Hi. Brand new mini cooper owner. It's an excellent 2004 Mini with lots of options including GPS system. Any recommendations for wheels on a British Green standard Cooper? Thanks!

 

Here are a few questions to consider about wheels:

1. How much are you willing to spend? (there are wheels for $100 each and wheels for $500+ each)


2. What diameter do you want to run? (15, 16, 17 and 18 inch rims are most common on Minis)
(also, smaller wheels cost less as do the smaller tires)


3. What size tire do you want to run? (stock on a Cooper is 175/65-15 (S = 195/55-16), but 205s fit without problems)


4. Based on your tire choice, choose the appropriate width and offset for the wheel.


5. Pick a style you like! There is a huge selection of wheels that fit , so find one in your price range that YOU like.


Other considerations are wheel weight (lighter wheels=less unsprung weight), durability (bigger wheels with low profile tires may not do well in areas with bad roads), and ease of cleaning (10 spoke white wheels are harder to keep clean than black 5 spokes)

 

I'm a new owner of a 2004 Mini Cooper (standard version) so they must be 15" inch tires. What do most Mini Cooper owners use for wheels/tires?
Thanks a bunch

 

wheels will depend on your style.... do you want tuner? classic? retro? bling? take a look around websites and see what you want... another thing, money is also a big deciding factor... volk TE37 might look great, light weight and everything, but are about 500 bucks each... some brands to look up to start would be tire rack which has a good selection and you can plug in your car and see what floats your boat, several other brands such as Rota offers replica wheels at a decent price

tire wise, again, will depend where you live, your budget, what you do with your car, etc etc, location will determine if you want an all season or 2 sets, one for winter and one for summer to maximize grip in respective seasons... your purpose for your car, as in do you drive everyday, or as a fun car, autox car, or as a pure track car.,.. i can't say i recommend the V710 if you drive everyday, never go on autox, and faces winter...

bottom line, outline what you want, do some searches online, it will turn up a few answers, there are just way too much answers for your question, limit your search criteria and then we can better answer your question

 

Round ones

Shoeboy seems to have hit the major points.

 

Go to TireRack and put in your car and color. You then can see what your car looks like with the wheels you choose before you buy!

 

Thanks. I live in the metro Boston area, will likely drive it every few days all year long. How is this car in the winter? What tires are good for winter driving?

 

Hey, devicespy. If you do not want to change out winter tires each year, you will have to get an all-season type tire. That is unless you will not drive the car when it snows, then you can stick to summers.

You don't HAVE to go with 15s. Granted, that is stock ont he car, but you do not have to replace with 15s.

I am a newb myself to the world of wheels and tires. Tirerack.com was a GREAT place to start for me!

 

Weclome aboard, devicespy.

I have used the stock 15" MINI Cooper wheel as a winter wheel for my MINI Cooper S. The stock Continental All season tire is much better as a winter tire than the wider 16" run-flats that come with the MCS. I live in an area that may not get allot of snow (southern New England) but whatever we get turns to ice on the roads. Last year I got myself some real snow tires with studs. What a world of difference it made.

I have my winter tires mounted on my set of 15" 7-hole MINI Cooper wheels and my summer tires mounted on my 16" V-spoke wheels. If you have the space to store them I would recommend 2 sets of wheels and tires.

The MINI is as good as any other front wheel drive car in the snow. As long as you don't go crazy you should have no problems.

Just because your MC came with 15" wheels does not limit you to just that choice. There are many MCs running around with 16", 17" and even 18" wheels. But I would heartily recommend keeping your 15" wheels for winter tires if you decide to get anything larger and wider for the rest of the year. Remember, narrower is better on snow or ice. Wider is better on dry pavement and in warmer weather. This is strictly from a performance standpoint. There are many running about with 17" winter tires and doing OK.

As the others have pointed out. It is all about what direction you choose to go. Performance, bling, tuner, classic, retro? The sky is the limit.

