Are there many after market weehls with the stock 56.1mm center bore, or do most require hub centric rings? Any links/photos would be great.

 

most aftermarket wheels will have a larger center bore, which requires hubcentric rings. if they had the 56.1mm centerbore, it would eliminate all cars that had center bores larger than that of the MINI. kind of eliminating all other 4x100 cars.

-Steve

 

Rota makes a few model including the SlipSteam with the correct bore.

Wes

 

The other week I was looking in the wheel section of Rspeed.net and thought I saw some special Slipstream 16" rims that had the MINI 56.1mm centerbore but now I cannot find it. You might try to reach Rspeed.net and ask about what happened to them. I think it could have been a special order.
http://rspeed.net/mini/subcat.asp?dept=12&cat=6

Otherwise I have not found very many wheels that are a perfect fit for the MINI's 56.1mm hub.

 

Are you opposed to using the hubcentric rings?? If so, you'll be severely limiting your wheel choices.

 

Unless you can get a wheel company to do a run of a very popular wheel with the MINI's 56.1mm hub size in mind it would be very unlikely to find wheels that are a perfect fit. MINI OEM wheels are basically what we have to choose from (made by BBS) and the selection is actually not bad but tends to be pricey and heavy. Also not really on the wide rim side- more for stock applications- street use.

The hubcentric rings are a necessary evil and hassle but allow many other wheels with 4x100 bolt patterns to be considered. The fit is generally OK but then we have to watch out for wheel offset and not go to far out of range or we will get more chance for rubbing tires (esp if lowering the car).

I wonder about:
Panasport wheels- what is the hubsize?
http://mossmini.com/Shop/ViewProduct...eIndexID=33863

and Minilite wheels-
http://www.minilitewheels.com/ev2000...ace_ev2000.htm
For MINI 15x6 and 16x7 JP models are best fit

 

I am not opposed to hub centric rings, its just difficult to get them out here in hawaii without special ordering them. I do have a set on the way and was thinking about selling my s-lites in order to get a set of 16" wheels without having to worry about getting another set of hub centric rings. There is just something nice about being able to throw the wheel on as is on days you need to swap.

 

I bought a set of hubcentric rings for ten or eleven bucks through ebay. You could probably do the same.

 

peterwhit,

You might call and check out tiresdirect at the old costco tire location at Salt Lake- they specialize in Rota wheels that fit the MINI so they sell hub centric rings that fit the MINI with the wheels. Usually Rota wheels are reasonably priced and come in sizes good for the MINI.

It is nice to not have to use the rings.

 

I definately agree that using hub rings can be a pain. I did take advice above and got a set of polycarbonate (plastic) hub rings. I thought about getting the metal or aluminum versions, but I figured that here in HAwaii that might cause some rusting problems. Is there any reason to buy metal rings over the plastic ones? (I am also going to check out the rotas locally to see what kind of options there are). Thanks for all the input.

 

doesnt your wheel supplier supply the hubcentric rings together with the wheels? Coz I didnt even have to look for them when I bought the wheels. The shop fit them on straight away without my knowledge

 

The wheels I bought from the TR came with hub rings and most of the wheel packages I have seen advertised supply hub rings, valve stems, and lug nuts.

 

When you are on the mainland I think that is standard practice. In Hawaii, from my experience, you order wheels and the supplier then orders the rings. Also if you buys used wheels, you have to go and find those rings on your own (or if you deal with less honest stores that tell you "no problem" it will work). So i guess it is since to know of any wheels that have the stock center bore if you are shopping for an extra set that aren't new. Just for another example, it is really difficult to find a lug nut conversion kit over here that does not have to be specially ordered. I guess as more and more people buy minis here that kind of problem will soon go away.

 

There are several sources online for lug nut to stud conversion-
Helix13
Tirerack
Piloracing
You just have to decide what length you want to go with if spacers are needed or not.
Eurosport in town has center rings that can be ordered for a given wheel. The shop that sells the wheels should provide the rings but sometimes they will be plastic. Metal rings are usually alloy for lightness and won't rust in Hawaii. Metal rings wear better when wheels get hot on the track, plastic rings can warp and melt if the brakes and wheels get really hot, then the rings get stuck on the hub and won't come off easily.

 

Many moons ago, Mugen was a little-known performance parts supplier for Honda cars (and motorcycles). They were (and still are, in my opinion) the source for some of the best quality tuning parts for that brand.

Anyhow, Mugen was adamant about true hubcentricity for wheels. Granted, their wheels were purpose-built (what a coincidence) but the concept is sound; a purpose-built item will be superior to that which requires an adapter.

In the real world adapters are not really a problem -- but don't be surprised if they fail.

