718 replies to this topic

[Pavel]

13" wheels put a lot more stress on the minis suspension. It was designed for 10" wheels.

Compare the weight of a 13 and 10" alloy by hand. The difference is amazing.

The 13" creates a lot more stress on balljoints and wheel bearings.


Also this may not apply as much in your case, but 10" wheeled cars DO accelerate faster. Not only do they have more sidewall movement for tons more grip, but the lighter wheels make enough difference to be noticed (tenth of a second perhaps?) on a track or drap strip...

Honestly if I were you i'd stay with 10's for the look. You can get some MB Spectrums that are bloody wide, and you can always fit slicks onto them if you want.

13"s aren't bad, but try not too get those super deep dish ones, they are literally like hanging another car off the end of your mini's suspension... 13x6 are more than enough and will accept 195 rubber easily...

[F1 Mini]

The rear suspension, will not be a problem as the Bearings are bigger than a normal Mini.
The front I'm still unsure wheather I'm going to keep the mini stuff, or make something else.

[bluebottle]

force racing do a nice titanium front subframe, which i think uses fabricated arms and coilovers, i'm not sure about the swivel hub though, give them a ring, perhaps they do different front hubs with bigger bearings.

although i think it may blow your budget a bit!

[F1 Mini]

Any idea of there number or web address, sounds good..

[bluebottle]

ok, please be aware that visiting this website could seriously damage your marriage/wallet!!!!!

www.forceracing.co.uk

and be prepared for some serious lightweight, mini porn!

[F1 Mini]

Oh dear 1400 for a subframe........ouch

[bluebottle]

i did warn you.....but how sexy is it!!!!!

[Dom]

13" wheels put a lot more stress on the minis suspension. It was designed for 10" wheels.

is it alright running on 12" wheels? :fear:

[F1 Mini]

Alloy Wheel weights:-

10x5" 3kgs
12x6" 4.1kgs
13x7" 6.5kgs

So that won't help the Giroscopic effect of the wheels doubling the wieght of them ...

[bluebottle]

i'm sure the factory went into the stresses and strains of 12" wheels when they decided to fit them as standard. over the years you only have to look at all the different raceing and kit cars that have used mini running gear, some of them fitted with big wheels and slick tyres, and there's been no mechanical problems.

the only problems i've heard of are of wheel bearing life being reduced, but from my experience, wheel bearings dont last that long anyway.

[F1 Mini]

Thats it then I've advertised the present running gear on ebay, so Will have to remove engine next week when it's sold...

The project start's

[Pavel]

No mechanical problems in racing? bluebottle you are mistaken.

Why do you think miglia racers (fastest mini racing there is) use 10x7 wheels? Surely if 13" offered an advantage they would use them.

The reason many people use 13" wheels for climbs and track days is that they do not want to install cooper S brakes which are expensive, but they want to run slicks. Slicks aren't made for 12" mini wheels, but are available in 10 and 13 size.

As for mechanical problems, any track car has its wheel bearings replaced every 600-1000 miles. Imagine doing that on a road car...

Those figures that F1 Mini posted say it all. Also add to the fact that 13x7 wheels are DEEP DISH (i.e. stick out a lot), increasing the leverage effect on the suspension and therefore causing even more premature wear on balljoints and bearings.

If you wanted to do something interesting F1, you could run 13" wheels on the back, and 10" wheels on the front. That would be pretty awesome (get both in the same design (minilite for example)). That way you would not have any increased wear on the front and on the back you could still use slicks for traction, and any weight increase wouldn't be significant for wear since as you said you are using different hubs!

[F1 Mini]

Not thought about that one. I'll have to see what it looks like.

[Pavel]

Don't think anyone's done it that I know of...

[bluebottle]

my post was in response to minicoopermans question about if it was safe to run on 12" wheels. when i said there was" no mechanical problems", i meant the components were up to the stress and strain of racing, even with big wheels and slicks fitted, wheel bearings and ball joints wearing is normal, thats what they're meant to do!

yes, you hear of collapsed wheel bearings, yes to sloppy ball joints, but its rare to hear of balljoints snapping or breaking.

mini miglia's run 10" wheels because thats what the regs say, and its quite common for them to change their wheel bearings every 4 races

one thing i wouldn't do to improve your handling , is to stick 13's on the back, and 10's on the front!