20 replies to this topic

[Zeemax]

Even with 13 inch wheels minis will still out handle most cars. Ive never driven a minione tens so i wouldnt really know the difference.

You either take the 13s and have a slower 0-60 , good handling but not as it should be and have a good top end.

Or

Take the 10s, have great 0-60 , excellent handling and a C**p motorway car.

The choice is yours

[roeman]

Cheers guys if not 13x7s would a 12x6 still look good in a sports pack arch or would it look to small do you have any pics?
Thanks

[Alburglar]

With the really wide wheels the front suspension geometry is all wrong.

You can buy camber compensators, normally used on really low mini's. This should have a positive affect when using 13s

[Majicmini]

I'm rolling on 13 by 8 superlites on 205/50/13 and it's fine.

[Sam]

205's

[Cooperman]

With the really wide wheels the front suspension geometry is all wrong.

You can buy camber compensators, normally used on really low mini's. This should have a positive affect when using 13s

Sorry, but I can never quite see the point of really large diameter or ultra wide wheels.
Camber compensation is not the answer either, as it's the steering geometry which is up-the-swanee when using really wide wheels. Think about it. The critical dimension is from the centre-line through the swivel hubs out to the effective tyre centre line. On a 4.5" wheel it's about right, although the 3.5" wide wheel would be absolutely correct. Since the inner edge of a wider wheel is in the same relative position as the inner edge of a narrow wheel, with max. width wheels you've just screwed up the basic front suspension geometry in a big way.
All the camber compensation does is to reduce the negative camber caused by lowering the ride height.
Call me old fashioned, but I have never been able to see the point in really lowered Minis either. It's OK for the race track, but on ordinary roads the Mini has little enough suspension travel as standard, without reducing it. A standard ride-height Mini will always be a bit quicker on a twisty and slightly bumpy road than a lowered one. When the front suspension is on the bump stops it won't steer too well, and that's an understatement.
I really do reckon my Rally Cooper 'S' on 4.5" x 10" wheels with Yoko A008's (tarmac tyres) will see off all those lowered cars, with huge wheels, virtually anywhere.
If the smaller wheels give you a gearing problem on long runs, them change the diff ratio thus gaining more mph/1000 rpm without losing out on handling or in the wet.
Don't forget, the really wide wheels give too much contact area and thus too little contact pressure with the road and in the wet this is not good at all.
So, the real choice is, do you want a quick Mini or one that you perceive as looking cool, but which is, in fact, a poor handling car in comparison.
I also don't agree that a Mini on great big wheels will out-perform most other cars. Have you driven a well set-up Corsa or Fiesta Zetec. I have a 1.6 Twin-Cam Zetec Fiesta and it handles and corners just as well as almost any Mini I've ever driven, and believe me I have driven lots in the last 43 years with the little boxes!
If it's motorway performance you want, get a BMW 7-Series (I'll sell you mine!).