 

http://rspeed.net/product_info.php?products_id=3458

in silver or charcol, watch the offset, you can get them on et 35 which should work based on the answers i have got in other threads...

 

I shall answer:




Of course there is bunch of other options, but those rims would look killer on your car.

 

Have to agree, I've seen these on a matte BRG Lotus Elise and they looked absolutely amazing.

Amit

 

Wow. Those are sick.

I would say, go with gold. No other color MINI looks as good with gold wheels than the BRG.

Keep it classic:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/15-X8...spagenameZWDVW

8" wide for a little thickness. Would look nice with a 205 width high performance tire. Keep your stock rims for winter wheels and re wrap them in all seasons or winter studs. If your going to only use your new wheels, still keep your stock wheels. They'll be collectors items one day if you keep them looking nice.

Also, look thru these sites for wheels:
http://www.tirerack.com/
http://www.wheelsdirectonline.com/
http://www.wheelsnext.com/
http://www.wheelguyz.com/shop/
http://www.hopupracing.com/
http://www.e-wheelz.com/
http://www.customwheelsdirect.com/
http://www.wheelmax.com/
http://www.midatlanticmotorsport.com/
http://forperformance.com/wheels.html
http://www.group5motorsport.com/main.pl
http://www.gruppe-s.com/
http://www.edgeracing.com/
http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/
http://www.thewheelconnection.com/
http://www.1stoprimshop.com/
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/home.do
http://www.streetdreams.org/
http://www.wheelstudio.com/
http://www.performancewheel.com/
http://www.importhookup.com/store/catalog/
http://www.1010tires.com/
http://www.wheelsboutique.com/
http://www.upgrademotoring.com/index2.htm
http://www.wheelbuys.com/
http://www.wheelexperts.com/index2.html
www.ltbmotorsport.com
www.18racing.com
http://www.tiretrends.com/
http://www.racerwheel.com/
www.nyxracing.com
http://www.seriousauto.com/
http://www.intakeone.com/
http://www.subydude.com/
http://www.jaydm.com/


Good luck.
-Steve

 

15x8 + fat tires + slammed = Hotness

 

This thread has all the pictures you'll need, it's the "Show me your WHEELS" thread. Some of the pics are so old they're only red Xs, but the later pages show a lot.

You sound like you need a good all-around wheel and all-season tire. I'd suggest 16" as the best size for both durability, ride quality, and appearance. www.tirerack.com is probably your best source, though many exist. Call Alex at Tire Rack - he's our resident Tire Rack Mini expert and can recommend a good tire for your blend of all-around usage.

BRG is a classic color, may want to go with a classic wheel - the Panasport types are excellent (pics above).



Bear in mind that Mini wheels get dusty, and cleaning is harder the more details you have in the wheel. Also, low-profile rim/tire combinations(17-18-19 on the Mini) don't have a lot of sidewall, meaning more risk of pothole damage as well as the dreaded "tramlining" (where wide tires tend to follow the ruts of the road).

BBSs are always nice, here's mine (17's though):


My favorite OE wheel has to be this one, and a classic look (though probably hard to clean):



Hope this helps - all those pictures were taken from the above thread. Cruise some other threads as well, take your time, and choose wisely! Also remember, there is a market for your take-off wheels, check the Marketplace section - you may find something there you like for sale as well! eBay also works...

Beware the usual warnings and restrictions - there are a LOT of cars that use the 4x100 bolt pattern that the Mini has - there's a guide to wheel size/offset at the top of this forum.

Good luck, and post pictures once you have the wheels!

 

I have a brg/brg MCS with chromeline. a mini regular has a lot of chrome on it as default. I chose the all silver version of a Konig Rewinds. OPEK is my dealer and basically the NE wholesaler of them. they come in part black anodized if that is your style as well. I need to take a photo of my car with them next week when it warms up again. They are 15x7 inch rims. 205/60 tires on them work wonders for comfort and speeding around.