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
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.
csd19 said:
if you click the link for the bigger version you can just make out the clearance on the front caliper.
Yeah it's quite tight - excuse the caliper appearance, this was before I painted them:
(although I'm sure my Ibiza Cupra TDI had less clearance on standard brakes and wheels)
mids said:
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.
Rainsport 3's as mentioned above are great, but I went for Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125s on the basis of this tyre test http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2016-AutoBild... It happened to be 16" versions they tested too. No complaints and £55/corner fitted.As per above - mine was fine as uses ABS (or something) sensors rather than actual sensors in the wheels.
Discussion point re 16" wheels on MINIs: what affect do you think they have on resale value of the car compared to 17"?
I ask because I sold my 17" to fund the purchase of my 16", so when I sold my MINI it went with the smaller wheels. I traded it in at an independent garage who wasn't bothered about the wheel size, but I did notice afterwards that it took him almost 8 months to sell my old MINI... I can only assume the 16" may have put the majority of potential buyers off? Otherwise the car was a good example with Chili pack, heated front seats, just serviced and MOTd, low miles and 2 owners inc me. My father-in-law who works in the car trade was of that opinion, but I was unsure what to think.
Unsure if it's worth stashing the original 17"s away for resale time, if you have the space, rather than selling them on.
Discussion point re 16" wheels on MINIs: what affect do you think they have on resale value of the car compared to 17"?
I ask because I sold my 17" to fund the purchase of my 16", so when I sold my MINI it went with the smaller wheels. I traded it in at an independent garage who wasn't bothered about the wheel size, but I did notice afterwards that it took him almost 8 months to sell my old MINI... I can only assume the 16" may have put the majority of potential buyers off? Otherwise the car was a good example with Chili pack, heated front seats, just serviced and MOTd, low miles and 2 owners inc me. My father-in-law who works in the car trade was of that opinion, but I was unsure what to think.
Unsure if it's worth stashing the original 17"s away for resale time, if you have the space, rather than selling them on.
Glad I'm not alone in thinking 16" works better on the MINI. had a disagreement with my father-in-law who didn't want to take a part in selling my MINI via one of his trade friends purely because he thought it'd struggle to sell on 16" wheels. But then he's always right 
Shame that my current car has 19" as standard and they're very heavy wheels. I've dropped to 18" for winters and they don't look out of place, but clearance on the front calipers is tight. The 19" wheel style is a lot nicer though.
Shame that my current car has 19" as standard and they're very heavy wheels. I've dropped to 18" for winters and they don't look out of place, but clearance on the front calipers is tight. The 19" wheel style is a lot nicer though.
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