2006 MINI Wheel Details

<p>Thumbs up for Bridge; the other two can go though. The Flame strike me as aftermarket at its worst. Maybe they’ll grow on me. Yeeeehaw pardner!</p>

<p>I’ll step up to the plate early on this one…</p>

<p>NO WEIGHT WEENIE COMMENTS PLEASE!</p>

<p>:-)</p>

<p>Sad to say, I think all three look major ugly… especially the horseshoes</p>

<p>do we know if there going to offer the Flame Spoke in a white wheel?</p>

<p>Hmm.. Dilemma. I don’t dislike the Flame spokes as much as I did when I first saw them, they’ve grown on me. But I like the look of S-spokes better and I currently have a Checkmate on order with S-spokes. </p>

<p>However, you always hear people complaining the S-spokes (or S-lites, as they’re called in the US) are too heavy, and the Flame Spokes now look like one of the lighter 17″ options. </p>

<p>I’m sure I’ll be able to change the order to Flame Spokes at this point, but I’m not sure what to choose, form (considering I don’t despise the flame spokes, they just don’t look as nice as the S-spoke) or function (how much am I going to notice that 1.4 weight advantage per wheel).</p>

<blockquote>
<p>(how much am I going to notice that 1.4 weight advantage per wheel).</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Eelke – Unless you’re doing a ton of track time you absolutely won’t notice the 1.4 pounds of weight difference per wheel.</p>

<p>Gosh everyone is a designer. :(</p>

<p>I like the 16″ R94 wheels.</p>

<p>how about weights on the standard 15 and 16 inch wheels?</p>

<p>Out of all the MINI wheels that exist, I still have to go with the 17 inch. Web-Spokes. With the 17 inch R90’s coming in a close second. They both look amazing.</p>

<p>MINI needs to think twice about the wheel designs they are introducing. Maybe outsource the design work?</p>

<p>All IMHO, of course.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Let’s hope they still offer the webspokes as a factory order option, I personally think they are better lookin’ then the above. Too bad they cut the holies as they were a classic look</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The webspokes remain a US factory option and the Holeys <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.motoringfile.com/2005/07/18/new_2006_options_for_the_us_market">are still available</a>.</p>

<p>Too bad they killed the R82 15″ 8-spoke wheels that used to be a no cost option from the standard “7-holies” in the Cooper. The 8-spokes have a truly classic look and resemble the look of popular 15″ Panasport wheels.</p>

<p>I never liked the 7-hollies too much except for the fact that they are the lighest factory OEM rims available.</p>

<p>the bridge spoke is ok but the other two…..suck</p>

<p>Gabe, thanks for the input. It’s not 1.4 pounds though, but 1.4 kg, so that’s roughly twice as much… I wasn’t planning to put a lot of track time on this car, though, considering it’s a company car. So I suppose I’ll stick with the S-spokes.</p>

<p>“and visually fill out those massive wheel wells better than anything else.”</p>

<p>Actually they do not fill the openings any better as they are still the same overall diameter of approximately 24″. When larger rims are spec’d you get shorter sidewalls, overall diameter does not change. Unless you use alternate tire/wheel combos. In all truth, the stock 16″ wheel is the largest diameter wheel/tire combination offered from the factory, and almost the largest recommended when staying within the 3% size variation to keep the speedo reasonably accurate.</p>

<p>Check it out here: <a href="http://www.mini2.com/forum/faq.php?faq=faq" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.mini2.com/forum/faq.php?faq=faq</a><em>wheels</em>tyres#faq<em>faq</em>choosing_wheels</p>

<p>Eelke,
“It’s not 1.4 pounds though, but 1.4 kg, so that’s roughly twice as much..”</p>

<p>Wheels, brakes and suspension parts are all considered unsprung weight and the generally accepted way to calculate the preformance effect of unsprung weight is to multiply the actual weight times 6. In this example 6 x 1.4kg = 8.4kg time 4 wheels = 33.6kg or 73.92lbs.</p>

<p>Switching to the lighter wheels would give the preformance advantage of taking off almost 74lbs. Most noticable every time you accelerate, turn or brake. But it would also effect how well the wheels stayed on the pavement when you were driving over bumpy roads.</p>

<p>I have 2 sets of wheels the stock 16″ R84s and the 15″ R81 7-hole wheels. I can tell each fall when I change to the 15″ers as the wheels are 2.5kg(5.6lbs) lighter for each wheel, not including the tires. The lighter weight is noticable on every start from a stop and every time I turn in to a corner.</p>

<p>THE R97 FLAME WHEEL LOOKS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN SHOWN IN THEESE PICTURES. YOUR DEALER CAN PULL UP THE PICTURE OF THE R97 ON THE WEB EPC. I HAVE SEEN THESE WHEELS ON A CONVERTIBLE AND THEY LOOK PRETTY NICE.</p>

<p>can we buy checkmate with automatic transmission and in-line chrome pack</p>

<p>To me the whole 17″+ wheel thing is for pure showoff and nothing else.</p>

<p>Having driven and tracked every combination I have to totally disagree with you on this one Frank. 17s and 18s feel much more sure-footed than their smaller counterparts and visually fill out those massive wheel wells better than anything else. </p>

<p>I’m not totally against smaller wheels (I love the holeys) but I just personally prefer the look and feel of a larger wheel.</p>

<p>Damn skippy, Gabe!</p>

<blockquote>
<p>I think the big factor that hasn’t been mentioned is the weight of the actual runflat tires. The 17″ all-seasons for instance (Goodyears) are over 30 pounds each! This penalty is of course something that the 15″ wheels aren’t saddled with. Thus a good way to shave off some unsprung weight on the MCS (or MC with the Sport package) is to drop the runflats for a standard tire.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The 16″ Dunlop runflats must be much lighter as the wheel/tire combo only weighed 38lbs. when I took them off my car. That is with the R84 wheel.</p>