Joey's Cooper Thread; Suspension Thoughts

[Kylehnat]

If you're keeping the rims stock size, I'd stay with the same size tire as well. A little wider never hurts, but a jump from 175 to 205 certainly would (would it even fit?? ).

 

[Perfect Balance]

Well I do plan on photoshopping them on my car to get a better idea, that's really the only way I'll be able to tell. I don't really know what size tires go on a 15x7 rim but the internet seems to think a 205 which is much wider then the 175's on there right now. There also seems to be a ton of tires in the 205/60/15 category too.

Thanks for the input though!

What's your stock tires size? A 205/60/15 is kind of big in terms of sidewall. If you need a 60 aspect ratio with a 15 inch wheel to maintain the stock diameter, then you'd be much better off going with a 16 inch wheel. That kind of wheel with a tires size like that will look just plain ugly. Kind of like when people replace their stock Camry wheels with aftermarket ones in the exact same size so they don't have to buy new tires. It just looks bad.


The first wheel is a really "jdm" design, I think it would look weird on a Cooper.


If you are going that cheap with wheels, I'd say look at what Rota has to offer. They usually rip off nice expensive wheels, so they have some nice designs. They are also one of the better "cheap ripoff" brands, so they don't look as cheap as the Drags.




EDIT: According to tire rack, your tires size is a 175/65/15 as of right now. For a 205 width tire, that would become a 205/50/15. not 60 like you said.

This tire size is fine, disregard what I said about 16's.

A 205/60 tire would have a 4.8 inch sidewall, which is pretty big, and they would have a overall diameter that is just over 2 inches bigger than stock. Not good. You need a 205/50/15

 

[ferrari_chris]

My choice would be the second set.

And the car you pictured doesn't have standard suspension so you're not expecting that look/stance are you?

 

[homeforsummer]

What you need Joey are a set of these in about 16":

And pleeeeease don't go for stretched tyres, you'll look like a plonker.

 

[forza2.0]

stick 16s on it. 205/45/16

 

[Jim Prower]

I'm going to agree on the stretched tires thing: you're not driving a '78 Datsun. Honestly, I don't even like them then, but whatever.

The wheels you're looking at are surprisingly Japanese in style, too. However, I'm not entirely too worried about that. Just get a nice functional size.

 

[Joey D]

205's should fit since a lot of people run them, but I've asked on a Cooper forum just to be sure.

Yes I realise the car in the picture has a different suspension set up, I just think that car looks damn good and would be a look I would like as well. Although I know I can't have anything that low in Michigan due to pot holes and winter. I really do like that stretched look though.

I refuse to put 16's on my car, I want small, lightweight wheel, plus the car is tiny, bigger rims will look awful. I hate the rims on the Cooper S.

I want to keep the same overall diameter on the wheel/tire because I don't want my speedo to be off. Even a couple mph off will annoy me.

I've been looking at various other wheels but I refuse to use a wheel adapter to attach them to the car, I've heard of to many people have issues with them.

 

[homeforsummer]

16" is hardly huge. Yours has what, 15" already? If you're careful you can find rims that won't be any heavier than standard, maybe even lighter.

 

[Joey D]

Yup they have 15's on them now and I have to believe really anything will be lighter then stock since stock rims tend to be heavy. I guess because I had 16's on my Blazer I just think of them as big and heavy...the Blazer's rims/tires weighed something like 60lbs. a piece.

 

[homeforsummer]

Just for your information, I had a look at wheelweights.net and I think your standard wheels weigh 6.8kg (15lb) each, which isn't half bad actually. And these wheels from the original Cooper only weigh 5.5kg (12.1lb) each, which is why the Cooper Cup car I've driven had them. They're the lightest OEM wheel of any MINI.

And 60lb for 16" wheels is a joke even with tyres.

 

[Kylehnat]

Rims tend to be light--it's the tires that are heavy. My 18" rims are just over 20 lbs each, but with a tire mounted, they weigh about 50 lbs. each. So, bigger rim with lower profile tire might equal less weight overall, and keep the speedo intact.

 

[homeforsummer]

Rims tend to be light--it's the tires that are heavy. My 18" rims are just over 20 lbs each, but with a tire mounted, they weigh about 50 lbs. each. So, bigger rim with lower profile tire might equal less weight overall, and keep the speedo intact.

Exactly, Joey, if you keep the same rolling radius and go for a 16" wheel that weighs no more than your current 15", you'll still drop weight on each corner because the tyres will be lighter. And you won't need to go for stretched tyres

Incidentally 50lbs still sounds like a hell of a lot. That's roughly 20-25kg, which is the weight of a tumble dryer (I used to work in a warehouse, I measure all weights by white goods )

 

[forza2.0]

And the stiffer sidewall that will be accompanied with the 16's means more grip and more responsiveness.

 

[Jim Prower]

Besides, I'll imagine those pickup truck wheels/tires aren't exactly light to begin with.

They do have a point here: Air does have mass that's added to the wheel, especially when compressed. There's a point you can get to a happy medium with, not too much metal, not too much tire.

I think the Cooper S's standard wheels are 17"s anyway.

EDIT: They're 16"s, but I doubt many actual Cooper Ss have them.

