MINI R56 Cooper S - info on 16" wheels
Discussion
Didn't want to further hijack another thread with 16" wheel info. I'm posting this here after receiving a message asking about my 16s, should it prove useful for others too.
The majority of R56 MCS’s – in the UK at least – come with 17” wheels as part of the Chili pack which the majority of buyers spec. Combined with the RFTs I found the ride/handling lacking. Buying my MINI in November and living in Scotland, I soon changed to 17” winters with Bridgestone Blizzak RFTs and quickly found them to be, quite frankly, s***e. Good in snow but lacking grip in ‘normal’ – cold and wet – winter conditions and not confidence-inspiring in the least.
I decided both the summer and winter RFTs had to go, but one thing led to another and instead of swapping just the tyres I ended up buying 16” alloys and winter tyres. These were fitted in January and the scale of the improvements made downsizing my summer wheels too a no-brainer. Changing to 17” non-RFTs might’ve improved things sufficiently but I was happy with the appearance of 16” so figured why not go smaller. IMO the difference between 17” RFT and 16” non-RFT is night and day. More comfort on crappy road surfaces, more composure on bumpy A/B-roads, less tramlining, less crashing over broken surfaces/ridges, reduced torque steer, better steering feel.
Hard to say how much of my improvement is due to non-RFTs and how much from downsizing 17” to 16”. I suspect a bit of both but I’ve not tried 17” non-RFTs so hard to say definitively. But anyone unsure about ditching the RFTs – don’t hesitate, just do it!
16” wheels that fit
Not many OEM 16” wheels clear the brake calipers on a R56 MCS. I used a list I found here: http://www.mini2.com/forum/wheels-tyres-brakes/192...
• R94 Bridge Spoke
• R102 S-winder
• R103 Blaster
• R115 Rib-spoke
• R119 6-star Twin-spoke
• R120 Circular-spoke
• (plus R87 double-spoke 5.5” winter wheel)
Weight saving
After picking up a 17” with RFT part of my move to 16” was to reduce unsprung weight. With the general focus on ‘adding lightness’ you can’t go wrong. Yes, aftermarket wheels could’ve saved even more but I prefer OEM and was on a tight budget.
I’ve saved 4.8kg PER WHEEL:
17” with RFT = 21.3kg each
16” with non-RFT = 16.5kg each
Total weight saved: just under 20kg.
Original wheels: 17” R121 Conical spokes in black with 205/45 R17 Bridgestone/Dunlop RFTs
Original winters: 17" R97 Flame spokes with 205/45 R17 Bridgestone Blizzak RFTs
Current 16" summers: R115 Rib spokes with 205/55 R16 Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125s
Current 16" winters: R102 S-Winders with 205/55 R16 Conti WinterContact TS860s
Both 16” styles I’ve got now are the OEM wheel style on non-Chili packed Cooper S’s, so aren’t out of place on my car. The R102s appeared on 2007-11 cars and R115s on 2011-13 cars.
I know 16’s aren’t to everyone’s tastes – the piss-taking from my mates confirms that. But at the end of the day I bought my MINI for enjoyment and in my experience it’s more fun to drive on the 16’s. It’s my car so there
The majority of R56 MCS’s – in the UK at least – come with 17” wheels as part of the Chili pack which the majority of buyers spec. Combined with the RFTs I found the ride/handling lacking. Buying my MINI in November and living in Scotland, I soon changed to 17” winters with Bridgestone Blizzak RFTs and quickly found them to be, quite frankly, s***e. Good in snow but lacking grip in ‘normal’ – cold and wet – winter conditions and not confidence-inspiring in the least.
I decided both the summer and winter RFTs had to go, but one thing led to another and instead of swapping just the tyres I ended up buying 16” alloys and winter tyres. These were fitted in January and the scale of the improvements made downsizing my summer wheels too a no-brainer. Changing to 17” non-RFTs might’ve improved things sufficiently but I was happy with the appearance of 16” so figured why not go smaller. IMO the difference between 17” RFT and 16” non-RFT is night and day. More comfort on crappy road surfaces, more composure on bumpy A/B-roads, less tramlining, less crashing over broken surfaces/ridges, reduced torque steer, better steering feel.
Hard to say how much of my improvement is due to non-RFTs and how much from downsizing 17” to 16”. I suspect a bit of both but I’ve not tried 17” non-RFTs so hard to say definitively. But anyone unsure about ditching the RFTs – don’t hesitate, just do it!
