Hi I am looking to buy some used 15" alloys for my R55 mini because I have a set of winter tyres from a previous car size 195 65 R15

Q will these fit mini 15" wheels?
Q can I fit wheels from pre 07 cars?
Q what will happen to the puncture warning light in my car if the second hand wheels do not have sensors?
Q can sensors be retro fitted to older wheels and are they expensive?

Many thanks in advance!!

:puzzled:

1 = Yes
2 = Yes
3 = There are no sensors in the actual wheels, it is all done from the ABS sensor in the hub. The system detects different rotational speeds of the wheels and flags the warning up.
4 = as above.

What actual car do you have as 15 inch wheels will not fit an S due the the size of the brake calipers.

A 195/65R15 is a lot bigger diameter than any normal Mini tyre, about 635mm, but I presume that won't rub - is it only tyre width that causes rub issues and then only on lowered cars?

The extra diameter means higher gearing, so the acceleration will be slightly blunted and at 3-4% bigger diameter than any standard tyres, the speedo will read lower too, so you should drive past the police with more care.... Somebody will shortly tell you that it's illegal/dangerous to have a speedo reading 3-4% less than before, but since a Mini speedo may read up to 10% fast (well, mine does), it's quite possible that yours would still read fast after changing.

The 20-30mm increase in diameter means a 10-15mm increase in ride height which would give a useful improvement in snow at the expense of a bit more body roll - my experience with winter tyres on a Mini is that it's getting beached on the underside that is the limit on where you can go, not traction.

Many thanks my car is a clubman cooper D with 16" wheels so assume calipers will not be a problem

Hi, I've also got a Diesel Cooper Clubman albeit running on 17 inch (R98) with standard 205/45/17 Continental runflats for the summer and a spare set of 15 inch (R93) with 175/65/15 Dunlop SP Winter Response for the winter.

No problems whatsoever re brake caliper clearance though I have found that when driving over one particular speed hump (imagine motocross tabletop) that my front valance does scrape on the road (this doesn't occur when the car is on the 17 inch wheels). Diameter for 15 inch is 608.5 vs diameter on 17 inch of 616.3 ie almost a 4mm drop in height.

Apart from this I've had no grounding problems but then I've also got a Volvo XC90 to call upon for when snow depth becomes a grounding issue to the Mini.

Hope the above has been of some help.

Dave.