12 replies to this topic

[Elliot.Green]

Hi guys and girls,

 

I have some 13x7 deep dish alloys and want them on my car.

 

I no the arches need to be cut but Im not sure on what wheel spacers I need.

 

Thanks.

[Cooperman]

Try to avoid wheel spacers as they are not really desirable. In order to determine whether spacers will be needed it is necessary to know either the wheel datum offset compared to a standard wheel, or to measure it and compare it to a standard wheel.

 

I'm sure you know the downsides of 13" wheels compared to 12" or 10".

[brownspeed]

if you cut the front arches back (I'll be surprised if you don't need to) ensure that you reform the flange. The previous owner of mine didn't and its left the wing very weak.

Also- you may need to trim back the front bumper too.

[Cooperman]

if you cut the front arches back (I'll be surprised if you don't need to) ensure that you reform the flange. The previous owner of mine didn't and its left the wing very weak.

Also- you may need to trim back the front bumper too.

All that to fit wheels which screw up the steering geometry  .

[cal844]

if you cut the front arches back (I'll be surprised if you don't need to) ensure that you reform the flange. The previous owner of mine didn't and its left the wing very weak.
Also- you may need to trim back the front bumper too.

All that to fit wheels which screw up the steering geometry  .

Indeed, would 12x6 wheels be better for the OP?

[Elliot.Green]

Thanks guys I'll have a look when I've finished work and reply again tomorrow

[Midas Mk1]

Why has this turned into a 13 debate telling the op what to do? When setup with adjustable suspension, 13x7's can be great. And yes, I have actually driven said setup, and 12's and 10's.

[cal844]

Why has this turned into a 13 debate telling the op what to do? When setup with adjustable suspension, 13x7's can be great. And yes, I have actually driven said setup, and 12's and 10's.

Yes but 13x7s ruin the handing!

[brownspeed]

Aye- the lad has already got them; as have I.

I'm a child of the 60's- so I think ALL minis should run 10" wheels. My lad cares more about the look. since its gonna be his car; who am I to argue?

[Cooperman]

 

Why has this turned into a 13 debate telling the op what to do? When setup with adjustable suspension, 13x7's can be great. And yes, I have actually driven said setup, and 12's and 10's.

Yes but 13x7s ruin the handing!

 

You can do a sort of 'workaround' to minimise the adverse geometry and suspension issues.

Raise the car slightly, maybe about 1/4" higher than standard ride height to put back into the suspension some of the loss of tyre sidewall height, set to zero to 0.5 degrees negative camber on the front, make sure the caster is 3 to 3.5 degrees and track the steering to straight ahead with only very, very minimal toe-out (but definitely no toe-in).

That helps and I've done it on a 1996 Sportspack which felt horrible, but was much improved with those settings.

Not ideal, but not too bad either when compared to cars with 10" or 12" wheels and narrower tyres.

It depends on what you are wanting from your Mini really.

Edited by Cooperman, 25 June 2014 - 08:28 AM.

[MiniGrin]

I have some 13X7 mambas (dished) To get mine to fit (nightmare) I had to cut out the arch in the wing, move forward the SP arches those vital few mm. Change for Hi Lows (and uprated cones whilst I was doing it but not needed for wheels) new ajustable tie bars, bottom bars and top bars, some spacers and have it all professionally set up. Finally after many hours (and pennies) they fit and look awesome. And as an added bonus feel amazing, 13s are meant to feel rubbish and they did right up to the point I had the tie bars, bottom and top bar and set up. After them, feels like its on rails with great feedback! Would recommend them to anyone!
.
Edit: Take your SPs off to cut the arch out, measure twice cut once, don't overstep where the SP attaches and comes to. Take your time, do it as smoothly as possible and carefully not to let the panel get too hot or bend too much, de burr and paint! Not to be patronising, but when at shows ive seen some real rough ones and I can never work out why they didn't take the extra half hour, and they can rust so easily if left unpainted.

 

Edited by MiniGrin, 25 June 2014 - 08:51 AM.

[Guess-Works.com]

Don't for get that you need to re-introduce the lip of the arch, if you cut the arch and leave it flat, it'll flap about and also probably eject an arch...

 

If you look under the wing of an original sportpack mini, you will see the bit that was cut off is spot welded back in place.

[Cooperman]

If set up right with the 'workaround' they should be good on smooth dry roads. Also, set the rears to 1 mm toe-in and zero to o,25 degrees negative camber and no more than that. I think the key may be to raise the car slightly to make up for the loss of tyre depth to iron out some of the bumps. It's the same sort of issue as modern cars with run-flat tyres where the sidewalls don't have sufficient flex. In fact I've just taken the run-flats off my wife's car and fitted normal tyres. Now it feels much better as the sidewalls have much more 'flex'. With 13" wheels, raise slightly and don't set the dampers too stiff to enable the suspension to 'work' over bumps.

Personally I can't see any actual benefits with 13" wheels as the 12" will always give better performance and the nicest handling Mini I've driven in a long time had 4.5" x 12" with 145/70 x 12 tyres. It just felt so 'right' both in the dry & in the wet. Dry road-holding was not as good as with 165 tyres, but the handling was just like the Minis of the 60's with their 145 tyres and narrow wheels.