Well, it looks like I will be getting my MCS in a couple of weeks or so. But I have a question about wheel size. I am getting this car to replace my 95 M3 as a daily driver for the past 8 yrs. My M3 is fairly modified and I have been auto-x'ing pretty seriously for the past 2 years (my M3 is set up for it).

I want my MCS to be as aggressive as possible performance wise right out of the box. My gut is telling me to go with the 17" wheels for better perofrmance on the street based on my experience with my M3 (smaller sidewall, less rollover, etc.). But then the MCS is a very different car from my M3 (FWD vs RWD among other things). And ride quality doesn't bother me since no matter what I decide to go with, I know it will be softer than my M3, which has a coil over suspension system with 450 lb springs up front and 550 lb springs in the rear which does not feel bad on that car to me.

So basically what I am asking is what have been your experiences of 16" vs 17" wheels from a performance aspect. Is there any reason for me to believe that the 17" wheel/tire combo does NOT perform better than the 16" setup? TIA.

 

Lots of posts on this subject. But......since you are fish'in for an opinion, I'll give you mine.

16" seem to perform better for low speed manuvers such as autocross. They are also a lot more comfortable ride (don't bet on the ride being better than your stiffly sprung M3 with 17's). The 17" factory wheels are what some would say "boat anchor like". The difference in standing start acceleration is quite noticable. Being an autox'er you know that added unsprung weight is a killer. Check some back issues of Grassroots Motorsports on rotating mass theory etc... as well as how they set up the a standard MINI for H stock autox.

On the other hand....
17" fit over BIG brakes and they look better.

The biggest difference you could make is tire selection regardless of wheel size. Forget the run-flats. They just suck.

I will make you a deal. You order the 16" and if you really want the 17" wheels , I will swap you even. Other than looks, I don't care for them.

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Thanks for the opinion. I did do a quick search but most of what I found was more looks and ride comfort oriented and not performance oriented.

I did not realize the 17's were that much heavier than the 16's. I am a big fan of minimal weight since that is my next mod for my M3 (major weight reduction). That is also why the MCS I am getting will be stripped down, just in case I auto-x it in GS or STX (but don't tell my wife !!!).

As far as ride quality goes, I have seen some of the posts about that on this board and it really cracks me up. People rave about the handling of the Mini, but then expect a Cadallac type smooth ride. You can't have one without the other. And I did get a chamce to test drive a MCS w/17's and compared to my M3, I thought I was riding in a Cadillac !!

 

The stock 16 vspoke wheels on the S are actually quite light for a factory wheel - I believe just under 16lbs. The stock 17s are as early stated - "boat anchors" but do look damn good :smile:

16s with a low profile will help lower the gear ratios a bit giving better low end acceleration but will lose out on top end speed slightly in each gear...though most would agree that the gears are quite high in the MINI.

17s will give better performance on high speed tracks etc. The heaviest part of the wheel is the outside rim...so the further you move that out (larger wheel) the further the weight is getting from the center of rotation and thus equals more weight. Now if your getting this far don't go and put a heavy tire on the outside of it - look at the weights of the tires you are interested in in both 16 and 17 inch fitments...you will notice that in several cases the 16s actually weigh more and this being the furthest point from the center of rotation it is the most critical...so look at the combination of these to make the best decision if your absolutely looking for the most street or track performance....for autox I would go with 16s though to get the lower gear ratios.

 

The more I ask questions about this car's performance the more I realize it is not that much different than my M3 (as far as basic setup is concerned). I guess all that auto-x time and schools in the M3 actually paid off !!

Thanks for all of the responses guys!

On a side note, gearing is something that I pay close attention to in my M3. I have seen guys with smaller cars, a Toyota MR2 Spyder for example, run smaller diameter wheel/tire combos for better acceleration. For the most part, this is a no-no in the M3. The few mini drivers I know I think run wheel/tire combos that are the same diameter (or as close as possible) as stock to not affect the gearing of the car. But I did not really pay attention to their tire sizes and I have not seen a Mini at a local auto-x in a while.

I think for now I will stick with trying to maintain the stock tire diameter, but put more rubber on the road. It seems like a 225/50-16 can accomplish this over the 195/55-16. Hell, if the price is right, I just might trade in the stock tires towards some larger ones right after I get the car .

 

i know mark was running smaller diameter wheels for prosolo nationals and i'm pretty sure that courtney and garfield all were as well at nationals.

 

was just talking with mark and actually courtney and mark were running 15s to get them even lower the gear ratios more.

 

>>The stock 16 vspoke wheels on the S are actually quite light for a factory wheel - I believe just under 16lbs.

They're actually 17.6 lbs, which is still a little heavy for a 16" wheel.

 

heavy? yes...

but for a factory wheel - especially from MINI, the 16 v-spoke and 15" 8 hole designs are not bad....especially compared to the 17s and the 16" 5 spoke...but yes on the aftermarket you can find a ton lighter...but for a factory wheel they are not bad at all.