Anyone have these? Any issues with rubbing? Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Two members in my Mini group have them with H-sport springs, no issues. I would have thought they would have some rubbing but, they seem to have good clearance. Nether one of them have control arms which I would think is a must for the rear camber. I plan on trying the same size when my 215/35's wear out.

 

Awesome! Thank you so much for the info. I feel a lot better placing my tire order now.

 

i am also considering this. what tire do you plan to get?

 

I plan on getting Falken Ziex ZE 512 or the new ZE 912's.

 

Did you look at the Nitto Neo Gens ? I have these in a 16 inch and one member in my club has them in an 18 (215/35/18). Love these tires. Sticky as hell and have lasted my friend over 20 thousand miles. Worth a look compared to what your looking at.

 

Cool! Thanks for the heads up. I'll definitely check those out.

 

215/40-18 fits rims 7-8.5" wide, is perfect fit for 7.5" wide rims
measures 24.7" tire diameter (slightly more than stock)

With a stock suspension you will not rub. With a lowered suspension you can rub a little in the rear wheel arch plastic liners on the inner upper rear edges. You can let it rub down or trim them with a dremmel tool. Not hard to do.

Alternatively you can consider the following sizes for 18" rims-
215/35-18 fits rims 7-8.5" wide, is perfect fit for 7.5" wide rims
measures 23.9" tire diameter
225/35-18 fits rims 7.5-9" wide, is perfect fit for 8" wide rims
measures 24.3" tire diameter
Both these sizes are slightly smaller or near to stock tire diameter of 24.4".
For a lowered MINI these two sizes make for more room and less risk for rubbing.

215/40-18 has a slightly taller sidewall making it a little more comfortable but the tires you select would also make a big difference. Some are more or less comfortable for street driving.

Assuming you want to still consider 215/40-18 then tirerack.com lists:

In Max Performance Summer tires
Pirelli PZero Nero $166 each 220 treadwear about 21 lbs
(very good handling and moderate comfort).

In Ultra High Performance Summer tires
BF Goodrich g-Force T/A KDW2 $137 each 300 treadwear 23 lbs
(Very good handling, not as comfortable for daily street use)
Kumho Ecsta SPT $109 each 320 treadwear 23 lbs 24.8" tire diam
(very good balance of handling and comfort with value).
BF Goodrich g-Force Sport $131 each 340 treadwear 23 lbs 24.8" tire diam
(very good balance of handling and comfort).

In Ultra High Performance All Season tires
Pirelli PZero Nero M&S $126 each 400 treadwear 23 lbs 24.8" tire diam
(very good balance of handling and comfort with long treadwear and all season capability).

High Performance All Season tires
Yokohama AVID W4S $132 each 400 treadwear 24 lbs

If you had to pick something that provided for good street comfort and no risk of rubbing then consider-
General Exclaim UHP for $85 each, 380 treadwear
in 215/35-18 very light at 18 lbs, good ride and noise comfort, good treadwear and value.

 

If you don't mind looking at 215/35-18 the selection of tires is much larger.

Of note are-
Ultra High Performance Summer tires
Bridgestone Potenza RE750 $162 each 340 treadwear 22 lbs
Good handling, moderate comfort
Kumho Ecsta SPT $96 each 320 treadwear 20 lbs
Good balance of handling and comfort and value
Avon Tech M500 $96 each 280 treadwear 22 lbs
Good balance of handling and comfort with some value

Ultra High Performance All Season tire
Kumho Ecsta ASX $96 each 420 treadwear 20 lbs
Good balance of handling and comfort with longer treadlife and good value.

 

I have the BFG KDW2's @ 215/40/18 with H-Sport springs and don't have any problems with rubbing.

Also, the noise some people say is bad is not bad at all. I have had a couple of people in my club ride with me in city, highway, above highway speeds to see if I just don't hear the noise and they agree with me that the noise is slight if at all noticeable.

If you had RF's prior to going to non-RFs, than the ride will be SO MUCH better. I think the ride with the BFG KDW2's is AWSOME and not harsh at all. I have tested this on roads that I drive daily and it handles the harsh and light bumps MUCH better. I would recomend them.

BTW, 215/40's fill the wheel gap very nicely.

 

don't forget to take rear camber into account here. if you lower the car w/out adjustable lca's, rear camber will increase. while this may make the liklihood of rubbing less, it will lead to premature tire wear. check for clearance once camber is restored to more normal ranges......

edit: also factor in the actual difference in size between tires from different manufacturers of the same labelled size. it can be significant when pushing the fittment envelope.

 

More great advice and info! Thanks Minihune, JustJay, and Bean!

 

Do you have any pictures? Also, do you know the width and offset of your wheels? And finally, did you adjust the rear camber to stock specs with adjustable lower control arms or does it have negative camber (the top of the tire is angled in closer to the car)? I'm trying to get more info before I buy tires this week as you can see in the thread called "help me decide."

 

All of the above info makes me feel good as I'm most likely going with 215/40/18 as well. FWIW, I'm lowered on H-Sports and have 215/40/17 Ziex 512 and I measured and re-measured and there shouldn't be any rubbing with an 18. Likely on bumps and hard cornering but other than that, you should be golden.

 

So, the 225/35/18 doesn't have rubbing issues? The extra sidewall is really attractive, but the cost of the tires in that 225 size is pretty stunning. $200-400 more per set.

 

• Width 7"
• Offset 52

I did not adjust the rear camber (yet). It has negative camber from the springs. I am going to purchase upper and lower control arms in the near future and adjust to have less negative camber, but retain negative camber. I have not seen excessive tire wear with being lowered, and have been to MOTD with it lowered without problems, so the handling aspect is much better IMO.



I can't find any pics that show the camber in the rear. I will have to take some soon. I will also take some going from front to rear side, and of the wheel gap. I hope this pic helps somewhat.

 

Why don't more people get the 225/35-18. Fatter tire with a little more sidewall. You could also get some tires that are not on TireRack, like the Toyos, which happen to be very light too.

 

Thank you. Your car doesn't look all that low compared to a lot that I've seen, those springs must not drop it too much.

 

aus... I checked on the 225/35/18 and it's 24.2 diameter and 8.9" section width compared to 8.6" section width for the 215/40/18. I don't think that's the way to go for me, the extra .3" width would just cause me more grief with the inside of the tire contacting suspension parts.

 

My question was based on this statement:

Which seems to say that tire size will fit without rubbing... provided the offsets are proper.

 

The H-Sport springs only drop it about an inch.