I have a stock suspension r53. currently I am running the r84s with 205/40/16. love the look of the wheels but want to run Michelin PSS that only come in 17"+. I have the R85s and I'm trying to decide what size. I want the 225/45/17 but I'm worried it might not clear the inside. not worried about rubbing plastic or arches I'll trim whatever I need. just worried about it clearing the suspension.

Thank you for any help!!!

 

think your safest with 215's. any more and you should start rubbing, so says people here on the forums and the tire guys i went to when i got my MPSS's.

fwiw, those PSS's are great tires, but pricey, and only last 30k miles; max... but super grippy otherwise, until the last few thousand miles, then youll really notice slippage, mostly in the rain.

after i blew through those tires in just over a year (guess i drive a lot) i opted for the next "best" thing and have some Nittos. theyre ok; not nearly as good in the wet as the Michelins, but they should last 2x as long.

 

For an R53 with stock suspension and wheels your best bet is-
215/45-17 which will fit and be less costly than 205/45-17 which also fits.

225/45-17 could fit an R56 but not an R50 or R53.

 

Ended up going with the hankook ventus s1 noble2 215/55/16. not what I wanted but ended up being much less,they last longer, and I'm able to stay with my r84s. Ill try to put up a full review after I replace my bushings.

 

BTW they look like monster tires compared to the old 205/40/16s.

 

While 215/55-16 will fit the OEM R84 wheels they will likely rub even with stock suspension due to being very tall at 25.3" which is about 1" taller than OEM.

Have you actually driven on the road? Had any rear seat passengers? Gone over any dips or speed bumps or up any steep driveway curbs?

If not, they try to avoid these and/or go over them very slowly. You just have no clearance for suspension movement.

Who sold you the 215/55-16 tires and did they know it was for a MINI? Most shops won't sell a tire size that will not fit.

You could have picked the same tire in 205/55-16 which is about $5 less and 3 lbs lighter which is good. Tire diameter is still tall at 24.9" but will clear stock suspension.

If you meant to type 205/55-16 instead of 215/55-16 then that would be understandable.

 

So far no rubbing. I've been on side streets, highways including spirited off ramp driving, and full lock uturns. I know the size is not ideal for everyone but considering I do over 25k of highway driving I wanted the extra mpg and stability of the taller tire. As for money they were only $460 installed and I get a $60 rebate. If money wasn't an option I would go with lightweight 17s and go with a set of Michelin PSS 215/45/17

 

Just to be safe, after driving a bit, check to see if any parts of the tires, inner suspension parts, and wheel arch plastic or metal are rubbing, that way you will know early and maybe take action.

Tirerack.com lists the tires at:
205/55-16 $84 each
215/55-16 $88 each
Each with $60 rebate from Hankook.

I am not sure what you mean by "extra mpg and stability".

Using a wider than stock and heavy tires increases rolling resistance and would likely worsen mpg by a small amount 2% or so, unless you increase tire pressure and try to hypermile on them.

I would think that stability would be best with a tire that fits the wheel and fits the suspension and car. Using OEM parts and tire size would make sense since you have stock suspension.

Raising the center of gravity would not improve stability (in cornering or for handling). The 215/55-16 tire size would raise center of gravity of the car by 11mm and cause odometer and speedometer error of about 3.4%. So for accuracy, at (OEM) 60 mph you will show 57.9 mph.

The other thing you mentioned is that your previous tires were 205/40-16 on stock wheels and suspension. What tires were those and how did you like them? Were they Falken Ze-912 or RT-615K, Nitto NT NeoGen VR, or Kumho ecsta AST. Were you using them for street driving only? That tire size is the opposite of what you have now, lowering the center of gravity by about an inch, increasing wheel gap, stiffening the ride quality by using a shorter sidewall and by having an XL load rated tire (stronger stiff sidewall construction) and having speedo and odometer error of 8.8%, so at OEM 60 mph you read 65.3 mph.

So if when you drive by yourself you do not detect any rubbing then count yourself lucky but be careful when you load your MINI.

 

The taller tire helps with mpg because you are keeping the revs down. Regardless of height I would have gone with 215s so the extra width will affect mpg either way. I said stability not cornering ability. My speedometer is now correct. the stock set up is off by 3%.
The 205/40/16 were nitto and were on the car when I bought it. I haven't loaded the car with people and since this is my work car it is very unlikely that I ever will.
Again if I had the extra money and wanted pure performance these would not be anywhere on my list. But for what I have and need they seem to be working. Not saying you're wrong or I'm right just letting other members no that it fits and doesn't rub. I will update this thread if I do end up getting any rubbing.