You two RallyMINIs are really confusing me. ;-)

Thanks for the photo, RallyMINI; that's encouraging. I just want them to freaking *get* here, already!!

I dig the grille contrast, by the way, RallyMINI; is that just black? Looks sharp.

 

I am kind worried that maybe Team Dynamics sent me the et40 or even et30 version of this wheel (as they do make it that way as well). I am having Aaron from outmotoring check on it right now to see what's up. In any case, the wide look is cool...

Thanks for the feedback!

RM2k5

 

yup....just a flat black paint to match the other flat black parts.

other Rallymini- I really think that those look like 30's. I have seen 37s and they didnt even stick out that much. With that being said, i think it looks GREAT. I had actually planned to pick up some spacers to get down to 30mm offset on my wheels.

 

I suppose as long as I'm not going to rip my fenders off I don't care... but if I have to start cutting away fenders for clearance, I might be a little pissed. But as I said, I am planning some rally fenders anyway, so maybe its just a sign!

RM2k5

 

By the way, how was your experience with Sullivan Tire? I usually go to Direct Tire, though would love to find a place that is more competitively priced.

 

So I double checked with Team Dynamics (via Aaron at outmotoring.com) and he said that this offset is correct (whatever it is). I wasn't so sure, so at lunch I went outside with some coworkers, and we drove the left front wheel up a steep grassy hill such that the left rear wheel was off the ground. The idea was to try and completely compress the right rear tire to try and make it rub. I had both coworkers boucing on the car to bottom out the suspension, and although it got REAL close (1/4" maybe?) it didn't hit the fender or the lining.

I think if I ran it to the bumpstops it might have rubbed the plastic, but it doesn't seem to at the moment!

RM2k5

 

Just a Q; aren't there other worries one should have with running too aggressive of an offset? Something about bearings, brakes...I don't know, just think I read something somewhere.

mb

 

The offset should be stamped on the wheel somewhere. I know when I put 225/50-15s on a et43 wheel, the inside was JUST off the front strut, actually was rubbing the lifted edge of a sticker slightly. I'd double check on the wheel that it's not a 30 offset.

mbcoops: I don't know if it's an urban legend, but I've also heard the bearings can prematurely go if the offset is too low, something about the weight of the wheel and where it sits on the hub.. Hopefully there's a expert who can clarify that.

That said.. it does look cook w/ the wheels out like that

 

A too low offset can cause problems with the wheel bearings, but there are a lot of VW enthusiasts who run super low offsets without having any problems. It is a possibility though.

 

I finally got home and found the ID sticker on the boxes that my rims came in...

There offset is et30!!!

Now I am faced with a dilema, do I dismount the tires from these rims, and send them back for a different offset, or do I keep the offset I have? I was expecting offset 45, but I doubt that would even fit with these tires. I am thinking of moving down only to offset 35...

I like how far out the wheels sit, it looks awesome! But at the same time, I don't want my wheel bearings to fail and I'd kinda like to be able to keep the wheels inside of the stock fenders...

What are peoples thoughts on this? Keep em or send em back?

RM2k5

 

Well, the fact is they fit. What offset were you expecting? Is this a fulfillment error on OutMotoring's part (hey, it happens to the best of us)? 45 would probably not work; from what I've heard, the 40 that I'm going with is cutting it close. I expect my wheels and tires in next week, and will share pictures then, but that's probably kind of long to wait if you're going to have to return these.

I do think the rears stick out too much; that's technically illegal, I think (the wheels should be inside the fenders), and I'd bet you'll eventually see some paint damage from the tires kicking up stones and the like onto the unprotected side of the car.

According to this post, 90STX is running 225/45/15 tires on a 15x7 rim with a 38 offset with no issues.

 

I believe that I was misinformed by the outmotoring website, they list the offset as 45 for the PR1's with no mention of the fact that the offset changes by rim size...

All I was expecting is for the tires to sit entirely within the wheel wells (no stick out as they do). Def. share those pictures of your car when you get your et40 wheels on there.

The fact that the rears stick out is a problem for sure, but wider fenders might solve this problem.. perhaps that is my next step. Wider fenders... hmmmm.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback!

RM2k5

 

Wow, radical.

 

Just another thing to think about. You talk about getting a bit higher offset (new type of wheels?), but in one of your earlier posts it states you have about a finger width from the strut up front. Will going higher on the offset cause problems in there? I guess it depends on the width of your finger. Every 5mm's is 0.19685 inches so 35's should be fine and most likely 40 should be too unless you have super skinny fingers

 

Yeah, that's my concern as well. If you get higher offsets, then you might also have to get some spacers to push them back out a bit so they clear the struts.

