Down in Goergia at the Helenblitz get together at the moment, bit I'll post some pics of mine when I get back to VA.

As for tires, I have Yokohama S-drives on my R56 & the Clubman. I've been very impressed. Driving down here in the torrential downpour they never even thought about hydroplaning. As for the 215's, I think you'd be fine, but if you're lowered, you may have some clearance issues.

 

sweet rims
but i have to ask
where did you get the black grill for the aerokit?

 

PlastiDip

 

Can you provide details how you plastidip it and where you got the plastidip?

 

certainly. i also recommend searching plastidip (maybe its 2 words) theres a LOT of threads on it for more advice!

if youve never taken the surrounds off its pretty easy

top has some visible screws and tabs you simply pop off w a screwdriver... bottom is just a tad trickier... id still do a search on here, but there are flat triangular tabs that you push towards the center of the car after taking out the top plastic stays...you pull the grill towards you a tad so you can see behind it...trim comes off w the grille, then you simply pop the bottom trim off of it w a screwdriver

You can buy the stuff at Lowes or HomeDepot.

Prep with some cleaner/alcohol.. NO NEED TO ROUGH IT UP..thats the beauty of the stuff...you can peel it off if you want the chrome back

When you paint prop it up on something.. if the paint touches both the part and the table it essentially gets stuck to the table, thus peeling off when picked up...i had some thick dense foam boards that i put nails in and set the peices on that.

DONT paint inside... stuff is pretty strong fume-wise.

One said and done its durable as heck...ive had no problems treating it like the chrome that was there before...

I did like 2 or 3 coats... get 2 cans to be safe.

first coat was pretty light, but then i sprayed it on sort of thick so it gets to a nice smooth gloss, then it drys pretty quick to a semi gloss.

worst case you mess up, and peel it back off!

let me know if you have any more Qs..

edit: this may help out

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-aero-kit.html

 

thanks
im on my way to home depot

 

Those wheels look good! Nice R56!

 

Nice choice!!! Geez that looks good A+

 

Alrighty I think I've decided on a tire, I really like the Nitto Invo and am really leaning twards that one over the falkens. Thing is the smallest size is a 225/45R17. Think I'll be alright with that on the Elbrus rims?

 

theyd probably fit at stock height.. Specs say those 225s are about 9" wide and 25" tall

my stock 205/40s are 8.4" wide and 23.5" tall... I dont see a problem w the width on these wheels, but the height is pretty beefy

those tires look crazy lol... Id scour the wheel thread on here and see if anyone mentions using that big of a tire. Even though Nittos are known to run small, the specs say otherwise...maybe compared to other 225/45s they could be

 

I spoke to someone at Tirerack.com and they said with a 215/45/17 tire on the Elbrus 104 that you might have to roll your fenders to make it fit. I'm not gutsy enough to do that, so I elected not to get the Elbrus 104.

So if anyone was successfull in fitting a 215+ tires on the Elbrus 104, without doing any fender modifications, please let me know and I will reconsider getting the Elbrus. Because I really like the look of the 104, but much prefer to put at least a 215 tire on it.

 

Forgive the possibly stupid question but how are you going to roll the fenders on a MINI?

 

I'm not an expert. But from my understanding with my conversation with Tirerack and Discount tire, you have to bend the inner lip inside the fender with a special tool. It basically bends the inner lip out and away from the inside peremeter to give you more room for the tire. Tirerack sells this tool for $259 and they have instructions and picture of of the tool in there web site.

 

i dont believe you can roll them... theyre not simply bent over steel like most, which is what that tool does

a 215 should be ok... id probably get 215s if i change tires

tire racks computers just note that because of the offset of the wheels..

 

Good point. I dont think our plastic fenders will cooperate with this tool. So forget that tool.

 

Yeah, that's what I was getting at. I'm familiar with rolling fenders... I was just questioning Tire Rack's suggestion about rolling fenders on a MINI.

 

Yeah I don't know why Tirerack suggested that in the first place.

Hey iwashmycar... You sure you can fit a 215 tire on that? Tirerack realy put a scare on me from buying it. If you are certain you can, I'll get them.

 

id say so... apparently my stockers are 205/45s...not 40s. A 215/45 is barely bigger..For example, the specs on tirerack go from like 8.4" to 8.5" section width... If my car was slammed, then it probably would be tighter, but seems to have tons of room.

Tire Rack suggests that because the rim is basically flush with the fender...maybe in 1/4". Thus if you go cramming like a 235 or something on it itll probably hit if the car is lowered or you bottom out lol. It also helps that as the suspension compressed the top goes inward as it goes up..

with all that said i think your just fine. like i said id do it to mine, but if i got a rub or 2 going up a crazy driveway incline it wouldnt bother me

you may want to ask chaseabryant what tires are on his..they are the Elbrus 105's...SAME rim dimentions...maybe a wider tire?..doesnt look like it tho, but hes got those tires w the rim protectors so they look slightly stretched



edit: last of all take a look here..these cars are pushing it more than most and theyre fitting 225-235 nicely

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...post-pics.html

 

Here's a shot of the Elbrus wheels on our Clubman. I settled on these because most of what I was looking at had been discontinued. Having said that, I'm pretty darn happy with them. We went down to the Helenblitz event over the weekend and drove back through NC in torrential downpours. The Yokohama S-drives didn't miss a beat! Got 'em on my Clubman and the kids 07 MCS. Love 'em so far!

 

very nice. whats the tire size?

 

Those are great. They remind me of some AC Schnitzer wheels. I think I like the 5 spoke better though!

 

I was also thinking they looked like a 5 spoke scnitzer wheel. Funny, I don't really care for them, but I'm getting fond of the Elbrus wheels.

As for the tires, they're 205-45-17 and they fit nicely.

 

Who Rah! I just ordered my Elbrus 104 with Goodyear F1 215/45/17 from Discount Tire. They will be arriving next Thursday. I can't wait.

Very nice by the way maacodale. I also have a laser blue MINI.


UPDATE 3/6: Changed my mind on the Goodyear F1. I saw some bad reviews on them in Tirerack. Now trying to decide if I should go Toyo Proxies-4 or Bridgestone RE960 Pole Position tires. Any tire recommendation before my hot bad to the bone Elbrus gets here?

 

throw some pics in here when they're on! Gonna look sweet. I think youll be more than happy with a little more meat on em

 

I wanted to insert an image of the various tire sizes that I tried on my Elbrus 104, but why now when I attempt to insert a picture it’s prompting for an http:// address instead of my picture image? Anyone getting the same problem?

Anyway it's good thing my local tire shop (Les Schwab) allowed me to try different sizes. We started with the Maxxis MA-V1 235/40/17. Drove for a few miles and there is a definite rub when I hit bumps and take sharp turns. Then we moved into the Toyo Proxes-4 215/45/17. Definitely fits better and in fact I think it looked a lot better than the 235/40/17 Maxxis, but if you hit a subtle dip in the rode you get a very slight rub from the rear tires. Would have been acceptable to me, but I'm afraid if I take on any passengers that rub will increase. Today I'm going to try the Proxes-4 or Proxes T1R but this time on 205/45/17. I got this feeling this is the only perfect fit tire for this +38 17x7.5 wheel. Keep in mind my 07 MCS is lowered with HR springs (aprox 1.4” lower). I'll keep you all posted, and hopefully by then I can post pictures.