18" Alloys on Mini Cooper S

[asantaga]

guys,

looking at a S/H Mini Cooper S with 18" Alloys. Do they work well on the Mini or is 17" the way to go???

I guess the ride might be a little harder but apart from that I cant think of any negatives

Comments, and thanks in advance

[Alan16ac]

Which MINI Cooper S is it?
R53 definitely not, R56 can work but the ride will suffer, F56 go for it.

[Deep Thought]

Alan16ac said:

Which MINI Cooper S is it?
R53 definitely not, R56 can work but the ride will suffer, F56 go for it.

^^^^
This

[asantaga]

Thanks its a F55 (5 door cooper s 2015)

[K27]

I just mounted 18s on my car but I ditched the runflats and went with a 215/40-18 conti DWS06, ride is much quieter and not as harsh, turn in not as quite as quick but I got sick of bending rims on potholes.

[asantaga]

Cool, Id not considered potholes...

[Armitage.Shanks]

asantaga said:

Cool, Id not considered potholes...

I've got 18" on my F56 and last service they 'noted' 3 of the wheels had a slight buckle. I'm now about to order a second run flat Pirelli which has suffered a bulge in the side wall due to potholes so I'm now questioning once I get the wheels straight and refurbished do I go with non-run flats to prevent a recurrence or do I ditch and go for 17" with non run flats.

My view is these wheels bend easy on rough roads and run flat side walls are ste. Wheels buckled in first two years and 25k miles.

[asantaga]

wow.. I had this problem on the celica, was horrible.. uneven wear of tyres, rumbling noise etc.

Anyone else had this ? or is the past poster really unlucky?

[Hammy98]

I have the 18 inch cup spokes on my F56 with Michelin Pilot SuperSports non runflat.

Front two tires have both been replaced in the last year due to bulges from potholes. I'd stick to the 17s if you can.

[asantaga]

thanks, all

but I think the Jury is out,

18" Whilst cool damage too easily on our roads.. (I suffered before)

Tis a shame as the car I was looking at looked perfect..

Other comments welcome but I think Ive made my decision.. I might be able to get the dealer to swop over the alloys... who knows.

[cerb4.5lee]

I've got 17" wheels without run flats on my F56 Cooper S and the ride is still pretty crashy around town, but it is pretty good on back roads and fairly compliant. I'd imagine the ride to be annoying with 18" wheels with run flats.

I'd much prefer 18" wheels though because the 17" wheels look tiny under the wheel arches.