I have seen lots of Mini's with both Silver and Black wheels and I can't choose which looks better.

What do the NAM members think ?

Lets get this pole going and see if we can get all the NAM members to voice their thoughts on this subject.

I'll go first.

I have a 1st gen Silver MCS, I started with 17" silver challange wheels, and then tried a set of 17" Drag DR-31's in black.

I think a silver Mini looks better with Silver wheels . . . . . .

OK NAM members, lets hear what you think

 

Depends on color and theme of the whole car.

 

This is a totally subjective question, and naturally, there will be those who like one color over the other. I agree that it depends on the color of the car and the overall theme. My first MINI was an '06 R50 Checkmate in Space Blue, and it had silver wheels. With the silver roof, silver stripes, and silver checkerboard on the A panels, the wheels looked great. My second MINI was a '10 R56 in Dark Silver. It had black wheels, black stripes, and a black roof. Silver wheels with that combination would not have looked right, IMO. My current MINI is a '12 Countryman. It's Cosmic Blue/White and currently has the standard 17"silver wheels. However, this weekend, I will be putting on 19" wheels in a gunmetal finish that I think is the best compliment to the car's theme. I wanted something darker than the silver, but with the white roof and stripes, I didn't think that black would look right. One could also debate gloss vs. matte finish with black wheels.

 

Every time I see black wheels my first thought is someone stole the guy's hubcaps and he's too cheap to replace them. That's because many years ago almost all cars had black wheels (steelies). The younger a person is the more likely they won't think the same about black wheels as I do.

 

cars chili red with black roof and all chromoe blacked out. i like mine with black wheels.


really depends on the car

 

Just go with black rims with machined face or lip and you get the best of both worlds.

 

A well chosen wheel can compliment a cars appearance. Several of the examples are good above. Most MINI's have 3 colors (body, roof, trim) plus the wheels.

Personally, I don't care for all silver wheels (like challenge rims) on a silver car. The gunmetal option mentioned above is one choice, or you could go with a wheel with a polished lip for a bit of a change. In almost all other color choices, I like silver wheels on cars.

BTW, that is almost like asking if guys prefer the look of a blonde or brunette. You need to see more of the package than just hair color...

Have fun,
Mike

 

Been thinking about the black vs silver rims lately too. It seems that black rims are quite popular.

But I kinda like the look of my silver rims - at least on my white silver coupe.

 

Go with black or gold(chrome lip if you keep chrome line) on your car. Now only go with gold if you lower your MINI. Otherwise black is a nice choice.

 

How about er...traditional WHITE!!
A pain to clean...but did look pretty darn good on many colors when it was offered on gen1 cars!!

 

Once you go black you'll never go back!

 

Like it has been said - depends on color and theme- mine is black with no chrome so black wheels- our other is a royal gray with chrome intact and silver wheels

 

The color black does not belong on wheels on any car under any circumstances.....

Every time I see a car with black wheels moving down the road it looks like two large black holes on the side of the car, with the tires and wheels being black, there is no wheel definition. Wheels are a huge design element of a car, and black is just not a good look for a wheel. I hope the fad dies soon.....

Not that i have formed an opinion or anything !

 

I went with combo. Black and Silver 19inch JCW. Best part is, it takes a couple of days for the brake dust to get out to the silver face.

 

I totally disagree. Chrome makes a car look too "gangster". To me chrome only works on old cars. I like silver and black on most cars, gold/bronze on the right car, but only black on trucks...

 

I don’t like black wheels period.

I’ve also never been a fan of the murdered out look or the storm trooper look.

 

Ah, but I did not mention chrome I prefer a nice alloy color, or even polished is good. Gunmetal is also nice if it's done right. We have the Neuspeed 19" on our R60 JCW in that color, and they have a nice slightly metallic look to them. when the light hits them they give off a gold-champagne tint....can't do that with black.

 

excellent posts to all!

i had the same dilemma before whether which theme to do. story short, i ended up with 3 wheels sets depending on the mood i am in. this goes with mirror caps too…

1. white, rally - dry months
2. silver - winter
3. gloss black - whenever i want the MINI to stretch it out a little bit

it all gets the same treatment for upkeep and cleanliness.

 

Well as has already been stated, its a matter of choice and also the color scheme of the car.

My R53 is Dark Silver, and came from the factory with S-Lites in Silver. I liked this combo, but its a very common combo, so I decided that I wanted to try something different. I had those wheels re-finished in a Carbon-Fiber Hydro Dip. It was way to dark a scheme for the Dark Silver Car.

I am sure it would look amazing on a Burnt Orange or maybe Blue car, but to me it was never good on my car.



So I decided that i wanted to go back to Silver Wheels, I tracked down a set of the BBS/R90 factory wheels (I had to re-finish them but thats another story), but i personally think that they look so much better.



Here is a shot of the S-Lites before refinishing:

 

Black +1

 

+1

 

Coop3r,

those R90's look OUTSTANDING dude! Wow....wow....

 

black car here, i prefer silver:



like someone mentioned above, it makes the wheel more defined

 

for the most part I don't care for black wheels. And on my car with it's color and trim I think black would be a bad choice.

 

I've gone back and forth. Here are a couple of pics with both silver and black. These were my original rims





And what i'm riding on now.

(Sorry for angle, instagram photo.)