I will not have it any other way....

 

I, too, am reminded of the Porsche classic look! I colleted these images over the last year ...married with children therefore I have no money for such mods

 

what wrong with steelies?

i love a set of black or red steelies on a car. even better with a polished center cap. add a bit of style with a trim ring. its probably one of the most veratile wheel you can buy, it looks good on anything!

 

I am one of those who HATES steelies. I have a set of black steelies for my snow tires, and they look so cheap and ugly that I'm almost embarrased to put them on my MINI, let alone drive around town with them on.

That is why I'm having such a difficult time deciding whether or not I want black wheels for the summer months—because I am so disappointed by the way the black winter steelies look.

Ughhh. Such a tough decision!

 

Old Porsche Fuchs wheels were available in all black or with polished "paddles"... some people polish the entire wheel (some purists don't like that, but the look has its place)

http://geocities.com/tarditi/images/img_2426.jpg

Mine is a 1974, so it's somewhat "old school" and those wheels are all original - chrome modern wheels don't look good on old cars unless they're hot rods or something, IMHO.

I do like the gunmetal look - and it would go great with my pure silver MCS w/ black roof... the regular wheels I have now sort of just blend in.

 

With a polished lip
They also hide brake dust longer, big +

 

It just took me longer this morning to clean my wheels than the whole rest of the car !

Right 'bout now, black wheels startin' to look reel good to me.

hs

 

I'm suprised that MINI hasn't offered black wheels to compliment cars with black tops yet... they offer white, what's the difference? The holies would look pretty cool in flat black as a winter wheel. I think it would look retro-steely-style.:smile:

 

I agree. I have a CR/B on order. First thing I plan to do is black the grill w/ vinyl. Second is to look for some black 16"s and sell my 5-stars. Silver wheels look good but since there is so much black, I think that black wheels will give it a better look. You would think that MNI would want to retain more of the wheel market rather than give it to the aftermarket boys.

 

no doubt! i too like how the minis look with black wheels. here's a pick of mine.

 

I am impervious to fads. The answer is "no." Machined rim is also nice. It would look awesome on your car if so inclined.

 

Me too (I'm that sort of guy).

MINI's offering white wheels with a white top made me keep going back to that variant, but I knew I would not be diligent about washing the car (I'm also THAT sort of guy). If MINI offered the black wheels with black top that would have been my choice from the start. Now that I have black wheels I am pleased that during my last car wash I didn't even bother to look for brake dust (is brake dust visible on black wheels?).

I agree with those who think black is reminescent of spare and utility wheels, but I think of it as an aesthetic alternative--industrial strength understatement. I admire other finishes (such as Greatbear's combo) and agree (I'm just agreeable) with others on NAM who have observed that the MINI's individuality is amenable to all variations.

I would post a pic, but a pine tree shat on my car so the black stripes are stained with white dots (lending the car a certain post-industrial nuance, but no longer a prime example for NAM).

 

The rims on the red mini is so nice. What rim is that???

 

I just ordered Rota Subzeros for my 05 Jet Black MCS. They are blakc with polished lip. I should have them this week, but will be a little bit until i get them on.

Garrett

 

I'm not sure...I e-talked with a guy who knows the owner but he did not know the wheel type...

I think they are Konig Rewinds like RallyMINI has...

Garrett, would love to see pics of the newly mounted Rotas!

 

As soon as i can find hub centric rings for the rotas to fit on the mini and of course get my mini back from the dealer. I will get them put on as soon as I can. Any ideas where I can get rings for the mini that will fit the rota wheels?


Garrett

 

Try Ebay..
Discount Tire sells metal hubcentric rings in various sizes.

 

Nope....those are custom made ($$$) panasports which usually only come in 16s....the pictured ones are 15s.

Their spokes are a bit thicker than mine, and the depth of the wheel is much shallower. I was VERY close to getting those exact wheels, but they weighed far too much for how expensive they were (like 16-18 lbs...i forget) So i went with the 13 lb konigs.

 

Before I even had my MINI Cooper S, I knew I wanted black wheels and I am very happy with the result. Plus right now with not so many others Coopers with black wheels, it really looks unique.
Cheers,
H

 

Black rims have been around for a LOT longer than a year... so no I wouldn't say it's a passing fad. I can show you plenty from the 1980's and 90's if you want.

Personally, I would get an antracite/dark grey kinda color. Although I plan on dark bronze Rotas when I get my MINI. mmm.

 

Yes...it started with this guy name Sid with a CRX back in 1986:smile: Seems everyone was doing white so he painted his black just to be different. Just kiddn...I think black wheels have been around for a lot longer because I had to have copied this idea from somebody

 

Are the letting on the tires painted on? I kind of like the look of the black tires with the white lettering.

Garrett

 

They were painstakingly hand painted one letter at a time by me. I went to the trouble of using this "one of a kind" white wall paint but they looked great until I past the 100mph mark where they began to lift and turn pink Stripped them down and repeated the process again. Same result...F-it:smile: I had better results with the spray painted stencil job on the Yokos LOL. They were ratty but it looked racy. The current Kumo's have too much texture on the sidewalls for stenciling. Anyway, the Mini is too classy for stenciling...

They looked great while they lasted

 

Rubber is a b*tch to paint! lol How do you like the oem replacement slotted rotors? What brand are they? I just painted my calipers and getting my new wheels in soon. Need to get some replacement rotors to make everything match perfect.

Garrett

 

Garret, those were my "pre" Stoptech cross drilled/slotted rotors. I liked them a lot and had posted the full set (front/back with pads) for sale in the Market place...I think they're still there LOL. The replacement BBK are also slotted but not drilled and yes, they're worth every penny