Ride height is not adjustable for any stock suspension MINI.

Coilovers allow for ride height adjustment if you pick ones that provide that.
Some are basic while others are fully adjustable.

Being able to adjust ride height makes for more flexible fitment for wheels and tires.

 

Well I went to a tire store, to inquire about some rims being my 17 stock rims on my 03 S are nearing the end. The place was supposed to be a big rim place. The kid wanted to sell me 17 x7 or some big 18 x 8 chrome thing.
I explained I wanted to put a wheel on that pokes out a little bit.

I like Bassles setup of 15 x8,with a 15et type of sportmax rim with a 205/50-15 tire.

I have the stock ride height, brakes(calipers) and probably will stay with stock height.

If I purchase a 15x8 rim myself how hard will it be to get a tire store to sell me a 205/50-15 tire? Will it be hard to run this setup in several years?

I looked at tire rack but couldn't find anything wide enough.

Will a 16 x 8 rim work as well as the 15 x 8? What other options do I need to research?

Thanks-Mr. D

 

I don't think anything can look worse than a wheel that pokes without coilovers being installed. And it doesn't really make sense to stretch tires if you're not gonna be lowering the ride.

this is coming from someone with over an inch of poke and 205's on his 15x8.5's. I think stretch and poke is great....but it looks awful without getting rid of the wheel gap.

 

First lets look at 15x8

There aren't that many rims to choose from
Rota makes some and 949racing.com makes one about +36mm offset.
+15mm et is really for cars like the Scion xB and not really the best choice for the MINI since the wheel will poke out the side of the car about 1.8" more than stock. If the tire is smaller than stock it will clear the fender but look like the tire is small and missing a wider fender.

Two options are wide fender kit and/or lowering about 1.5" drop or both.

The 205/50-15 is a tire that fits rims 5.5 to 7.5" wide with perfect fit for 6.5" rims. We usually put it on stock 15x5.5 rims or up to 15x7.

Any wider and usually we look at 225mm tires like 225/45-15 and 225/50-15 which is likely a better size in your case- tire is larger diameter so less wheel gap and fits the rims better with still good tire selection.

225/50-15 fits rims 6-8" wide, perfect for 7" wide rims, 23.9" tire diameter which is smaller than stock so you get some clearance for a wider rim.
There are some street tires in that size and many competition tires.

If you really want to keep the suspension stock or don't want to lower your MINI then there can be choices in 16x8 rims with tires that are wider like-

225/50-16 fits rims 6-8" wide 24.7" tire diameter (slightly tall)

Wheel offset needs to be about +37 to +30mm. Tire will still stick out from the wheel well about 1.3" so again a wider fender kit or lowering a little would be good however there is less clearance due to the wide and Taller tire in that size. Tire selection is fairly good in 225/50-16 for street use.

 

Careful on your information.....scions take basically the exact same wheels specs as our car. A safe wheel choice for those cars is a 7 inch wide wheel with an offset in the 40's(sometimes the high 30s)....just like ours. It's just more accepted over there to stretch and poke...that's the only reason the low offset sportmax's are more popular over there. A 15x8et15 pokes on xb's just like it would poke on our cars


Also...with just a little bit of camber and a 205/50, a 15x8et15 won't really poke out past the fender . My fronts are 15x8 et13 (2mm further out) and I easily tuck tire which obviously means that it's not poking out. It won't poke 1.8 inches past the arch....my calculations suggest that it's only about 1"-1.3" using an offset calculator and the fact that a 15x7 et33 is right at the fender boundary. (and that's with zero camber )

 

OK, thanks for the info on the Scions. I always see those rims "marketed" for the xB.

If your estimates are spot on for the 205/50-15 and 15x8 rim in et15 then it would make more sense just to consider dropping the suspension. I had used a wheelmaster calculator that gave me some different estimates comparing stock 15" wheels with the proposed wheels.

( http://www.wheelsmaster.com/rt_specs.jsp )

Naturally everything is an estimate until you try it on for yourself and even specific tires do vary a little from the specs.

Agreed that some additional negative camber will help with clearance if needed front or rear. Front fixed or adjustable camber plates and rear lower adjustable control arms help.

 

I think that's probably where the difference is....stock wheels are pushed into the fenders. I've found through fitting various wheels and spacers that a 15x7 et33 is right at the edge of the fender so it makes for a good comparison when you're plugging a wheel in to figure out how much poke there will be.

 

Makes sense and that is a good reference point for comparisons for various wheel options. Thanks.

 

Mr. D you should not have a problem getting 15" tires down the road. Not only that but the price is much cheaper than 16-18" tires. I have had my rims and tires on now for a month or so and the poke and gap is just fine at stock heigth. If I was to lower my car it would cause tire rub. I had four big guy's in my car the other day and it caused it to rub just on the inside of the flare. The tires do not stick out beyond the flares and I dont get water spray from rain soaked roads.