In December I traded my 04 MC for an 06 MCS. From day one I noticed extreme differences in handling, steering, braking, acceleration and of course, gas mileage. And when I say different, I don't mean in a good way. I have finally figured out that it is the 17" tires and wheels that are making such a difference, compared to my little 15's on the MC. The whole sensation I get is of something being top-heavy, although in this case I guess you would say front-heavy. I never feel like I'm in control and I hate it. I also bought 17" snow tires, to the tune of $850.00. Despite this, I feel I must ditch these tires and wheels and go back to my beloved 15's. I have read a lot of info in these forums, and I know that the 15's will fit no problem. My question is, if I put on the exact tires and wheels that come standard on the MC, will my MCS handle the same way my MC did? Please say yes.

 

Do you have the sport package on your MCS? If so then yes. I have 15" winter tires on and my mcs handles just fine. I did put on a set of H-Sport springs and I think it made a great difference. I have the sport pkg, and an LSD as well. This summer I am going with a set of 16" wheels as a compromise between the 17" s-lites, and the 15" winter steelies.

 

oh yeah ... there is about 25lbs per corner weight loss going from S-lites with Runflats to Holies with Conties.

it feels like a differnet car for sure ...

 

The answer, as alway is - it depends. You'll lose the boat anchors, but you'll also gain sidewall height, and change the shape of the contact patch. It may feel a little 'looser' from the flex in the sidewall during turn in. On the positive side, you can buy a much better tire for the money in 15" vs. 17"!

 

I switched from 17" S-lites to 15" holeys. Like all things in life its a trade off. I lost some of that glued to road slot-car feel and gained - accretion, better MPG, and a smoother ride on rough roads.
For the commute the 15's cant be beat. But I think I'll keep the 17's for those days I want a mad dash into the hills.

 

Sorry your 17's aren't working out for you . I love my 17" wheels. Mine came with the Pirelli runflats on it. It handles fantastically & stops on a dime. Also when people ride with me for the 1st time they always comment on how the ride is much smoother & quieter than they had expected from such a small car

 

Don't get me wrong, I still love the ride in my MCS, it's just as smooth and quiet as I want it to be. It's really just the handling I'm talking about. And I'm always confused when I read posts such as this one because it's just exactly that "glued to road" feeling that I'm talking about - that I had with my MC and totally do NOT have with my MCS. Thanks all for the posts so far, but can anyone shed further light on this? Thanks so much.

 

you did not hanve to get 15s, a nice tire choice would have given you that performance that you lost plus the quiteness. I think, unless you are doing majoe autocross, the 15" is too small, and looks funny. Speaking of holeys. There are some wider 15s, that is a different story.

 

Perhaps it's not that you've lost handling, but that there's more responsiveness than you were used to. I took the 17" runflats and s-lites off for the winter and went to 16" blizzaks. While these have been a great winter tire and the ride is softer, I quickly noticed they're also much spongier in the turns. Come spring I'll go back to the newly painted s-lites with new Bridgestone g-Force or the Yokohamas, but not runflat. I want the riding on rails feel again, just not so much in the seat.

 

Interesting post. Don't forget the S have an extra 200 lbs in the front, it will feel more nose heavy even with 15" tires.

But slower? No way, the S is quite a bit faster even with the S lites For the S I think 16" is the better choice than 15, I could imagine how much sidewall deformation there is with the stock 15" conti tires on an S with the extra weight and power.

 

You mentioned that you are getting a sensation of your MINI being top heavy. I find the same thing with my 06 MCS compared to my 03 MCS. At first I thought it had to be the post mid 03 shock change but now that you mention the same about an 04. I doubt it is that now. My 03 had the sunroof and even when taken to the track or the dragon. It felt flat through the turns and glued to the road. Even when I was running the stock 16"s with Yoko tires like I did with the 06. The 06 does not feel the same and does not have the added weight up top from the sunroof.

I upped to 17"s for less sidewall and still get the same handling feel of the 16"s. It can be described as top heavy. The main thing I notice is that going through turns it is more bouncy feeling. A reason I went from a 50 series tire to a 45 series. It feels as though the sidewall is flexing too much. So that made me rule out the size of the tires.

The only thing left that I can think of and it may be yours as well. You moved from a MC to a MCS with more power. I now have the LSD because I was loosing traction when accelerating through turns. In the end. Maybe it's not noticeable because more is there to get us through the turns better, but maybe higher speeds are being had through the turns than the previous MINI. That's the only thing I know that could cause a feeling that the car is no longer glued to the road.

I spec'd my 06 based on things I learned on the track in my 03. Since I'm having this concern with my 06. I'm going to the same track next month with the 06 and see if I can learn where the problem is. Me or the MINI. Only getting it off the road where you can push the heck out of it will let you know its limits. The 03, when at the track, I had no thought of pushing the car too hard. The 06. It concerns me sometimes on offramps.

 

Thats odd, maybe the change of damper setting from 04s onwards is what you're feeling?

 

I have an '03 MC with 18's and I get better grip and bite than my stock setup. For sure. It was night and day difference. Wouldn't trade it for anything. I don't know what to tell ya!

 

I switched from the S-Leads and the run flats to 16 x 6.5 with 205 50 16 BRG gForce Sports and the improvement is remarkable in everyway. It feels like the power steering and the transmission have been reworked. The Mini accelerates faster, turns quicker, corners harder, brakes better, rides smoother and quieter. There is no down side to this change. It is like having a new car.

 

Is there a change in stock ride height between the models? This could account for some of the change in 'feeling'.

More than likely the 'feeling' you describe is a combination of a few subtle changes that make the difference...ride height(?), damping, tire size and type, weight distribution etc.

Don't discount the weight penalty that extremepsionic wrote about. It's not the weight in literal terms, rather the % of the weight of the entire car. 200lbs added to a 2,500lb car is far different than adding 200lbs to a 4,500lb SUV - big difference.

 

It is not only the wheels and tires, the MCS does have a stiffer suspension. Did you drive one before you bought it to compare to the MC?

Sorry to tell you but I do not think you can make the MCS feel the same as the MC, its more then just a simple wheel swap. I think you just need time to readjust to the differences and use the different power, transmission, susppension, and braking to maximize it like you would in any different car and you'll be happy. Once you shed the snow tires and maybe opt for lighter wheels and tires you will notice how that changes things as well.

 

Thanks for all the input, it's very helpful. I didn't realize there was a 200 pound weight difference in the front of the car itself. I'm sure that does have a big impact on the handling. What I've decided to do is go to the dealer tomorrow and see if I can test drive a MCS with 15" or 16" wheels (preferably both). That should help a lot in figuring out whether changing wheels will help with my particular concerns. And yes, I did test drive a MCS before I bought, but I was so awed by the power, I was blinded to all else!!

 

i would just swap out the rear swaybar for a 22mm and keep your 17's.

 

The MCS won't feel like an MC given the weight difference but it will drive remarkably better with 16's wheels and normal sport tires. An MC with 15" wheels will easily stay with an MCS with S-Lites off the line and on tight back roads where the speed is in the 30 to 60 mph range. The MC is lighter, has lower and closer gears and the light 15" wheels make a big difference. The S-Lites are like trying to run in jack boots. They really hold the MCS back.