Summer is coming, I'm in the market looking for a set of wheels, new or used. Too many choices, so I made a list. The pictures are copied from TireRack. I haven't made up my mind whether to go for 17x7.5 + 215/45-17, or 17x7 + 205/45-17. I don't mind 5 spokes or 6 spokes, let me know if you have something similar for sale.

Enkei RPO3, 17x7, +45mm


Gram Lights, 17x7.5, +40mm, 18.0 lbs


Kosei K1, 17x7.5, +45mm, 16.3 lbs


Kosei K3, 17x7, +42mm, 16.8 lbs


Motegi Tracklite: 17x7, +42mm, 15.0 lbs


OZ Crono HT, 17x7, +37mm, 18.0 lbs


Sport Edition D4, +38mm, 18.5 lbs


Thanks

 

Good selections. What color is your car? Make sure the wheel color compliments the car color. No matter whether you go with 7 or 7.5 wide, I would still go with the 205/45 17 stock size or 215/40 17 if you want it a bit shorter. The popular 215/45 17 is a really meaty tire, so make sure you're ready for the meatyness.

Don't go buying wheels without looking at everything, either:

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.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/
http://www.speedwaremotorsports.com/
http://www.gmpperformance.com/
http://www.supremepowerparts.com/
http://www.envyperformance.com/
http://www.tuningwerkes.co.uk/index.html
http://rbmotoring.com/
http://www.felgenmann.de/
http://www.tunershop.com/
http://www.pgperformance.com/
and, of course, www.ebay.com and www.ebay.co.uk

Good luck and don't skimp on good tires!

-[[[[S]]]]

 

Wow! Great list in links. I am definitely bookmarking.

 

Legendary (discontinued) electric blue 2003 MCS with white roof and white mirror caps, stock sport suspension, and H-Sport rear sway bar so I guess the rear is an inch lowered.

According to tire size calculator, 205/45-17's overall diameter is 616.2mm, 215/45-17 is 625.09mm, and 215/40-17 is 603.75mm.

215/45 is about 1 cm taller, does that improve the gear ratio of pre-05's 6-speed, and hence acceleration? 215/40-17 has a lower profile than stock 205/45, so I guess the ride quality will deteriorate, correct? With my car's configuration, will 215 fit without trimming issues?

Tires wise, I'm leaning toward the Goodyear Eagle F1-D3, as it seems to be much praised by the population.

 

Smaller diameter tires will improve accel. so the best bet would be the 215/40. They also look nice with the thinner sidewall = not as vertical.
Ride may be a tad rougher but not night and day. Plus if ride was a really big issue, I'd go with 16s. I think 16s fit our MINIs the best as far as size compared to the car's features.

Goodyear GS-D3s are good tires, but there are many others. Toyo T1r, Yoko AVS ES100, Kumho ecsta MX, Falken Azenis rt615, BF Goodrich T/A KDW 2, etc. You may want to consult some of the tire threads and choose depending on what your driving habits will be. Daily suburban driver with the occasional canyon twisties? Spirited county driving? Daily mountain driving? Weekend autocrossing?

Happy hunting!

 

Why buy used when you can have these; beautifully made and fit your criteria.

http://www.edgeracing.com/2006/Mini/Cooper_S/wheels/17/[IMG]file:///Users/mhorne/Desktop/enkei_wheel_a_l_racing_387_%28silver%29_front.jpg[/IMG]

 

Why buy used when you can have new? Go to Edge Racing in the vendor list and check out Enkei 387 going for $98, usually $220. Hell of a deal for beautifully made and strong wheels.

 

buy mine: $900
pick them up in S.FL
i might be able to deliver if you're between FL and CT off I95

only 1860 miles on the set. 17x7 42mm offset, 215/45/17 ECSTAS
Going with bigger wheels.

 

I think I prefer fewer spokes... thanks for the offering though.

 

Thanks for the info... it is quite a good deal! Decisions, decisions...

 

personal opinion, but i'd love to see your car with white wheels... just the nature of color will work FOR wheels with white,

on your list, i am partial to the gram lights... the blue accents work really well with EB, and silver remains nice and conservative...

 

so which place out of all of those above sells the Advan RG2 wheels the cheapest?

 

Your car looks mean ... I'm more interested in wheels with less spokes, 5 or 6 though.

 

here's less spokes.
my opinion is, multiple spokes looks better

 

I finally decided to buy from Edge Racing the Enkei 387 ($98 each) and the Toyo T1r 205/45-17 ($116 each), can't beat the price.

Thanks for the info, semus268 !