16” wheels that fit
Not many OEM 16” wheels clear the brake calipers on a R56 MCS. I used a list I found here: http://www.mini2.com/forum/wheels-tyres-brakes/192...
• R94 Bridge Spoke
• R102 S-winder
• R103 Blaster
• R115 Rib-spoke
• R119 6-star Twin-spoke
• R120 Circular-spoke
• (plus R87 double-spoke 5.5” winter wheel)
Weight saving
After picking up a 17” with RFT part of my move to 16” was to reduce unsprung weight. With the general focus on ‘adding lightness’ you can’t go wrong. Yes, aftermarket wheels could’ve saved even more but I prefer OEM and was on a tight budget.
I’ve saved 4.8kg PER WHEEL:
17” with RFT = 21.3kg each
16” with non-RFT = 16.5kg each
Total weight saved: just under 20kg.
Original wheels: 17” R121 Conical spokes in black with 205/45 R17 Bridgestone/Dunlop RFTs
Original winters: 17" R97 Flame spokes with 205/45 R17 Bridgestone Blizzak RFTs
Current 16" summers: R115 Rib spokes with 205/55 R16 Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125s
Current 16" winters: R102 S-Winders with 205/55 R16 Conti WinterContact TS860s
Both 16” styles I’ve got now are the OEM wheel style on non-Chili packed Cooper S’s, so aren’t out of place on my car. The R102s appeared on 2007-11 cars and R115s on 2011-13 cars.
I know 16’s aren’t to everyone’s tastes – the piss-taking from my mates confirms that. But at the end of the day I bought my MINI for enjoyment and in my experience it’s more fun to drive on the 16’s. It’s my car so there
Useful info.
As you will know from other thread I'm doing something similar on my recently purchased 2011 R56 S, this is currently on same 17" as yours was with summer non runflat continentals on rear and Toyo on front. After seeing yours on the 16" purchased a set of 16" rib spokes from ebay which have summer non runflat Michelin 195/55 tyres. These will be arriving Saturday 2nd December.
Had already purchased a set of Koni Fsd's which will be delivered early next week and if possible fitted next week.
Opportunity to compare various combination.
I can post my opinions on these but would like to make a more scientific appraisal if possible. to give a definitive answer.
Anyone knows of some way of doing this- such as a motion sensor app on phone that could be used to record actual measurements on same stretch of road at range of constant speeds.
As you will know from other thread I'm doing something similar on my recently purchased 2011 R56 S, this is currently on same 17" as yours was with summer non runflat continentals on rear and Toyo on front. After seeing yours on the 16" purchased a set of 16" rib spokes from ebay which have summer non runflat Michelin 195/55 tyres. These will be arriving Saturday 2nd December.
Had already purchased a set of Koni Fsd's which will be delivered early next week and if possible fitted next week.
Opportunity to compare various combination.
I can post my opinions on these but would like to make a more scientific appraisal if possible. to give a definitive answer.
Anyone knows of some way of doing this- such as a motion sensor app on phone that could be used to record actual measurements on same stretch of road at range of constant speeds.
R83 16" alloys from the R53 also clear the R56 MCS brakes, a good cheap alternative set of wheels 
(yes I have these as my winters but I've had them on all year and just hooned about 
)
Not my picture below btw, it's from the mini2 forum but you get the idea.
(yes I have these as my winters but I've had them on all year and just hooned about )Not my picture below btw, it's from the mini2 forum but you get the idea.
twokcc said:
Had already purchased a set of Koni Fsd's which will be delivered early next week and if possible fitted next week.
Please post back on how you find the FSDs once you get them installed Agreed. I've driven MINIs with 15, 16 and 17 inch wheels over the last 8 years and found that 16 inch is definitely the sweet spot in the range.
I went from the 17 inch S-Lites (not an appropriate name, they were insanely heavy!) to the 16 inch X-Lites, and it transformed the way the car drives. From 17 inch runflat to 16 non-runflat and the lighter wheels, I saved around 3.5 kilos per corner which makes a noticeable difference in everything the car does (for the better).
These were the standard R53 and R52 S wheel, which MINI say won't fit behind the R56/R53 JCW caliper setup. They're lying, though I will say clearance is quite tight
I'm biased too, but I think some of the nicest designs have been the 16" wheels.
