Wheel Size Opinions

[MiniDave]

A buddy loaned me his 13" wheels off his Mini while mine are out being balanced - again - and I'd like to hear opinions on the looks of the 13's....bear in mind that 12's were actually standard on this year car, and 13's were an option on later cars.

A few pics of each.....

[Spitz]

I think the 13's look silly.
Those gold/silver wheels are nice

[94touring]

Having run all 3 sizes on my cars, 10s ride the best.  12s are a great balance between ride and looks.  13s ride bad.

[Merlin]

13" look a little hotwheels in my opinion. I love the look of 10" on minis, but I know that it limits you on many things like brakes. If 12" were stock, I would stick with them, or go to 10" for the classic look. Besides, the smaller the wheel, the less to compensate for.

[Mudhen]

I like the 12s.

Pat

[jeff10049]

12"

[MiniDave]

I don't have any 12's.....but I'm also starting to come around to the idea of them......but aren't 12" tires a real struggle to find anymore?

[Merlin]

Not as bad as 10" tires. Just be prepared, like all things mini, to source it where you can.

[94touring]

Speaking of 12s...are you interested in buying a set?  I'm going 10's on my drum braked 998 and plan to sell the 12s that are on it.  The tires are not the proper size that are mounted however and need to be changed out, at least on the front to prevent rubbing at it's current height.   

[MiniDave]

No thanks, for now I'll keep the 10's and on our donut run next weekend I'll run the 13's, just to learn about them.

[MiniDave]

94 Touring, second thoughts on the 12's....I might want a set after all. I'll be in touch....

Here's a pic I took on the run this weekend - 10's, 12's and 13's.....

[94touring]

Cool, let me know. 

[MiniDave]

I can buy the 13's for a very reasonable price, tires and all - but they rub on the front flares (slightly) unless I raise the ride height some more in the front - I already raised the rear.

I'm wondering if the 12's will give me more clearance. Also, are the 12's you have 4.5, 5, or 6" wide? And of course, I'll have to buy tires too.....oh, and do they need refinishing?

[94touring]

They are 5x12 minilites, perfect condition.  Minilites tend to be higher dollar whenever you go wheel shopping.  13s are really meant to be installed with a reduced radius steering rack to prevent rubbing.   These have fat tires on very old and compressed stock suspension and rub up front.  If I were to keep them I'd at least need to swap out the front tires.  Since the tires should be replaced I'd want at minimum $350 for the set. 

[MiniDave]

At this time, it's all moot.....the owner took his 13's back, he's decided not to sell them.....and my 10's are back on Buzz. Rather than spend a bunch of money on tires and wheels at this time, I'm going o drop the rear subframe and redo all the brakes and rear suspension, coat the fuel tank, powder coat the subframe and so on.....I've been wanting to do that for a while now.

However, the car drove fine with the 13's, I don't know what all the fuss is about. I did have a tiny interference on the front on the inside of the flares on some turns, but raising the height slightly would have cured that. Other than that it felt planted, secure and I didn't find any issues with the way it drove.

[94touring]

No worries.  If you change your mind let me know!

[MiniDave]

So, I'm still running my 10" wheels.....I had a heck of a time getting them balanced but another local classic owner said he had some guys who did his - so I gave them to him and he took them up to the shop - which turned out to be his local Wal Mart where a buddy of his works.

I have to say, I'm really happy with his work - they've never been this smooth in the time I've owned it......I can now cruise smoothly at 70-75 mph!

I'd still like to have the 13's, but for now he's decided to keep them....maybe down the road he'll get tired of storing them in his garage and sell them to me. He's gone thru several wheel/tire combo's on his 94 Mini - when he got it it had 10" steel wheels on it, then he went overboard and put 13X7's on which he hated, his turning radius was measured in blocks not feet and they rubbed on every bump and turn, plus they tramlined terribly. He then got the 13X6's that he loaned me for our Donut Run cruise and while those were better, he recently got a free set of 12X5's that needed refurbishing, so he had them cleaned up and powdercoated and loves them. He also removed the sport pack flares and went with Wood and Pickets which required holes welded up and the whole side of the car to be repainted. He's one happy camper now - except he had the new wheels balanced by the same guy who did mine and they shake like mad! He'll get that straightened out, I'm sure.....  the lower pic is Seth's 94 on his 12's, before he got the body work fixed. Personally, I like his car better with the sport packs and 13's. In that pic the white car is on 10's, the blue one is on 12's and Buzz is wearing the 13's....