Alloy Wheels

[Scottie]

I'm the first to admit to having a bit of a wheel fetish:Whistle::Whistle:

In general alloys to me are all about what I like the look of.

However I have got to be telling you I am enjoying driving my mini on the
16's that I recently bought put them on the car Sunday and boy it's good to drive and handles better imho.

So anyone else like me that thinks the car handles better with the smaller alloys but to have the look put's on bigger alloys or am I wrong and the car is better with bigger alloys.

Opinions welcome.!

[Craig]

had 16's on Knottie1 with run flats and only for a short time. Found the cornering to be "skittish" and never really knew if the car was going to understeer or go round the corner. I changed to 17" wheels and normal tyres and found the car more neutral in the corner and found that i could get round corners safer and quicker...:thumbs up:

I am the first to admit that there is a compromise with bigger than 17's. My 18's don't work as well as my 17's, however they are still better IMHO than my 16's were with the run-flats. I also like the 18's for the look. :cool:

I have never tried 16's with normal tyres, however I just don't know of any 16's that MINI produce that I like and would look OK on my car.. :rolleyes:

[Scottie]

Mines have Run Flats on them got to admit so far I've not pushed the car on my daily commute but it seems to me they soak up the bumps better and gives me better MPG but my MPG is good anyway they handled fine in the downpour I drove through today.

[ianking]

changed the 16s on the white cooper for 17s. Both sets have run flats. Drives better and less road noise with the 16s but looks better with the 17s. For all it gets used the 17s will stay on.

[Colin]

Never really had a problem with the 16's on my last car which had run flats, soaked up the bumps really well. Great for the bumpy country back roads you can really push on and not worry about damaging the rims, where as the bigger wheels obviously have less distance between the road and the rim and are more likely to get damaged.
I definitely notice the ride is more harsh with my 17's, they also have run flats, never tried normal tyres so can't comment on that side of things.
(We've had the tyre discussion several times :yawn:), but in general I've had no major issues with the run flats.

[Big Gordy]

As most of the regulars on here know I have 3 sets of wheels with different combo's on them. I have 2 sets of 17's (black ones have runflats, the silver have normal) and one set of 15's with normal tyres.
Here's my thoughts.......
17" Runflats
These I found were ideal for the everyday driving her indoor does as she doesn't hare about the countryside at a rapid rate of knots and I have the added security of never having to worry about her being stranded with a flat that I would have to go and change for her:eyes up:
The downside is that even with our ONE on normal suspension its still a bit of a bone jarring ride on our great roads. They also generate quite a lot of road noise. Very expensive to replace. Don't inspire great confidence while pressing on but the're OK
17" Normal
Much better ride due to more complient sidewalls/lighter rotating mass and much better feel through the steering for spirited driving:thumbs up: Also greatly reduced road noise (well with the Federals I've got anyway) Downside of course being you can suffer from punctures just like any other mortal:frown: Cheaper than runflats by quite a bit. IMO the positives outway the negatives.
15" Normal
These are a hoot:laugh: The car feels more alive in respect to cornering and acceleration (probably why all the racers run 15's:eyes up:) Ride quality is great. Road noise much better. Overall feel of the car is that its more nimble:thumbs up:
Downside for me is that none of the standard mini wheels are very attractive compaired to the 16/17" variants:yawn:

Just my 2p worth:thumbs up:

[euan]

Off topic I know, my loan car today is a Cooper Clubman with the JCW alloys on it in black - they're SOOOO nice!!!