I was just about to call Tire Rack and order some 17" Ultraleggera's / Yokohama Parada's, (X-mas gift for the Mini) to replace my 17" Web Spokes with Dunlop RF's with only 750 miles on them ...and then, I starting reading deeper into NAM, and started realizing the performance advantage of 16". It may be slight, but with all the effort put forth under the bonnet, am I leaning toward 'Bling' at the sacrifice of peformance not to mention the lower costs to 16" vs 17".

Looking for some feedback from those who have been there ....

 

im running 16x7.5 SSR Comps with GS-D3's 205/50/16.
it's a huge setup as far as performance from stock 17's, but also
a nice look too. checkout my gallery for picts. i have a couple in there.

on a car like the MINI, don't sacrifice performance just for the look.

 

16" will, as a general rule of thumb, be a better "performance" option. But then so will 15" (unless running huge brakes / etc.).

But given that, a light 17" set won't be horrible. I'll be swapping out my 16" R84s sometime. For a DD, I'm looking for some 17"s that are lighter (<17lb apiece).

And for track use, I'll be picking up some 15"s.

Up to you. As long as you're not considering 18"s.

 

I went from 17" S-Lites (25 lbs.) down to 15" Team Dynamics PR1.2 (13 lbs.) on my S and couldn't be happier.

 

I don't agree with 15's being good at all. I went there right off the bat with BBS RG-F's and Kumho SPT's in 205/55/15. WAY TOO MUCH sidewall flex, though ride Q was excellent. I'm running 17's for winter right now (A/S tires from my wife's MINI...we bought her a new set), but have 16" Volks on the way. I think 16" is that 'sweet spot'.

 

i go from 18" HRE's (bling) for the street to 17" SSR's for the track. the ride is much better w/ the 17's. i need at least 17's to clear my bbk. if a bbk might be in your future, look at them before deciding on wheel size. many brake and wheel options are available.

 

Hello
I change de OEM 17" R85 (11.4Kg) to Kei Performance 17" FIN (8.5Kg) with non-runflat tires. I am very satisfied...
17 " are the best choice, in my opinion.

Best Regards

 

Hey - go for your personal "sweet spot". If you're spending the money under the hood and want some bling, head for 17's. I have 17s as 3-season (BBS RK, Euphora@) and 16s as winter (195/55 Dunlop M3 on Rage multi-spoke). Can't say I love the Pirellis but they're OK.

Differences: 16's track and steer more "easily", the 17's tramline a bit. I like both "looks". 205/50/16's IMHO look GREAT.

16's generally area lighter wheel and have a longer "footprint", resulting in better tracking, giving up maybe 3% of that go-kart "feel".

 

keep in mind that there's more of a difference in feel between tire models than in wheel diameter.

 

15's are ideal for performance if you go for a 15x7 or wider and a smaller overall diameter as well for the gearing, but a 55 series tire will have a lot of sidewall flex. 225/45- Hankooks RS2's or 225/50 in a number of other tires is good for a 15" wheel. A 15x6.5 though you'll be stuck in non-performance oriented tires, short of say the Falkens in 205/50. 16's are a good balance if you only have one set of wheels, but if you have two, I say do what my wife is gonna, 17 inchers for the street (14.3 lbs 17 inchers to boot!) and some nice light 15's for autocross.

 

I don't think you can say 15's are ideal for all people - it fully depends on the tires chosen. I had both 15x7 and a smaller OD than stock and wasn't happy with them (sold them at a huge loss after only 6 weeks of use). My new wheels are 16x7 and only marginally heavier (12.8 vs 10lbs) than the stupid light RG-F's. Hope that works out for me.

 

He's not saying they're good for all people, he's saying that the dynamics of a 15 inch wheel for performance are greater than a larger wheel. When you can reduce the sidewall flex, as he mentioned, to something similar to a 16 or 17 inch tire, then the 15 incher should perform better.

Does anyone have numbers for this? I have no clue. It's theoretical as far as I'm concerned. I use 15inchers for the track, and I will use spacers to fit my wilwood kit under them. I've done unscientific testing where I'd use my 16inch wheels then switch them to the 15inch ones, and my performance would get better with the smaller wheels.

I'm sure somone with real knowledge about this stuff will chime in, or the original poster could find some of the other times this has been discussed.

mb

 

I can read fine, thanks. I'll quote myself again for emphasis:

 

actually its both. profile height and type/model of tire.

i also think tires are constructed and wond differently even
on the same model if the profile is different. say a 50 profile
is differently constructed vs a 45profile, etc.
need DR. minihune to the rescue.

 

of course it's both, never did I say anything to the contrary

 

On my previous MCS I had the chance to run between 16's and 17's with the same tire brand. Both ES100's where one was 205/50/16 and the other 215/45/17. I much prefer the 16's ride quality, 0 to speed limit response and overall steering and control.

Some of the 0 to speed limit I felt disappear with the 17's could be due to the 215/45's being .69% slower than stock. The 205/50's were 1.5% faster than stock. As for the weight. The 16's were stock v-spokes which weigh in at 18lbs and my current 17's are 16lbs. I didn't weigh both after the tires were mounted but the weight was probably close to the same considering the 17's had more rubber than the 16's.

If I have a chance and come across a nice set of 16" rims. I'll be going to 16's. If I don't. I'll definitely drop back down to 205/45/17's to see how they compare to the 205/50/16's.

 

at the risk of being off topic...will a 205 series tire look stretched on a 16x 7 rim? Right now I have 205s on the R84 which is 6.5 and wondering whether I should go to a 215...

thanks for any constructive feedback

 

205 on 7 is perfect. 215 is a little wide, but works. 225 = overboard.

 

thanks for the quick feedback! I am moving my rears to new rims and have to replace the fronts...you answered my question whether I should go wider...

 

well, depends on who you ask, and whether its for track, street, or autocross. I've got 215/45's on 7" wheels on my Mazda3, and plan on going to 225's for my next set. I don't track them though, I DO autocross, where the extra 10mm will help grip and heating the tires up evenly isn't as big of a concern. If I were to run the car on the track though, I'd go with 215's. 205's seem awfully narrow for a 7" wheel to me, my mazdas stock 17x6.5" wheels came with 205's on them. . .

 

PatagonianGT - can you post pics of your car with the RG-Fs installed? Love those things.

And I didn't mean to imply you couldn't read; sorry if you took it that way. I just don't think the comment was made that 15inch rims are "ideal for all people," as you put it. So much is lost in cyberland...sorry for the mixup.

mb

 

do youse guys think running 215s on the back with 205s on the front (about half the tread left) would be ok until I wear the fronts out...probably 6 mos.

 

no worries...I just wanted to get my experience across that I went for a lightweight 15" combo and was not happy. I learned the hard way and was trying to prevent the same mistakes by someone else. My setup had so much flex, the car would shimmy sideways when closing a door.







you can run whatever you want...the manufacturer's give you alot of range to work in. I've seen 255's on 7.5", doesnt' mean it's optimal or that I would do it.

 

oh wow, you know why you had so much flex? Theres 5 letters on the side of your tire that explain it:

K-H-U-M-O

they are notorious for sidewall flex, in a 55 series tire, its no wonder you had so much flex!

If you crave stiff response, get a tire from BFG or Yokohama or better yet, Falken Azenis's or better yet, RUNFLATS (j/k)

 

I had a set of S0-3's in 215/45/17 stacked side by side with the 205/55/15 SPT's. The difference in sidewall structure was so different as to be silly....should have known right then and there to send them back to Tire Rack and run something stiffer (I had ordered RS2's but Edge Racing flubbed things).