Planning to get some used wheels, if they aren't labeled from which corner the rim+tires came off should I be concerned?

Is there a way to identify a left tire vs right tire (if neither rims have curb rash marks)?

Should I take it to a tire shop to have them look it over?

Thanks

 

The first thing you want to check is if it's bent or not and to see if it has any
hairline cracks (visual check). Easiest way is to take it to the tire shop and
have them rebalance the wheel/tire set...you can do the visual inspection
yourself. Look inside and out on the spokes carefully.

If the tire is all-season type, then it is a little harder to tell which corner it
was from, but most tires driven in the US have more outer edge wear on
the left hand front.

If you're use to driving your car, you can put the 2 of the better tires
on the front. But if you're just a normal driver for commuting, it's a better
idea to put the better tires on the back to prevent oversteer.

 

If they are used MINI OEM wheels then you should be OK. If they are aftermarket wheels then you have to limit your wheel offset to +37 to 48mm
using the stock suspension and +42 to 48mm offset if you have a lowered MINI. 4x100 bolt pattern.

How many miles on the tires? If less than about 4000 miles then you don't really need to balance them, just rotate them. Look for shoulder wear on the edge of the tread. The more worn tires go on the rear provided the difference between the tires is not too bad. If it is quite different and one pair of tires is clearly doing much better than the other pair then the better pair goes on the rear.

If the tires are OEM runflats then you can rotate them front and back left to right as normal but if they are directional tires then you have to look on the sidewall of the tire to look for the arrow which points to the direction the tire should be moving. This will be in a non runflat performance tire in which case the right tires are rotated only front to back and vice versa not left to right.

Tire wear will vary with air pressure and use of the MINI. Fronts will wear more if not rotated. Right front if going on the track with only left handed turns, even for just one day. It's always best to rotate the tires every 3000-4000 miles to get them to wear evenly. Once they are not wearing as evenly it's harder to get them to wear properly or perform as well.

 

What tire is on the wheels?

Alex

 

Thanks for all the very helpful responses.

I'm looking at the 16" R84 stock rims and Dunlop RF tires. Other than looking at two really heavily brakedust covered rims to identify "fronts" or scratched rims to identify "right" (curb rash) sides... what if the rims look perfect/clean, but are still used rims, under 10k miles?

How call I differentiate Left vs Right side?

 

If its a bearing on the tire direction, let yourself feel at ease -

Both of the Dunlop OE tires are Aysemetrical. This means thats when the tires are mounted on the wheels - there is a specific side that is supposed to go outward (labled this side out) - its aligned with the "pretty" side of the wheels

Your lucky as once they are on the wheel correctly, they can go in ANY position on the vehilce, as the "pretty side" is ALLWAYS out!

Alex