 

I would send the wheels back and get an offset closer to 40 if you have any intentions of ever lowering the car.

My et38 wheels rubbed like crazy when I tried running 215/45/17s ... and that was with tons of fender well modification. I won't make that mistake again.

 

So after chatting with MisterDangerPants in person, I have resolved to keep these wheels. They just look too darn good!

I don't think I will ever lower my MINI (Boston is NOT the place for lowered cars, the roads are WAAY too bad) so I don't think that is a problem...

Anyway, check out the pics, this is after 6 hours of detailing (mostly to get winter road grime out from all the cracks, and cleaning my ALta intake).

RM2k5

 

Very sharp, RM2k5! I got my wheels today, too, which was a huge surprise! Got some issues, which I'll save for the Konig Rewind thread.

 

Man those tires are HUGE Can't wait to hear from you about how cornering grip compares to your 17" wheel/tire combo.

 

no wonder why

 

So this morning 3 friends and I wanted to go to brunch, and we all piled into my new shiny MINI with its new cool wheels.... and that's when the problems began. Rubbing. #$#^%)#(@*%#)$(*)#*!!!!

Not that it wasn't foreseable... I am running et30 with 225 tires, so they rubbed. Ever so gently on the inside of the rear plastic fenders. It wasn't all the time, just on severe bumps. I checked when we got to the dinner and there was melted plastic on the tires themselves. Not cool.

I was pissed...

But I really don't have a choice at this point. I'd either have to dissmount the tires, and sell the wheels on ebay, or make them work. So I decided it was project time...

I went home, and for better or for worse I was going to make some clearance. I was planning Rally fenders someday anyway, so today was the first step.

Call in bravery. Call it stupidity. But I took a razor knife to my MINI. Or at least, to the plastic bits.

The idea was simple. The tire was rubbing on the plastic, and the pastic was melted enough that I could see where the rubbing was happening, so all I had to do was to cut away the offending plastic bits to make room for the tires. Sounds simple eh?

Well, pretty much it was. I used a big industrial razor knife to cut the fender flare inner edge down from about a 1/2" deep to about a 1/8" deep. The fender liner itself only had one problem area (near the nut closest to the rear of the car) where the plastic stuck out more than the rest of the liner.

The only interesting bit was I had to use a blowtorch... that's right. A torch. Why?

...

Because when I cut the fender liner to make room for the tire, there was a gap between the edge of the fender liner and the metal of the body panel it covered. I wanted to close this gap, so I used the torch to heat the fender liner enough to turn it over to cover the newly created gap. I tried to get a picture, but I couldn't get the camera to focus. Like I said, easy. The liner itself requires very little heat to get it hot enough to move. I used my girlfriends brulee' torch (from our kitchen) to heat the fender plastic up, and it folded over VERY easily. I effectively cut off the old lip and created a new one!

Anyway, now I have to get three other people into the MINI to see if my fix actually worked! I think its all set, but until I can load it, I won't know for sure.

More updates as I get (create) them!

RM2k5

 

D'oh! Do you think the rubbing's because of the offset or the tire width? I was surprised how far mine (40 offset) stick out:

That picture exaggerates it a little bit; I don't think it technically hangs past the fender, but it's darn close. I wonder if I'll have the same problem.

 

Wow, it's unfortunate that they rub because they look nice (especially in person). Hopefully you'll find a way to keep them.

 

Hm.
I have et35 205/40/17 with stock sus. setup
and they never rub..

 

After brunch I checked and it looked like my tires were sticking outboard by JUST a little too much... I'm not surprised that someone with a et40 wheel would NOT have any rubbing since that 10mm looks like it makes all the difference. Also, someone with a smaller tire (205) wouldn't have any rubbing either since its 10mm narrower than my tires. I think it's just a combo of the aggressive offset and wide tires that makes my wheels rub. I am pretty confident that the plastic trimming I did will be enough, but if it isn't then I'm looking at a MUCH more involved project... metal work. And I'll be damned if I'm going to try and do THAT it my garage...

Anyway, I as I drove to work this morning I tried to hit some corners pretty hard, and tried to bump off some gentler potholes, and with just me in the car I couldn't detect any rubbing. So far so good...

I am going to load some more weight in the car after work to see if I can replicate the load of four friends then I'll be able to see if it rubs.

One upside to trimminng the fenders is that I have a bunch of good ideas now on how to make my Rally fenders!

RM2k5