I am very interested in getting SSR GT1's on my mcs. 16 x 7 i believe. Now what is the best size tire performance wise. 215/45 is very popular. Would wider be better? You would be adding weight. Thinner then? Losing a little traction perhaps. Is this why this is a popular size? I am looking at yoko parada spec-2's. I didn't see it in 215/45/16's. Do they make it in this size? If not what are my options? Thanks

 

Try going to Tirerack.com and checking out the various items you mentioned- the SSR GT1s in 17 and the Parada Spec 2. There is some adjustments you can make to the tire size but in general for the 17" size the common width is 205 to 215. Much wider and you don't really get much better performance although you do increase weight. Some people like the wider look.

For the same wheels in 16" then 195 to 205 is a common width in 55 series or 50 series. 16" rims are lighter.

45 series seems to do OK, some people like the 40 series but that adds to a harsher ride except on smooth roads. Also the 40 series tire has a bit less load it can handle. You might try PM to alex@tirerack.com to get details.

 

>>I am very interested in getting SSR GT1's on my mcs. 16 x 7 i believe. Now what is the best size tire performance wise. 215/45 is very popular. Would wider be better? You would be adding weight. Thinner then? Losing a little traction perhaps. Is this why this is a popular size? I am looking at yoko parada spec-2's. I didn't see it in 215/45/16's. Do they make it in this size? If not what are my options? Thanks

215/45/16 is a very hard tire size to fit, as its OE for acura NSX 1st gen cars. the Yokohama in 215/45 is A022 - and its directional an aysimetrical - not ideal as it was designed for NSX individually.

215/45/17 has proved to be the best size to use in 17's aswell its the spec Mini tire size!

Alex

 

I said 16 inch. Why so much talk about 17's. Well how about another brand? I am not stuck on that tire in particular i just want the best size for performance.

 

The MCS comes with upgraded wheels that are 17" while stock wheels are 16".
With the SSR GT1 you have a choice for 16 ro 17". You want lower weight and better performance go with the 16 and if you like the looks of the 17 then that is an option.

17" are mentioned more because the size of tire you mentioned 215/45 is better suited to 17".

16" tires would be more like 195/55 or 205/50 in size and still give good results.

Look up Yokohama Parada Spec 2 at tirerack and check all the sizes and see what they have in stock for any 16"- email Alex to get more info. The Paradas are more of a track tire. Good grip, not as good on the street- noisy and don't last as long.

Maybe consider Goodyear Eagle F1, Bridgestone Potenza S-03 or others

 

>>Look up Yokohama Parada Spec 2 at tirerack and check all the sizes and see what they have in stock for any 16"- email Alex to get more info. The Paradas are more of a track tire. Good grip, not as good on the street- noisy and don't last as long.
>>
Parada comes in 205/40/16 and 205/45/16 wich are lower in load than I recomed to use.

Alex

 

Yokohama Parada Spec 2 from tirerack.com in 17" shows these sizes:
205/40-17
205/45-17
215/40-17
The stock tire size for the MINI is 205/45-17 and some people have used
215/40-17 with SSR GT1 17" rims. Tirerack doesn't recommend this 40 series tire size due to lower load capacity than what is normal for the MINI.

 

not to beat a dead horse but for overall performance including handling and acceleration, is 16 inch tires the best bet. I have the stock 17 runflats on now. I guess i just don't understand completely. I just figured a lot of people liked 215/45/17's so ill just get the same size with 16's instead. Is that size better than 205/45/16? Hmmm, maybe i should just call tirerack. I am not sure if i am pulling the trigger yet however so i dont want to waste their time. Thanks for all the help it is greatly appreciated.

 

>>not to beat a dead horse but for overall performance including handling and acceleration, is 16 inch tires the best bet. I have the stock 17 runflats on now. I guess i just don't understand completely. I just figured a lot of people liked 215/45/17's so ill just get the same size with 16's instead. Is that size better than 205/45/16? Hmmm, maybe i should just call tirerack. I am not sure if i am pulling the trigger yet however so i dont want to waste their time. Thanks for all the help it is greatly appreciated.

It all depends what you want out of your wheels.
Looks or performance? Daily street driving comfort or track performance?
Yes, call tirerack and talk to Alex. It's good to get your questions answered.

If you have stock runflats for the MCS then you have S-lite rims and Pirelli or Dunlop runflats. Very heavy combination, some grip, harsh rides except on smooth roads. Very expensive. Stock size tires are 205/45-17.

The SSR GT1 rims are available in 16,17, and 18" sizes. The bigger the rim the more it weighs. Some people like the looks of the bigger rims. The penalty is higher price and more weight with a harsher ride. More grip is decided by which tire you choose to match the rims. Tire weights vary as well.

