I love the Kosei k1 TS wheels, I think the reason one bent is twofold:

1. Highway speed =65 mph when I bottomed it out into a MASSIVE pothole
2. 40 series tires are LOW PROFILE = NO CUSHIONING

I replaced the wheel with another one, at TireRack and have been fine since

I will replace these tires after this track season with 45 series

 

Kosei K1 Racing 17x7.5" or K1 TS 17x7" rims
with 205/50-17 tires would give an outer tire diameter of 25.1" which is a bit bigger than a stock tire so this would work with a MINI with stock suspension but might be a rubbing problem for a MINI with lowered suspension.

Another choice for tires would be 215/45-17 which is a bit wider and slightly stiffer sidewall but not bad if you choose a good street tire like:
Yokohama AVS ES100 $101 each
Avon Tech M500 $104
BFG g-force T/A KDW2 $124
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 $132
Dunlop SP Sport Maxx $158
Bridgestone Potenza S-03 $182

All these tires and Avon Tech M550 available in 205/50-17 size

 

FYI for what its worth:

http://forums1.roadfly.com/mini/foru...6728232-1.html

 

Sorry, I meant 205/45/17. And I am pretty settled on the Yokohama's. I just put those on my Audi A6 and those tires are great. Made a huge difference. Will just have to see how long they last.

 

[QUOTE=eVal]FYI for what its worth:

http://forums1.roadfly.com/mini/forums/cooper/6728232-1.html[/QUOTE]

You definitely HAVE TO have the METAL HUBCENTIC rings for these wheels

 

My Koseis had plastic hub rings. I never had a problem on the street with them. I have no experience with them on the track.

 

I had kosei k1's and was very happy with them, they held up great but I was fortunate to never fall in a big N.Y. crater. I now have kosei k1 ts wheels, they look and ride like new even after winter use. I think they are excellent considering how light and affordable they are, I'm very pleased with them.
:smile:

 

So K-1's are a good street wheel if balanced well and kept off big potholes? It seems like most of the problems come from the track but Randy Webb uses (or used) these on his track car and says they're good.

 

I like the ones I have, K1s, only had them a week but very stable at 127+mph. As far as balance goes, the most any of them had was 3 weights...? Better than my Mustang with Bullitts, 10 or so weights on one wheel, 3 on another....

 

In the past, I had TRM Snipers (OE'ed by Kosei) and they were
o.k. not the best quality nor durability. The finish wasn't the
greatest but acceptable. The valvestem had many problems
on that wheel where it would crack inside the wheel frequently.
It had to do with the installer and how tight you tighten the
valvecaps. (note, Ive had many aftermarket wheels but never
break like this)
the stem was a custom size and very slim.... noone
other than Kosei and Tirerack had the skinny valvestems. had
the stem break over 3 times within 3 years of use.... sold the
wheels with the car. I still have a few brand new valvestems
if any Sniper owners are having the same problems.


I am sure the K1's are different though. The first thing I would
want to check is the valvestem. If it's using the thick stems
like on the SSR Comps im sure they're good to go. I haven't heard
of any K1 failures. The K1's were my second choice if I didn't
get the Comps.