Wheels, where the variety ???????

[brioss]

Having been away from the mini scene for about 15 hours and see the after market for parts etc grow, I see there appear to be less choice of wheels than before.

Im looking at the 13inch range and its pretty much minilite or similar. Why is this ??

I cant even find Revolution RFX in 13's any more. If I had a Corsa I would have 1000's to choice from.

Any suggestions?

[Cooperman]

Ah, 13" wheels, now there's an interesting subject.
The question I keep on getting asked is what is the advantage with 13" over 12" or 10".
I think the answer is that in performance terms the 13" are the worst possible solution. They are too wide for the car, screw up the suspension geometry which, remember, was originally designed for standard offset 3.5" x 10", ruin the wheel bearings, spoil the handling and reduce the tyre grip and roadholding in the wet.
They may well look impressive (indeed they do), but if you want looks as opposed to real and optimum performance that's a different matter.
The very best wheels for any roadgoing Mini are the 4.5" x 10" Cooper 'S' ST-Minilites with the 7.5" brake discs/calipers, carbon-metallic brake pads and Yoko tyres.
Remember, for track applications and rallying we all have several sets of wheels with widths and tyres to suit. For example, on my 1964 Cooper 'S' I have 5.0" x 10" with Yokos for tarmac and 4.5" x 10" with Colway Knobblies for gravel stages, plus some Dunlop alloys at 5" x 10" with Falkens for mixed surfaces.
No Mini handles like one with 10" wheels. After all, that's what the car was designed to use, anything else is a compromise.
On my 1990 Cooper Enduro rally car I have to run 12" wheels as I can't get 10" on with the mandated standard brakes. it's a pity, but the regulations require this.
I hope this helps,

Peter

[Paul V]

I agree with what you are saying but I still like 13’s, I think it does change the way the handles but they seem to work well with the right tyres, if the car is a road car I don’t see a problem, if it’s a race/track car then maybe 10’s are the way to go.

[danwebster]

I'm afraid I have to disagree with the whole 13" wheels are crap arguement. IF you take the time to set the car up well, and perhaps even make some modifications, you CAN make a mini handle exceptionally well on 13's. You are also able to run bigger brakes inside them which has obvious advantages, and you have more rubber on the road.

It all depends what application you are looking at though, If all you are interested in is the look of 13's then just bolting a set on will cause you problems, especially with bump steer. IF however the reason is for performance then you will need to put a little effort in to make them work, but I personnaly would not go to a smaller size wheel, simply because I need the rubber on the road. But then I have 160hp going through my front wheels from a 1380 KAD twincam.

I have modified my front end in certain ways and I am left with a car that handles sublimely, has more outright mechanical grip than modern sports cars, and DOES NOT bump steer, so if you are prepared to put the effort in, and yes it will be harder than just putting 10's on, the benefits are there to be reaped.