Hello All,

I have an 09 Hardtop Cooper with stock 15x5.5 - 175/65/15. Im switching them out with 17x7 +48 with 205 45 17.

When I attempted to have the rims and tires installed by Costco (thats where I bought the tires) Costco advised that the inner lip was hitting the strut?? Now I had previously and again after confirmed with the wheel manufacturer and MINI cooper directly that a wheel 17x7 +48 would fit on the 09 Hardtop Cooper.

Has anyone had this problem??

 

should fit just fine lol. maybe its not a et48 afterall?

stock struts?

I could see a massive tire hitting, but I cannot think of any 205/45s that are THAT big

 

Yes stock struts.

I was thinking the same thing [if they are in fact ET48] but I would have now idea on how to confirm. The rim itself even has the Et48 marking on the inside of one of the spokes.

Weird mystery..

 

Yeah. In theory that setup will fit just like any other stock 17x7.

I only have experience with an S, but its supposed to be the same lol.
Id buy somewhere else (or try another et48 and see)

 

One of the basic measurements must be off, since 205/45-17 is an available OEM wheel and tire combo. I am now running 225/45-17 on factory JCW wheels with no rubbing at all on an R56 S, and the car came with the 205/45-17's stock to start. Thus, you aren't even beginning to push the envelope with your OEM type sizing.

Unless something is broken or deformed somehow in the car, logically the areas where something would be off are:

offset--not actually what you think it is; wheel mismarked maybe (particularly if not a factory Mini wheel)
tire aspect ratio--maybe somehow they are 50's or even taller and there was a mix up?
tire width--seems like it would need to be well off--225's in a few brands with very wide sidewalls, but more likely 235's and up which aren't recommended for a 7" wheel in a 45 aspect ratio anyway.

 

Should not be a problem if there is no damage to your suspension parts.
Make sure inside of wheel yoke shows that offset is et +48mm which should be clearly marked. In that size only offsets that are of higher number should be a problem which is rare to find. Check tire size for accuracy but that is also fine and stock sized.

You don't have upgrade front camber plates or lower adjustable control arms with aggressive camber? If all stock then should be OK.

 

Long shot here but I recently installed some tires on my wife's car and went from a 235/60-18 to a 255/55-18. The wider stand looks better, rides better but while I had the car int he air the proximity of the tire's sidewall to the strut was less than the thickness of my finger, but once the weight was put back on it pushed away to a more comfortable distance. Could this situation be the same case?

 

not on these... the strut stays 'ridgid' to the hub assembly, ect, so the clearances do not change.

 

You could always just get some small 5 or 8mm spacers.