Hi,

Is anyone running stock 15" rims with the sport suspension plus? I'm thinking of ordering that setup on my MC with the intention of either upgrading the wheels later, or just switching to 195/60/15 tires. I'm just a little concerned that a stiff suspension on narrow tires might not be a good combination for street use.

Thanks for your advice,

Joe Gonzalez

 

I've got that combo (SS+ with stock 15's) with the intent, like you, to upgrade later. I've got the Continental all seasons, and they actually perform quite well, even though narrow at 175 mm -- also they weigh about 16 lbs. My wheels are the 8-spoke 15 inch wheels at 5.5 inches wide and slightly over 15 lbs. That's a total weight of just over 31 lbs per corner -- not bad. There is a lighter 15 inch wheel (also 5.5 inches wide) available from MINI too that weighs 12 lbs. If you want to keep the stock 15 inch wheels, you can put 195 width tires on it as you say. 205 is possible too, but a tight fit I'm sure, but has been done.

My combo is great. The handling is great. Once the tires break in, it corners with very good grip. I'm sure performance tires would handle better, but not having driven with them yet I can only comment on the stock Conti's, and they are terrific! I've even heard some say they use them (with their 15 inch wheels) for autocrossing and they perform well.

I want to upgrade to 195/55/15's with the stock rims, then upgrade wheels later to lighter ones -- will probably stick with the 15 inch size, although thinking of 16's too.

 

Hi Jazmini,

Thanks for the reply. You've set my mind at ease. I'm almost 99% talked into a regular Cooper, even though I can afford the S. (My wife is great. She said to get whichever one I like better.) I think I'm just going to go with the stock "holey" wheels and SS+ suspension. I might switch later to the AK Monza 16" in 16x6.5, but then again I might just stick with the stock rims and just buy good tires.

I'd appreciate it if anyone else out there with this setup would chime in. The more info the better.

Cheers,

Joe

 

Joe,

For general use you should be fine with the stock 15" and SS+.
Mostly smooth ride and good mpg.

Later if you get the Monza 16" you'll be fine with better handling.

 

I have the sport suspension plus on my cooper. I currently have:

one set of 15" holeys with the OEM Contis
one set of 15" holeys with 195/55/15 Yoko AVS ES100's
one set of 15" holeys with 205/50/15 Kumho V700 Victoracers
one set of 16" SSR Comps with Kumho V710s
(and one set of junkyard 15" wheels that I've never used )

The OEM Contis don't have enough grip to be a 'fun' autocross tire (I've tried), but the Yoko's will do in a pinch (I've tried ). The 195/60 Yokohama was mysteriously like $12/tire more money than the 195/55, so I went with the 55 series.

The car feels faster on the 16" Kumhos than it does on the 15" Kumhos, but they are not the same tire so I'm not sure how much of that is the tire and how much is the wheel diameter. However, the 16" Kumhos follow every imperfection on the course - it's kind of annoying.

But anyhow, for around town, the OEM 175's work great.

 

[QUOTE=satay-ayam]
one set of 15" holeys with 205/50/15 Kumho V700 Victoracers
one set of 16" SSR Comps with Kumho V710s

The car feels faster on the 16" Kumhos than it does on the 15" Kumhos, but they are not the same tire so I'm not sure how much of that is the tire and how much is the wheel diameter. However, the 16" Kumhos follow every imperfection on the course - it's kind of annoying.
QUOTE]

The SSR comps are lighter than the stock holeys and the Kumho V710 is a much much better competition tire than the Victoracers (last 3x longer than the V710). What size V710s are you using on the SSRs? If you have a wider than 205mm tire mounted that will give you much more grip on an already wider 16" rim since the stock holeys are only 15x5.5".

The stock conti tires are meant for street use and not really suitable for performance driving. They will protest when pushed. But you can always replace those tires at some point with wider performance tires.

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 (expensive but excellent)
Toyo Proxes 4 or T1S
Falken Ziex ZE-512
Yokohama AVS ES100
Avon Tech M500/M550

 

Hey Joe,

Sounds like a plan. Whichever model you choose, I'm sure you will be happy. Upgrading is the fun part!

 

Joe - one other thing about the SS+... What are you going to do with the car? I bought my cooper as an autocross car, and it is a great autocross car. . . But, if I wasn't doing competitive stuff with this car, I would definately not be happy with the SS+. It rides very harshly over the busted up Minnesota blacktop.

If you're not going to do A LOT of autocrossing or trackdays or whatever, I'd think seriously about going with the regular suspension. It still handles very well and the ride isn't as crushing. If I was to get another Mini to commute with and drive around town but not autocross, I'd totally go for the base suspension without a second thought.

If the roads where you live are in generally good condition, go ahead and disregard what I just said. The car rides like a dream on smooth pavement. Smooth pavement in Minnesota, though, is pretty hard to find

 

Thanks for the input. I'm still trying to decide. Some of the roads here around Austin are bumpy due to construction, but I'm currently driving an old BMW 320i with Eibach Pro-Kit springs and Bilstein Sports, so I might not notice much difference. I'm going to see if I can drive cars with both the SS and SS+ suspensions tomorrow and look for a variety of surfaces. I plan to use it for daily driving with a track day once or twice a year and maybe two or three autocrosses.

Regards,

Joe

 

I would *NOT* recommend the Ziex 512 tires.

I have an 04 Mini Cooper with SS+. I have the stock 15 inch stock holies.

I wore the OEM Continental tires out at 26K miles thanks to very spirited street driving and 6 autocross events. I replaced the tires with Ziex 512 tires this week.

As of writing this post the Ziex tires have 100 milies on them and I AM NOT IMPRESSED. Here is how they compare to the Contis:

Sluggish Steering Response / Turn-in
The steering is MUCH less responsive compared to the Contis. With the Contis on, the steering had no plan, the sligtest tug on the steering wheel produced an instant response fro the car. Going 80mph you could pull the steering back and forth all you wanted and the car would follow your inputs perfectly!! Now the tail feels like it lags behind and the steering wheel has a fair amount of plan in the center. Big bummer in my book since I loved the instant response and super linear feel of the steering. I think this is due to added weight of the tires (the 185/65/15 Ziex weigh 2.5 lbs more than the Contis did) and the sidewall is extremely soft. I tried to remedy the second problem by cranking the pressures up to 42psi, didn't help much. This sluggishness/disconnectedness makes the car harder to drive fast.

Ultimate Grip
The Ziex 512s clearly have higher grip. They stick in long sweeping turns much better than the Contis did. This is definitely welcome since the Contis were pretty weak on grip and would start howling early on.

Comfort
The Ziex tires are a bit more civilized. The ride is considerably better and so is the noise. It is unknown if the noise will increase as the tires wear but as long as you are **** about rotation, which I usually am, it shouldn't be a problem.

At the end of the day the Continental stock tires are a better choice in my book. I would not recommend the Ziex tires. In my mind the most important factors in selecting a street, all season tire that preserves the go-kart charactereistics of the Mini is Stiff Sidewall and Light Weight. I tried the Kuhmo ultra high performance all seasons (ASX i think) - also unimpressive. Never thought i would say this but the Continental tires are start to look like a great all season street tire for the Mini.

I also have a second set of 15 inch holies with 205/50/15 Azenis tires for autox and track. While the turnin is a bit slower (wieght is 22.6 lbs each) the steering feel and grip are phenomenal - just run 40f and 51r to get some rotation.

Looks like i am going back to the Contis after 35K miles - can't wait for the new Ziex to wear out.