I was recently pondering buying some 17 inch aftermarket wheels and I then realized that my stock 16 inch Cooper S wheels are pretty light so I dedided to get some non-runflat tires for my stock MCS wheels but choice for high performance tires in the stock 195/55 16 size is very low so I looked into larger tires (namely size 205/45 16) but my question this...

Will these larger 205/45 tires fit correctly and be safe on my stock 16 inch Cooper S wheels?

Thank you very much!

 

205/45 meets your vehcle's gross axel weight, but is short in diameter, and lower in reserve load capacity than mini's engineers designed. Not to mension increased fender gap, and inaacurate spedometer. 205/50 is a better choice!

Alex

 

Thanks Alex. My mind has been changing from day to day about what I've been wanting to get for my Mini. Since seeing the pics of that dark silver MCS with Konig Next wheels, I've been set on geting those in a 17 inch format but I'm also wondering if I'll get rubbing if I go with a 215 tire?

Also, will going to 17 inch make the wheels more prone to damage or harshness? I corner very fast most of the time and I'm looking to get a stiff and well handling Mini.

Lastly, I'm definitly geting lowering springs from Eibach but is it absolutly necessary to get control arms to adjust the camber back to near-stock parameters?

Thanks alot for the help Alex!

P.S. You guys are the cheapest source for the Yokohama Parada Spec-2 so I'm set on geting those from you guys!!

 

17" rims and 215 tires are fine even with the Eibach Pro kit springs.
Probably 215/45-17 would be the size to look for.

17" rims are no more prone to damage than 16" rims for street use as long as you don't hit potholes or debris at speed so just look where you are going.
You'd have to do the same defensive driving no matter which wheel you have. The high quality rims are light and very strong but cost more. The cheaper rims are also strong but they are heavier.

Ride harshness has more to do with your suspension and tires than rim size. It's really your whole suspension package that determines handling and ride quality.

Eibach springs are fine. Good handling and smooth ride. You might consider also getting a 22mm rear swaybar and use the middle setting to start with.
Once installed you can see how much rear negative camber you have and based on how your MINI drives you can add the rear adjustable control arms to reduce the negative camber only if needed. I'd say that most people do not need to do alignment or reduce the rear camber unless the MINI is not handling well. I'd expect that your rear camber will be -2 degrees after lowering your MINI.

Those Parada Spec-2 tires ARE really well priced. Very good performance but noisy and don't wear as long for street use.

If you want really good street tires that handle well you might consider -
Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position S-03 or Goodyear Eagle F1 DS-G3 tires which both come in 215/45-17. The 215/40-17 size is also available but the load rating per tire is below that which is recommended for the MINI.