 

As I was searching for wheels in another thread I did find one site for Rota wheels that lists the various possible hub bore sizes that can be ordered:
56.1mm perfect fit for the Stock MINI hub
67.1mm
73mm

(please note that some wheels can come with slightly different hub bore sizes like my Centerlines I think are 73mm but I got once some rings that were 73.1 or 73.3 and they didn't fit but looked like they were close- I used a dremmel and MADE them fit but it was alot of work for each ring)

Rota wheels (possible) with 56.1mm hub bore
Attack (replicas of Volk Racing Gram Light wheels)
17x7.5" +48 et about 16.5 pounds


Slipstream (replicas of Spoon SW-388 wheels)
15x7" +40 et about 12 pounds each
16x7" +40 or +45 et about 13.5 pounds each


Many of the other wheels that fit the MINI come in the 67.1 or 73mm hub bore and many wheels that come in the 56.1mm bore are for 5x100 or 5x114.3 bolt patterns. I guess if you changed from 4 to 5 bolts on your hub you could consider more wheels!

Rspeed.net used to carry quite a few Rota wheels but I see less and less on their website- you can contact them to see about ordering.
http://rspeed.net/mini/subcat.asp?dept=12&cat=6

 

Just a note so you know-
From 18racing.com (talk to Jessica or email sales@18racing.com)

Rota slip streams in 16x6.5" with 4x100 drilling, 56.1 mm hub bore, and +45mm offset.

About $500 a set of 4 rims shipped (might be more for Hawaii )

In stock with the following finishes:
Flat black
White

With polished lip:
Gun Metal
Black
Steel grey

This is a great 13.5 pound rim for SCCA stock class autocross events.
H-stock class for the MC and G-stock class for the MCS.

You can use 215/40-16 competition tires like the Kumho Ecsta V710 for $154 each from tirerack.com for use when autocrossing.

For street use and autocross consider:
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 in the same size for $131 each
or in 205/45-16
Hankook Ventus Rs2 Z212 for $81 each (sold out at edgeracing.com)

 

I have been looking and looking with very little success. In my searches, the only thing that appears to be a perfect match is the Rota Slipstream. It has both the 56.1mm bore and the 45et. No rings, no spacers. I'd really like to avoid both.

Only one problem - they just don't do it for me. I don't really care for the style. Too chunky and angular for me. (Sorry to those that have them.) I prefer the Rota Grid, Boost, Flight, Attack, Torque or Circuit 8 for looks. Gunmetal or black, please! However, none of these are an exact fit from what I've found.

Is the Slipstream really the only wheel that is an exact match outside of the OEM wheels? Given that Hondas have a similar fitment, I find it really hard to believe. Has anyone else found something that they'd be willing to share? Pretty please? :smile:

 

as someone posted before, although our wheels have hubcentric rings, our wheels are lug centric by design.

therefore, just get your wheel of choice and use centering rings..or don't.
it's up to you.

 

Thanks kenchan. I must have skimmed too quickly to pick up on that.

I have a number of different people at the dealership and local friends trying to dissuade me from getting anything with centering rings. I have seen a set of plastic rings melted. I've seen a fistful of cars come in to service with complaints about vibrations - and aftermarket wheels. I am just nervous about them - especially for track use.

I also plan to change the wheels pretty frequently between track/street use and was hoping to avoid dealing with the rings (and potentially misplacing them somehow).

I guess the follow-up question I would have - which I don't believe is off-topic - is how many people have/use centering rings on the track without issue? It seems that a lot must.

 

I feel your pain for lack of choices. I have the 16x7 slipstreems for the very reasons you have found. I do not thin they are the best looking wheels out there but the fit, weight, and price are superb. They also fit over my Wilwood BBK with no spacer, another advantage. I would never recomend tracking on non hub centric wheels. I don't belive the "bolt centric" thing at all. Metal rings could be OK if you had to, but none needed is better yet. I have run 20 minute practice session in SCCA racing with "wrong" wheels before (not in the Mini) in an emergency, and they all worked loose from moving around. Remember that the expasion/contraction rate for our light cast wheels is a lot different from a steel hub.

 

Hundreds, and probably thousands of people use them on track.

Many have learned that plastic rings suck and just end up breaking or cracking. Personally, I end up throwing the plastic ones away and don't use any.

The sole purpose of the rings is to save a couple seconds, if that, during mounting. If just one sticks to the hub or falls out of the wheel during a whele change you've just wasted more time than you gained.

As I've said before, the people who think rings are necessary, or support any weight, or help the wheel run truer are mistaken.

 

Really? 215s on a 6.5" wide rim? For some reason I had it in my head that you shouldn't go beyond 205 on a 7" width for optimum handling, even in a 40-series. What's the conventional Mini auto-x/track wisdom on this?

 

215/45 R16 RT-215 Falken Azenis and
215/40 R16 Kumho V710's fit perfectly on my 6.5" wide wheels. I've used both sets of tires for autocross and track events and would go even wider (225) if there was a lower profile version of either tire available. I plan on going with a 225/45 R16 Hankook when these falkens die. I guarantee my 215 wide Falken is as wide or wider than the new Hankook in 225 wide.

 

Thanks. Good data point.