Besr place to buy wheel spacers (R56 MCS)

[nckr55]

Hello all. I just bought a 2009 Cooper S, replacing an Audi S3.
Love it so far, nice car.

As the last 4 cars I've had were 4WD (and I live in Scotland), I have erred on the side of caution by selling my Audi winter wheels tyres and buying a set for the Mini.

Got a good deal from Harry Fairbairn in Glasgow on the wheels, but I note they are 16 x 6.5J (Bridge Spoke), while the wheels on the car now are 17 x 7J (Crown Spoke). Feels to me like spacers may help the look with winter wheels on, but I've never fitted these to any car before.

Can anyone point me at a good source for a set, and perhaps recommend a size?
Thnking 10mm, but undure. If I do get a set that size - given they'd only be used with the narrower wheels, will the current bolts still be fine?

Thanks in advance,
Nick

[mneame]

I've run 25mm hubcentric ones on an mx5 with no problems. Mine are made by H&R and bolt to the hub. If you are going for 10mm spacers I'd get some longer bolts. I wouldn't go over 5mm spacers with the standard length bolts, some might though.

[MX-5 Lazza]

Narrower wheels don't always mean more inset. You need to take a look at the offset. If the offsets are the same then the centre of the wheel will be in the same place so the 1/2" narrower wheels will look inset by around 6mm.
However if the 7" wheels are ET40 and the 6.5" wheels are ET30 then the centre of the narrower wheels will be 10mm further out despite being narrower the will still appear to be around 4mm further out.

HTH.

[nckr55]

Yep - should have said, both the 6.5 and 7 inch wide wheels are ET48. That's why I think spacers may be an idea, although I'm less certain of the implications re bolt length.

[andrew]

if you use narrower wheels and align them with the original wheel's outer edge,
then how much damage can the additional twisting torque do to the wheel bearings etc ?

[slimmyreed]

Why would you want to use spacers on wheels that are already designed for the car you are putting them on to? By any means if you are using a 10mm spacer you need wheel bolts 10mm longer. But the question of why bother remains.