When you change the size of the rim you need to consider the right size of the tire to complement or match. Depends on what you are trying to do. The wheel well in the MINI is only so big. So there is only so much space to fit a tire in there before it starts to rub along the inside of the wheel well. The car is designed with a certain wheel size in mind.

To obtain the best results you should think of the wheel and tire combination as working together to provide adequate performance for street use, track use if desired, and safety- within the design limits of the car.

16"rims are popular because they provide a good enough look, perform on the street or track reasonably well, are relatively lighter in weight, have tires that usually are available in that rim size that are workable with most cars, and are not too expensive (tire or rim) for the average person.

I would ask you to look at alot of MINIs with aftermarket wheels in person. Get a feel for what a 16,17,or 18" rim looks like (consider suspension changes these cars might have since that affects the overall look). Maybe get a chance to drive in some of these cars and check out the ride harshness or smoothness, are they noisy or quiet, do they corner well or squeal?

If you want to try a smooth ride get in a base cooper with the stock 15" wheels and test drive it. I have the S-lite 17"s and they are so rough and bumpy by comparison it's quite a difference. The 16" will perform somewhere in between the two extremes.

 

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Go there and you can enter the stock tire size and your aftermarket tire size and it will tell you how much the speedo will be off with the new tire.

I myself was looking at the ssr comps in 16x7.5 with 205/50/16 yoko avs es 100s. Lots of people on here and mini 2 have been getting them and giving good reviews. The way I see it is that they are a longer lasting street tire than the paradas with good grip for the weekend tracks and such, but not as good as the paradas. Quieter too. So they are dual purpose is what I'm trying to say. Cheap as well.

My $0.02!

 

messed up the link

tire size calculator

 

hey, just so happens that i plan to get the same wheels, GT1 16x7 but in white. i plan to get either the goodyear gs-d3 or yokohama es100 in 205/50. this is the sizing that alex highly recommends. he also said i could go 215/45-16, but depending on the setup, i could possibly rub. this is mainly why i plan to pretty much follow alex's recommendations as he's the tire expert. plus i want as long life as possible out of my setup, in addition to daily performance with occasional driving school.

when i was debating the 16's vs. 17's thing, alex basically said 17's look better, but 16's will be better for ride comfort and acceleration, as they help you "wind up faster" is how i believe alex terms it. furthermore, 16's are cheaper and lighter, hence the acceleration and possibly handling factor. to try to compensate for the supposed looks disadvantage, i plan to lower my mcs with h-sports, which will decrease the empty wheel-fender spacing.

so, according to what i've learned so far, 16's seems to be the size for performance, as well as comfort. weight is also a big factor, as alex stated that every 1 lb. of weight in the wheels is worth 4 lbs. above. i guess it all depends on how much performance we want, in addition to driving environment, ie. heavy track use vs. daily street use.

having said all that, i am now starting to consider 15's. maybe even the white OEM holeys. gotta see what size tires as well as brands available if i go that route, if i can with mcs.

 

Looks are subjective my friend.

If I put some chrome lowrider style 17s on my forthcoming S they would be ugly. Not all wheels look the same. I like 15s and 16s and wouldnt really wana go any higher (per weight). If you have seen the Sport Compact Car MCS project you'll know what I'm talking about when I say I like 15s. At least those ones.

Difference between 16 and 17in handling could be about the same because the 16s have more tire, but weigh less. The 17s would have less tire and more weight. I'm talking sidewall heights, less is better from what I understand. This is all considering you keep your setup the same overall diameter as stock, because if not, your speedo could be offset worse than it is already stock. Go play with the tire size calculator (link above) and see what I mean if you dont already know. I'm sure that if you have a set of 15s or 16s with less sidewall, than the stock diameter would dictate to allow for low weight and sidewall(even better handling) for the track that speedos dont really matter, but for the street you want a good speedo unless you want tickets.

Am I correct in my theories/facts/whatever you wana call it...
Or have I been misled by Sport Compact Car and the internet?

 

205/50 vs 215/45 is 6mm of sidewall. I doubt that potential for sidwall flex would be noticeable in max performance (z,w,y rated) tires.

In comparing S-03 your also gaining a pound to increase to 17's.

Alex

 

get falken azenis on the 16s :smile:

 

I would tend to agree that 16s are a better option for performance. If you would like that size, the tires we run for street class autocrossing are the Falken Azenis in a 215/45-16. I have been very happy with the performance of these tires. I don't think Tire Rack sells them, but both Discount Tire, Tire Source and I do sell them. The drawback is that for a street tire, you probably won't get more than 12,000 miles or so out of them.

For a different 16, you may want to looook at the Yoko AVS100ES in a 205/45-16. They work well as a street tire, although they don't grip quite as well as the Azenis. They also tend to chunk at the edges if you are using them for track use. That would never happen on the autocross course or the street though.

Hope that helps!

Randy