2011 MINI Refresh: Wheels
Five new wheels are being introduced with the 2011 refresh. Starting with the Cooper, we see a new 15†wheel for the base model and all the 16s are being replaced with new designs (as seen above).
The Rib Spoke replaces the standard S-Winder on the Cooper S models and the 4-Hole Circular is an alternative for both Cooper and Cooper S cars. The 6-Star Twin Spoke is also available, and is the only 16†that can be had in either Bright Silver (standard) or Jet Black as a no charge option when you specify option 2RV.
The biggest news in our opinion is the new 17″ wheel that comes with the sport package on the Cooper S. The 17†Conical Spoke will officially replace the much maligned Crown Spoke.
Finally turning to the JCW, the 17″ Challenge Spoke will now be offered in black as a no charge option. It’s a great look for the JCW especially considering the bright red caliper that suddenly becomes all the more noticeable.
<p>Meh….They look alright. I do like the fact that MINI is offering another 15″ wheel that looks awhole lot better then the faux hubcap wheel. The Conical isn’t to bad either.</p>
<p>I hope that the new wheels look better in person than they do on screen.</p>
<p>The black Challenge wheel option for the JCW is nice, but it would be nice if a lighter wheel were to be offered. There are 16 lb. wheels out there that are strong enough for both street and track, but no deal. These look nice though. I wonder if the Mini S Conical wheels will be available for JCW?</p>
<p>Black star bullets please on my R56 S!</p>
<p>Sorry to see demise of Flame Spoke, that was my no.1 choice and they’ve got rid of it!</p>
<p>I’d like to see a slightly wider wheel.</p>
<p>What happened to the options in 18″s? I always found the R109 5 star twin spokes really nice but too expensive, it would have been nice to have seen that as an option in a cheaper one piece 17″ instead of 15″?! It would have been fresher then webspokes for another model year.</p>
<p>Uninspired. Uninspiring.</p>
<p>What about the dubs, yo?</p>
<p>What about the “Alternate wheel choice for the R56 and R55 is the 17†Infinite Stream (Silver or White)” which was mentioned as an option for the JCW in yesterdays article??</p>
<p>Which of these are standard and <em>no charge</em> optional?</p>
<p>They are not going to offer lightweight wheels. They cost to much to make. Plus they are OEM….lightweight=aftermarket.</p>
<p>BL***Y BORING !
Come on BMW/Mini surely you can do better than that ?</p>
<p>Does anyone have the weights of these new wheels yet? For the prices the factory is charging the least they could do is make them lighter.</p>
<blockquote>What happened to the options in 18″s?
</blockquote>
<p>18″ wheels are only offered as accessory wheels on the R55-57’s. The R60 Countryman will come with 17″-18″ wheels from the factory.</p>
<p>Why re-invent the wheel? I mean, come on, how many different designs can be made out of a circle that hasn’t already been thought of and done before?
Here is the good oil on the legendary 10 inch Minilite wheel that was on the Classic Mini.
Firstly they were designed in the same style as the wheels on John Coopers F1 cars and the spokes were carefully designed to act as a cooling fan effect for the brakes. Secondly they were made of magnesium for lightness – hence “mag” wheels.
A wheel is a wheel. It goes round in a spinning effect and the pattern becomes somewhat invisible at speed like a propeller. Why all this emphasis on a hunk of aluminum alloy that is only seen in stationary form?
Why do there have to be 100 different designs every year?
As it is, I read that BMW seem to be having some cracking problems on wheels with run-flat tyres.</p>
<p>The 17†Conical Spoke looks good enough for my snow tires 🙂 but I agree with several posts here that the new 16/17″ choices are pretty dull. I will probably still be going aftermarket for my summer 17″ alloys IF I go the MINI Cooper S route next year.</p>
<p>really like that 4-hole circular rim</p>
<p>The Conical Wheels look the best to me in the 17″ers. In the 16’s, the Six Star look very nice to me. I still think that Mini could come up with a nice light wheel. All these appear on the heavy side, +25 lbs. or more. Still, not bad.</p>
<p>Just checked out some other manufacturers, and variations on the “twin-spoke” design are everywhere.</p>
<p>Only white wheel available is a 17″??</p>
<p>That sucks!</p>
<p>[white roof guy here]</p>