I went from the 17 inch S-Lites (not an appropriate name, they were insanely heavy!) to the 16 inch X-Lites, and it transformed the way the car drives. From 17 inch runflat to 16 non-runflat and the lighter wheels, I saved around 3.5 kilos per corner which makes a noticeable difference in everything the car does (for the better).
These were the standard R53 and R52 S wheel, which MINI say won't fit behind the R56/R53 JCW caliper setup. They're lying, though I will say clearance is quite tight
I'm biased too, but I think some of the nicest designs have been the 16" wheels.
Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on FlickrMy R53 on 16" Sparco Assetto Garas.
Got a set of R56 front brakes to go on and hoping no clearance issues.
Thanks for posting, I have just had my Assettos arrive (black) and will be having them on soon, my car is the same grey albeit r56. They're looking good on yours.
- I have R56S brakes so I very much hope they fit. Though have seen build threads of cars with AG 16s and R56S brakes more than once so should be fine?
- I have R56S brakes so I very much hope they fit. Though have seen build threads of cars with AG 16s and R56S brakes more than once so should be fine?
Edited by Complex on Friday 24th November 09:58
Good to hear there's more than a few running R53s/R56s on 16s
R102s, £256, from German eBay, near-perfect condition.
R115s, £308, again from German eBay, brand new.
HorneyMX5 said:
My R53 on 16" Sparco Assetto Garas.
Probably my favourite non-OEM wheel on the MINI, lovely.CoolHands said:
OP How much were R102’s? for a set?
This time last year:R102s, £256, from German eBay, near-perfect condition.
R115s, £308, again from German eBay, brand new.
a11y_m said:
HorneyMX5 said:
My R53 on 16" Sparco Assetto Garas.
Probably my favourite non-OEM wheel on the MINI, lovely.
5A6622CD-6A0F-47D3-AAC6-A2171EA8E2B7 by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr
2C7E25EB-5A1E-4185-B2BA-A3C6732A4B3A by Nicholas Horne, on FlickrAnother +1 from me for the 16" wheels as the sweet spot in the R56.
I've a set of 15" steels for winter, and have had R56s (Cooper) on 15" and 16" alloys and test driven one on 17".
I'd pick 16" any day of the week as the grip and lack of tram-lining give the best balance.
For pure economy, the 15" summers (Conti EcoContact) gave the best MPG but gave horrible steering characteristics.
It seems to be a UK thing, as I notice several manufacturers fit smaller wheels on the same model on the continent but they feel the need to only provide rubber bands over here. I remember a Bentley marketing man (quite some years back, so I've no source) saying almost every GT was sold with 20" wheels even though the base spec 19" handled far better.
I've a set of 15" steels for winter, and have had R56s (Cooper) on 15" and 16" alloys and test driven one on 17".
I'd pick 16" any day of the week as the grip and lack of tram-lining give the best balance.
For pure economy, the 15" summers (Conti EcoContact) gave the best MPG but gave horrible steering characteristics.
It seems to be a UK thing, as I notice several manufacturers fit smaller wheels on the same model on the continent but they feel the need to only provide rubber bands over here. I remember a Bentley marketing man (quite some years back, so I've no source) saying almost every GT was sold with 20" wheels even though the base spec 19" handled far better.
twokcc said:
csd19 said:
Please post back on how you find the FSDs once you get them installed
Koni's arrived yesterday, 16" wheels being delivered on SaturdayFSD's being fitted at the end of next week, think I will leave the 17" on for first impressions
good stuff Here's a pic of my actual R56 MCS on the R53 wheels, if you click the link for the bigger version you can just make out the clearance on the front caliper.
http://thumbsnap.com/UdfAmx7e
Edited by csd19 on Tuesday 28th November 17:25
I'm collecting a mini at the weekend to use as a runabout whilst I wait for a new car that has a 6 month lead time.
It's got 16" R103 Blaster Spoke alloys on which are in good nick but I don't really like them so this thread has got me thinking, I'll like quite a few of those examples ^^ Off to google
It's also got some cheap tyres fitted so I'll be changing those at the same time so would be interested in any suggestions there as well.
It's got 16" R103 Blaster Spoke alloys on which are in good nick but I don't really like them so this thread has got me thinking, I'll like quite a few of those examples ^^ Off to google
It's also got some cheap tyres fitted so I'll be changing those at the same time so would be interested in any suggestions there as well.
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