22 replies to this topic

[Cooperman]

With 10" or 12" wheels the widest you can really go is 6" as you'll need to be fitting a 165 section width tyre and 6" is max for those.
I don't know personally like 13" and the Minis with 13" wheels that I've driven have never felt 'quite right' in terms of driving feel. Maybe because the 13" wheels alter the basic steering geometry as it was designed for the 3.5" original wheels. The best wheels in terms of road holding and handling always seem to be the 4.5" or 5" width in 10" or 12" diameter. To me, and I know it's a personal thing, the 13" always look a bit silly - like a 'cartoon car'.
With 175 section tyres the maximum negative camber on the front should be about 1 degree in view of the need for the tyre width to sit flat on the road..

[AntsClubby]

Ive got 8.4" discs, whats the smallest size wheel i can fit then?
I really like the "big wheel" look but id 100% go for some 10"s with some nice split rim style wheels and just about road legal tyres!ha!

When you talk about the strange feeling with larger wheels, i take it that its not (mainly) to do with the actual size of the wheel diameter? Its the width?

Im guessing id need cooper s or eqv brakes to do the 10" wheels though plus other parts?

Could someone make me a shopping list so i can price it up please

Cheers

[Cooperman]

With 8.4" discs you can fit 12" wheels.
I believe the issue with driving on a 13" is two-fold. In the wet a 13" wheel with a 175 width tyre has too much contact area on the road for optimum skid resistance. When driving the suspension geometry is slightly compromised by the alteration to the stering geometry and, finally, the low-section tyre does not assist the suspension to work in the way a Mini requires as the suspension was designed originally for an 80-profile tyre, not a 50-profile.
Of course, others may disagree, but I've driven a lot of 13" wheeled Minis and can't say I've enjoyed any of them.
I just drove a well-restored 1997 Cooper MPI with 4.5" wheels, 165/60 x 12 tyres, standard ride height, all new bushes, about 0.75 deg front neg, etc, and I found it one of the nicest Minis I've driven for a long time. It was a real pleasure to 'hurry' it along a twisty B-road.
Big wheels may make a Mini look like a racing car, but racing cars are always horrible on the road.
A 165 section tyre needs a 4.5" to 6" wide wheel, no narrower and no wider.

[AntsClubby]

Mini BUMP )

http://www.minispare...id=38634&title=

This is the kit i originally bought, its time to fit now ive renewed my subby...
Should i use it?
Many have said go all solid, im worried about stress fractures etc.
Yet mini spares, one of the biggest say its good to go, plus it even improves on road noise.

Ill be ok with these top mounts, solid teardrops, solid bottoms wont i?

Cheers

[Cooperman]

Mini BUMP )

http://www.minispare...id=38634&title=

This is the kit i originally bought, its time to fit now ive renewed my subby...
Should i use it?
Many have said go all solid, im worried about stress fractures etc.
Yet mini spares, one of the biggest say its good to go, plus it even improves on road noise.

Ill be ok with these top mounts, solid teardrops, solid bottoms wont i?

Cheers

No IMHO you won't. If you go solid, you must go to all solid and that effectively reverts the car to the original all-solid moiunts which Mk.1, 2 & 3 cars had as original.
If mounting solidly the loads need to be taken out at all 6 mounting points. With a non-metallic mount at two of those points, then the loads are being resolved over only 4 mounts. That's a good way to get fatigue failures.
Solid all round, or rubber all round.

[AntsClubby]

I agree with what you are saying, it makes sense...yet why would they sell a kit if it could cause problems in the future?
They comment about testing and years of use etc

Im really confused!

[Cooperman]

So am I. The engineering logic is that for best overall performance the front sub-frame needs to be bolted in solidly. It was so with the Mk.1 and Mk.2 cars and that included all ther Coopers and Cooper 'S's which were so successful.
The rubber mountings were only fitted to soften off the car for the new target market of middle-aged ladies in the 80's.
What possible advantage there could be from mounting it with 4 solid and 2 semi-solid mountings escapes me. Just bolt it all in solidly and it'll be fine. If the tower mountings are semi-solid how can that work properly to take out the dynamic loadings?

[AntsClubby]

Well if thats the case then the manufacturer/highly recommended retailer should stop selling them!
If using them will eventually stress the mount to point of fracture then its unsafe. Full stop!

Ill be returning them asap and going full solid
Thank you

Edited by AntsClubby, 29 April 2012 - 10:57 PM.