Okay, Im getting an MC and I have a feeling that its only going to have 15" wheels on it from the factory. Keep in mind that Im not a big wheel guy, I do like the 17" S-lites.

I suppose my question is two-fold.

1)Do you think the dealership would discount some to me if I upgrade before taking delivery? How much are they at MSRP?

2)Is upgrading from 15" wheels to these 17" wheels going to make the ride a whole lot different?

Thanks!

 

Check out tire rack.com for styles & prices before you get the dealers price. Since you haven't driven one with 17's & another wih 15's, you'll have to rely on other drivers opinions who may drive a bit differently. A bigger wheel usually means bigger tires which = more friction = less mpg. If the look is what ya want,go for it. It's your $$

 

I don't know what deals you can work out with your dealership, but typically the OEM wheels are expensive and heavy. The lighter the wheel, the better the handling, braking, acceleration, and ride comfort. The only justification for a heavier wheel is lower cost and strength. However, just because it is heavy does not guarantee strength. That has to do with design and manufacturing method (forged vs. cast, etc.)

Yes. I notice a significant difference between 16" and 17" wheels. The smaller wheel allows more sidewall on the tire because the O.D. of the two tires should be about the same on a MINI. So, the ride is softer. Turn-in can be a little crisper with 17" wheel, but many racing enthusiasts prefer the smaller wheel because it can be lighter weight.

Rather than going with OEM wheels, look at some third party wheels. I have a set of Rota RB 16x7" (stock 16" size is 16x6.5"). They allow me to use a 205 width tire with 16" wheels, instead of the stock 195 width. The 205 width is standard on 17" wheels for the MINI.

The Rota RB are well made, light weight, and relatively inexpensive. However, the RB style is not the easiest to clean. I'd probably go with a different style next time.

Here is a thread by a NAM vendor who carries Rota tires in 16 and 17.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=129709

I also have CenterLine RPM 17x7 wheels that are very lightweight, and not terribly expensive. However, CenterLine has an F rating from the BBB for poor customer service, and the finish of the wheels is not the best. I use them mostly for autox. There have been a number on instances where CenterLine wheels have cracked, but that issue may have been corrected by now.

If you plan to autox in stock class, you need to stick with stock wheel and tire sizes such as 16x6.5 or 17x7. Changing wheel size will put you in a different class.

If you don't care about that, I think that 16x7 is a good size for the MINI.

 

Yeah, the cheaper the better. Of course, I want it to look good as well. Ive noticed that a lot of the S-lite wheels in the Marketplace seem to be at a pretty good price. Mainly about 300-400 range/set. This is pretty much where I want to be.

 

where'd you get that theory?!

when upgrading wheels, or "inching up", you should ALWAYS try to keep the ratio the same. bigger wheel, less sidewall equating to the same, or close, overall diameter of the wheel.

to Soonersdude:
take a look around at tirerack and other online sites and see if aftermarket is what you're looking for or OEM is more your thing. Know this, the stealership is going to try and get you in a set of runflats at way too high a cost so beware.

 

By "bigger" tires, I suspect he meant "wider" tires. If you look at the stock MINI wheels, the 15" ones come with 175mm tires, the 16" wheels come with 195mm tires, and the 17" & 18" wheels come with 205mm tires. All else being equal, a wider tire will have more rolling resistance and air resistance. Whether it's significant or not is another matter.

 

sriqui, thanks. i see...

i agree, i dont think the significance in width is enough to make much of a difference in gas mileage. although friction can play a roll here it can also be said that due to the larger contact patch said driver with larger wheels can coast thru more turns using less gas than the skinnier wheels, hence nullifying the lost mileage going straight.

 

It's also hard to isolate tire width as the only variable, because as you go from 15" to 16" to 17", the wheels and tires get heavier as well, and I'd suspect that the additional weight would make more of a difference in fuel economy than the additional resistance due to the increased width.

Plus, unless you go from one extreme to the other (like going from 12-pound wheels with 175mm tires to 25-pound wheels with 205mm or wider tires), it's possible that the difference in fuel economy might be below the "noise level" of everyday variations in mileage.

 

... and even with the wheel weight rational one could theoretically say that due to a higher mass it would build up more momentum than the lighter wheel again leading to more coasting. i dunno, im no engineer.

as you and i said earlier, i think it's minimal in change of MPG

 

With my prev car the mpg difference between 16" and 17" setup was about 2mpg.

 

so you lost 2mpg or gained with the 17?

i was looking at my notes (OCD) and i get better mileage on my 17's but only because my overall diameter is smaller on the 16's.

 

Soonersdude,

I just ordered my Mini Cooper S a few days ago and they are coming in with the 17" Crown spokes...aren't they the S-Lite's? I plan on purchasing 18's and will be looking to sell the 17's with the performance run flats. Let me know if you're interested.

Steve