16 replies to this topic

[1995 MK2 IOM]

I have to change my wheels, I currently have 13x7's on...

These are my wheel arches:



A few questions:

a) what size wheels could I get that wont look silly in the arches?

b) is there such a wheel as 13x6 deep dish to match what is on now (so I only change the front - the rear do not stick out past the wheel arches - the reason for needing to change..)

c) do 13 (or 7) inch wheels cause more wear on the car?

d) any suggestions on wheels (inc tyres)

Cheers

[Kerrin]

Once it is through the test why can't you put them back on?

[yeti21586]

13inch wheels in general will cause more wear to wheel bearings than smaller wheels do as they dont have very much give in the tyre,

in my personal opinion 10x6 inch alloys look gorgeous under sportspak arches


YetI

[Cooperman]

If 10" wheels won't fit due to the larger brakes, then the best wheels for a road-going Mini in terms of handling, road-holding and wet-weather stopping are 4.5" or 5" x 12" with 165 section tyres.
Really wide wheels are not good for the road as they really need full racing tyres which would be illegal on the road. Also, the 7" or offset 6" wheels tend to knock out wheel bearings and they also conflict with the ideal steering geometry. In the wet, there is too much tyre area on the road, so they don't stop as well due to the lower contact pressure with the road.

[1995 MK2 IOM]

Once it is through the test why can't you put them back on?

I don't like the wideness of them... would prefer them narrower than the wheel arches...

Will put them back on until I get my new ones... but just getting info so when I have money in a few weeks I can order them up...

Jason

[1995 MK2 IOM]

If 10" wheels won't fit due to the larger brakes, then the best wheels for a road-going Mini in terms of handling, road-holding and wet-weather stopping are 4.5" or 5" x 12" with 165 section tyres.
Really wide wheels are not good for the road as they really need full racing tyres which would be illegal on the road. Also, the 7" or offset 6" wheels tend to knock out wheel bearings and they also conflict with the ideal steering geometry. In the wet, there is too much tyre area on the road, so they don't stop as well due to the lower contact pressure with the road.

yeah I have noticed this... (in the wet...)

I quite like the larger wheels, but just don't like the width of them sticking out so far...

5x12 would probably do me... will they look ok with the wide arches? (as in they wont look like im riding on push bike wheels (on the rear anyway) because of the width of the arches?

Cheers

Edited by 1995 MK2 IOM, 09 April 2010 - 04:24 PM.

[1995 MK2 IOM]

13inch wheels in general will cause more wear to wheel bearings than smaller wheels do as they dont have very much give in the tyre,

in my personal opinion 10x6 inch alloys look gorgeous under sportspak arches


YetI

funny you should say that because its the ball joint and the bearings that I need to replace for the test over here...


with 10x6 alloys... will I notice any difference in speed when driving (compared to 13")? as in 1 revolution = 40.1" (distance) for a 13" wheel and only 31.5" (distance) for a 10"?

Cheers

[redboy]

I think they look great the way they are, I always think it looks odd if the arch sticks out too far past the wheel

[The_Mistro]

a) what size wheels could I get that wont look silly in the arches?

they are sportpack arches, so anything that is 6 or 7 inches wide

b) is there such a wheel as 13x6 deep dish to match what is on now (so I only change the front - the rear do not stick out past the wheel arches - the reason for needing to change..)

yes there are 13 x 6, the original sportspack wheels were 13 x 6, but those wheels shouldnt stick out at the front, i have 13x7 superlites on mine and they sit exactly flush.

c) do 13 (or 7) inch wheels cause more wear on the car?

yes, you should really have an uprated diff pin fitted or x-pin diff, they will cause more wear to the wheel bearings too, but these arent too bad to replace! with the width it will cause extra strain on ball joints and stuff as well as they tend to find more holes in the road! but again, arent that bad to fix/maintain!

d) any suggestions on wheels (inc tyres)

your personal choice mate! i personally like the wide wheel look, i think it looks mean! but if you want different wheels its your choice! as for tires, i really like yokos, they are worth the extra bit of money!


bear in mind your body will have been cut to fit the extra width of the wheels (on the front anyway) so i dont know what arches will fit to the car now that bits of the body have been cut away!

[The_Mistro]

I think they look great the way they are, I always think it looks odd if the arch sticks out too far past the wheel

which if you look at an unmodified sportspack mini, the 13x6 sportspack wheels are overarched by the sportspack arches!

[Darkscamp]

Why do youneed to change them?

I had 13x7 Deep dish Ultralites with sportspack arches on a mini i was running for 6 years and it never failed an MOT.

Your wheels should be flush with the arches but it will be your tyres that pretrude further than the arch due to the wheelsaver anticurbing lip.

As far as i can see from your picture, you should be fine.

Edited by Darkscamp, 09 April 2010 - 06:24 PM.

[minisilverbullet]

I change from 13x7 to 12x5 for winter (as i can only get snow tyres in this size), I hate the wheels they are really over arched and cant wait to get them off the car.

I must admit though although cosmetically nicer IMO the car handles, tracks, and stops straighter on the 12x5's

[Kerrin]

Why do youneed to change them?

I had 13x7 Deep dish Ultralites with sportspack arches on a mini i was running for 6 years and it never failed an MOT.

Your wheels should be flush with the arches but it will be your tyres that pretrude further than the arch due to the wheelsaver anticurbing lip.

As far as i can see from your picture, you should be fine.

Over here on the Isle of Man there is a one off MOT test for importing a car from elsewhere. In my experiance they are rather more stringent (awkward) than the MOT testers in England.

I have put a few cars through the test and everything is by the book, but at least you know the car is right if it passes.

Having seen Jason's car the front wheels do stick out rather more than they should, and it is not surprising it failed, Maybe a look on the forum to see what other people have fitted to cars with sportspack arches to see what you like best.

[The_Mistro]

have you got 4 pot calipers on the front?

[SMP]

You could change to 12 x 6's - deep dish.

12 x6 under sports pack

How many tyres have the anti kerbing lip? Mine don't - it's a pain.

I would change from 13x7 down to 13x6 deep dish if they existed just to not stretch the tyres as much and save kerb damage. Have thought about going to 13x6 sports pack wheels but don't like the way they don't fill the rear arches.

Steve