I'm upgrading from 15" to 16" to take advantage of the broader selection of rubber - going from 15x7 Kosei K1 TS +38 ET to 16x7 Rota Slipstream +40 ET. I did some searching and found one person who has run 215/40/16 in Goodyear F1 GS D3 and it sounds like rubbing won't be an issue - I'm hoping to hear back with confirmation of that before I go ahead and order the tires. Any experience? Oh yeah, will be used mostly on street, and I'm not lowered yet but that will be shortly (unless I can find a way to go to aftermarket springs and not drop, but that's a different thread). Thanks.

 

215/45-16 fit fine with no rubbing, even lowered pretty dramatically. The even shorter 215/40-16 will have even more room.

Scott
90SM

 

dropped on 235/40/16's... no rubbing

 

215/40/16? The only thing you'll have to worry about rubbing is the underside of your car and the asphalt.

Seroiusly, that's almost 2" shorter than stock-a 7% speedo error....

 

so when your speedo reads 60 you'll be doing 56.
it's not exactly 2" lower. the sidewall is .2" shorter.
the diameter of the wheel may be 2" wider but the top of the wheel cannot be counted.
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

Yes, you can use this size with a 16x7 to 16x8.5" rim.
Stock 16" rims are 16x6.5 and a bit narrow for this tire.
You can make the 215/40-16 kumho V710 fit the stock rim but it isn't easy.

Remember that 40 series tires are pretty harsh riding with any lowered suspension and with poorer roads it's uncomfortable at best and jarring more likely. Those with bad backs and loose tooth fillings need not apply.

Rubbing you won't have to worry about with 16x7 rims but maybe you might with 16x8 depending on the offset.

Most times with 215mm wide tires you don't have to worry much.

You'd be wise to try out the tires as is without changing suspension then only later if you really want to lower your MINI add the lowered springs or shocks.

Being lower in outer tire diameter really isn't a big deal. I'd probably driven a good 4 months of last year with 205/50-15 tires with a 22.8" outer tire diameter. It works for me and I don't mind being a little off on the speedo and odometer. Just don't go over any road that isn't totally flat, my MINI is about 2 inches or less off the ground and doesn't like road debris and speed bumps.

 

i wouldnt go so far as saying that a 40 series tire is that much rougher than stock.
stock sidewall height for the 17" rim is 45% of a 205 width rim = 92.25mm
your proposed 215/40 = 86mm

that's a 6.25 mm difference in sidewall height... just food for thought.

edit: but then again, im comparing it to the 17's which a lot of people consider to be starting off stock as a harsh ride....

 

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I should have mentioned that I well aware of the smaller diameter for 215/40/16. I have been running 205/50/15 until now and am quite happy with the tradeoff of extra harshness and extra wheel gap in return for the gearing advantage. The difference in diameter from 205/50/15 to 215/40/16 is <0.5" so the incremental drop in ride height will be <0.25". And the difference in ride height from the stock 205/45/17 size is only 0.75" which is less than most aftermarket springs drop. I did question whether the sidewall would be too small, but as glnr13 pointed out, the difference in sidewall height relative to the stock 205/45/17's that the car came with is only 6% and plenty of people are quite happy to run 205/45/17 and their rims (and butts) apparently survive. That left rubbing as my only remaining concern, but that has now been answered.

The upshot is that everyone has raved about the F1's, so my choice came down to 215/40/16 or 205/45/16. The difference in diameter is only 0.4 inch (0.2 inch in ride height), but the load rating is actually higher for the 215 size, and the 215 tire is 2lbs lighter, and 215 gives an extra 1 cm of tread width - seems like the right choice as long as it will fit (and as long as my wallet can handle the slightly higher tire price!).

In terms of ride height, it does limit my options hence another post in the suspension forum about spring spacers so that I can use stiffer aftermarket springs without having to drop another 1".

Thanks again for the advice - much appreciated.

 

I'm running the same wheel (16x7 slipstream) but with a 205/50/16 Nitto neogen. I'm on H-sport springs and have no rubbing what so ever. I wouldn't think the 215/40/16 would even come close to rubbing.

 

I will throw in one additional bit of info. The 215/40/16's have reinforced sidewalls, hence their higher load rating. This makes a big difference in how the tire rides and it's transitional response. As examples, their 205/50/16 (not reinforced) rides very smoothly but is very sluggish in response on a 16x7 but the 215/40/16 rides very hard and is very responsive on a 16x8. They ride even harder than my old model 205/50/15 Falken Azenis on 15x7.5's.

 

We're using Kumho 215/40R16's on both the race cars and they are working fine.

 

Just to close the loop, I got them installed last week - they fit and they run great!

 

very cool
pics?