9 replies to this topic

[twign]

Hi.

I'm new to the forum... so Hi!

I've been looking at a lot of alloy/tyre deals lately, as I'll soon be purchasing a mini clubman.

My question is, how much difference is there in diameter (i.e one edge of the tyre to another) between 10" alloys with 165/70 R10 tyres and 13" alloys with 175/50 R13 tyres?? These are the standard alloy/tyre combinations I've been seeing. I want 10" wheels on my clubman... but I "was" put off because of inconvenience (i.e. humps and bumps EVERYWHERE). Then when I thought about it... does the larger profile tyre not make up for the smaller alloy? Would the car really sit MUCH lower on the 10" combo than it would on the 13" combo??? Also, would the extra profile on the smaller alloy not absorb humps and bumps better than the smaller profile on the larger alloy? All this considered, is there really much difference in handling and ride height between the 10" and the 13"?

Also (last one lol) would fitting 6 x 10" alloys mean the arch would need modifying because of the deep dish/offset? I don't want any rubbing or anything.

Thanks a lot

Twign

Edited by twign, 03 August 2009 - 07:59 PM.

[Cooperman]

The 10" wheels are generally accepted as the best for the Mini in terms of handling and suspension friendliness.
As for wheel width, the widest tyre you can get in the 10" (or even 12") size is a 165 section. At 165, the ideal rim width is 4.5" or 5". With 5" you normally need the narrow wheel spats, whilst the 4.5" original Minilite replicas fit under standard wheel arches with no arch extensions. A 6" wide will gain you nothing as you'll still have to use a 165 width tyre. The 10" dia x 6" wide were originally introduced for competition Minis running wider racing tyres.
Personally I think the 5" Minilite look-alikes with the old Group 2 wheel arches which carry the chrome trim over the wheel arches look great and work well.
13" are not good in the wet as too much tread is on the road. Thye also knock out wheel bearings and suspension bushes much more quickly. It's a personal thing, but many think they look a bit strange too.
The rolling radius of the 165/70 x 10 and the 175/50 x 13 is not greatly different.
I hope this helps.

[rick.spi]

13"for most people are a no no... dearer tyres, handle worse, loose aceleration, loose top speed (if your engine isnt highly tuned), and even tho there may be no benefits in a 6x10"er over a 5x10, they look better and go nice with group 2 wide arches

saying that tho i think clubmans are the only mini's that can pull off 13"ers very well (and look better on them than 12's and 10's)... but thats personal opinion.

p.s. there is a little trimming required with all wide wheels no matter what size (my 12 x 6 needed some cutting doing), any thing around 5" wide probably wont need triming unless you have 13"ers, any thing wider than 5" and you can expect to get the snips or grinder out!

Edited by rick.spi, 03 August 2009 - 08:32 PM.

[Burnard]

May i add another dimention to this topic by asking you to also include comparisons with the 12x6inch wheels with the 10x6inch wheels

I am going to be getting new wheels and tyres at MITP and i am still strugaling to find any difinative answer on the differences and posative and negative points of both.

I am favouring towards the 10x6inch wheels as they are cheaper to buy, and also cheaper to live with (ie tyres are a cheaper), and since i already have the 7.5inch cooper S brake conversion fitted it seemed like a nice option, but i am really looking to get my car to handel at its best.


Thanks

Chris

[rick.spi]

May i add another dimention to this topic by asking you to also include comparisons with the 12x6inch wheels with the 10x6inch wheels

I am going to be getting new wheels and tyres at MITP and i am still strugaling to find any difinative answer on the differences and posative and negative points of both.

I am favouring towards the 10x6inch wheels as they are cheaper to buy, and also cheaper to live with (ie tyres are a cheaper), and since i already have the 7.5inch cooper S brake conversion fitted it seemed like a nice option, but i am really looking to get my car to handel at its best.


Thanks

Chris

i would say definitly 10" if you already have the brakes to do so, i got 12x6 and there great but i only got them because i couldnt afford the conversion...

smaller the better... end of (unless you dont like the look of small ones lol)

[twign]

Hi.

Thanks for all the replies.

Yea I'm definate on 10s. My mate had a pickup on 10s and then I had a mayfair on 13s and the handling difference was noticable. Personally, I think it's down to more profile. I really don't rate lower profiles on anything but on even surface... but that's just my opinion.

So... I'm going for 10x6 revos or superlites/ultralights. These'll come with 165/70 R10 tyres.

I guess from what you've said, using 6s will require some arch modification. I also want miglia arches... so I guess some trimming will be required!!! Pretty sure it'll all look sweet when it's done though. You can't beat wide arches and deep dish rims!

Cheers

Twign

Edited by twign, 03 August 2009 - 09:05 PM.

[Cooperman]

No need to trim the arches for 6" x 10" dia so long as the suspension is set to standard ride height. All you need is a set of decent wheel arch extensions, such as the Group 2 version, and it should be fine.
You will find the 10" great for road-holding and handling, including in the wet, but my advice is not to lower the suspension or you will lose some of the newly-gained handling due to loss of suspension travel, especially on bumpy roads. 10" wheels, standard ride height and adjustable dampers will be good, but make sure the rear suspension is set to zero to 0.5 degree negative camber with a 1/16" to 1/8" toe-in on the rear wheels. Ideally, the front should have a 1.5 degree negative camber.

[redhotmini]

12"s all the way. nice balance between the handling of 10"s and the look of 13"s.

Always been the least favoured size in the mini scene, for no apparent reason.

[Cooperman]

Yes, I have 10" on my 1964 Cooper 'S' and 12" on my grandson's 1061 cc Mayfair. The suspension on both cars is accurately set up in terms of camber, track and front castor and they have SPAX dampers and standard ride height. well, the '64 is a rally car, so it's slightly raised. we also have a '66 Mini 850 which will be on 3.5" x 10" dia wheels when finished.
The Mayfair has 5" Minilites and group 2 arches with Yoko tyres. It's great to drive and handles beautifully - so smooth compared to the 1310 cc 'S' which has straight-cut everything and c.117 bhp.
As for 13" wheels, they may be fine for a racing car on slick sticky rubber, but on a road Mini they are not so good and, IMHO, look pretty silly. Maybe I've been around Minis for too long to be objective - it's 48 years since I started rallying in one.

Edited by Cooperman, 04 August 2009 - 08:00 PM.

[rick.spi]

12"s all the way. nice balance between the handling of 10"s and the look of 13"s.

Always been the least favoured size in the mini scene, for no apparent reason.

12"ers aint that unpopular are they... look at the poll i did a while ago 13"ers came in last by a longlong way!

and id say lower it and do the trimming, i thought mine handled a hell of a lot better when i slammed it a little .