 

[Philly]

1. Interesting that you are considering a summer tire option as summer is coming to a close...

2. Go to tirerack.com where you can view the different wheels on your car.

3. I'd go with 16s. It'll be lighter and it'll also be stiffer, giving you better handling.

As for looks, I think it's hard to decide what'll look good without seeing the wheels on the car.

EDIT: 4. After looking around a little, I'd go with something dark, maybe like a powder coated wheel. Those seemed to look good from the side. And it'll go pretty well with the roof and stripes and things.

 

[Joey D]

Hmmm, I see what everyone is saying, I suppose I'm a bit blinded by how heavy the Blazer's 16's were. Guess I should look around a bit more now and I'll check out that wheel weights website (thanks homeforsummer) and go from there. I want light wheels since I've been told it affects your performance more then one thinks, I honestly don't really know but the physics behind it makes sense.

Also Philly, the reason I'm looking for summer tires/rims is because I want to put winter tires on my stock rims and just put the summer tires/rims on the car next spring.

 

[Keef]

If your stock tire size is 175/65 then if you move up to a 205-width your aspect ratio will be 55%, not 50 lie PB said. That information can easily be found on Tire Rack. So, you'd be looking at a 205/55-15. You should expect tires that width to fill out a 7-inch wide wheel nicely, but some people seem to think my 205 Falkens are a tiny bit too wide for the 7 inchers. It's okay because those tires have a super stiff sidewall. Tire Rack recommends a 195/60 for your 15x7 inch wheels. Those would probably suit your taste better and lesser-grade summer tires will fare better with a slightly tighter sidewall.

Apparently your stock tire height is around 24.2 inches, and the height of a 205/55 is about 23.9. A quarter inch isn't anything to worry about. Your speedometer will read slightly fast, which would make you speed less. That's always a good thing. But you wouldn't notice much difference unles you were going a hundred. Plus, it'll immeasurably help your acceleration and braking because of the smaller diameter

 

[Joey D]

Cool, thanks Keef 👍!

 

[Perfect Balance]

but some people seem to think my 205 Falkens are a tiny bit too wide for the 7 inchers.

Tell those people that they are idiots. A 195 tire is the thinnest tire that you can "safely" put on a 7 inch rim. 185 would already be pretty stretched. In a normal stock car, a 7 inch rim would have somewhere around a 215 or 225 tire on it.


And yes, the correct size is a 205/55/15, I'm not sure what I did wrong.


Which is also slightly big, so I think you should get some 16's. As long as you make a good choice, they shouldn't be heavy at all. A good rule of thumb is as long as the wheel weighs less than it's diameter, it's still a "lightweight" wheel.

 

[forza2.0]

Besides, I'll imagine those pickup truck wheels/tires aren't exactly light to begin with.

They do have a point here: Air does have mass that's added to the wheel, especially when compressed. There's a point you can get to a happy medium with, not too much metal, not too much tire.

I think the Cooper S's standard wheels are 17"s anyway.

EDIT: They're 16"s, but I doubt many actual Cooper Ss have them.

my friends cooper s had 17's!

 

[homeforsummer]

my friends cooper s had 17's!

Most people seem to upgrade wheels on Coopers and Cooper S's. Performance wise I doubt anything more than 16" is necessary on a Cooper and any moer than 17" on a Cooper S. If that.

The MINI below is one of the three I drove in a racing scholarship, all ex-Cooper Challenge cars. They were running semi-slicks on the Cooper's standard 15" wheels, which as I mentioned earlier are the lightest factory BMW MINI wheels available by a good kilogram. That's why they were the standard wheels for the Challenge. The Cooper S had Works split-rim wheels, 16" I think.

Anything bigger than 17" on Joey's Cooper will be more of a hinderance than a help really 👍

 

[forza2.0]

which is why he should go for 16's.

 

[Joey D]

I'm talking with some guys I know with Coopers and trying to see if I can meet up with one of them soon so I can try out there rims and see how they look and feel. The more I look into the 16's will be the better option so I'm going to focus more on trying to find a set of those although I'm not going to rule 15's out if I find the right set.

 

[CDailey]

Those Work Equip 03 knock offs look badass.

 

[opendriver]

I think the DR-20 's would look great on the car. But thats just my opinion.

 

[Azuremen]

11 Pounds. 15x7 wheel. You could bundle them from edgeracing for 660 dollars with some RT615 Falkens. Total weight at each corner would be about 33 pounds. And you'd have mad grip.

 

[buickgnx88]

So Joey, what's the skinny on the wheel situation?

 

[Joey D]

Still undecided, as of right now I'm probably just going to buy a set of steelies with winter tires on them. I have the money to buy new rims and tires but I feel it could be better invested elsewhere since my hours at work are going to get cut now that school is starting.

 

[buickgnx88]

Probably a good plan for the time being.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

11 Pounds. 15x7 wheel. You could bundle them from edgeracing for 660 dollars with some RT615 Falkens. Total weight at each corner would be about 33 pounds. And you'd have mad grip.

Sounds perfect. JOEY. DO THIS.

You'll save on fuel and we all know how much you love your Cooper's already-epic fuel economy...