tire to bare metal. I'd rather have it rub plastic.

How is the rubbing on your fender? Is it creating a bald spot?


Art

The damage is entirely on the inside of the fender-liner. I sometimes see a bead of plastic around the tire, but it rubs off easily.

There is a spot near the rear of the liner that has a build-up of plastic, but no perceptible bald spots to speak of. I've not pulled the liner out to examine it, but the damage doesn't feel bad.

You certainly can't see it unless the wheel is off, and the rubbing I get is so infrequent that I don't worry too much about it.

Yea I see what your talking about with the fender flair. But doesnt the tire also hit the metal fender? Could stiffer springs or spring helps stop this?
Im worried about hittine a good bumps and the tire slamming into the fender and bendign the sheet metal.

It has never hit metal, and I've hit some pretty gut-wrenching bumps.

Stiffer springs are generally also shorter springs, so you're actually increasing the chance of rubbing. I've (rather surprisingly) had less rubbing since installing the H-Sport springs.

Are the H sport shorter like you say? Wont shorter Springs make it worse?

What about Spring clamp. Do they make such a thing? Thats all it realy needs so the springs dont sink as much with the weight.

Not unless your fitment is really agressive, in my experence most are plastic issues.

Alex

They are shorter, but they're stiffer, too. So, while you're 3/4" closer to the fender-liner, you won't get there as often.