[Kinster]

Which one would you choose and why?

[Cape Cod MINI]

Silver, silver, silver.
Why, because IMHO white wheels are ugly. They seem to take the MINI down to a "cute" level.

[LMB]

Quote:

Originally posted by Kinster
Which one would you choose and why?

White wheels look lovely when they are clean, but I chose Silver because white wheel get dirty way too quickly.

LMB

[mblommel]

I not usually a big fan of white wheels, but the factory shots of the cooper with the white 7-spoke wheels are awesome. ( I realize those wheels won't be available) None the less the blue car with the white wheels and roof looks great.

I really want a dark silver S though, so silver S-spokes for me.

[sdmidget]

BRG

White Roof (top)
White Mirrors (middle)
White Alloys - 5 Star (botttom)

Balanced!

[USAGooner]

I reckon a MINI with a white roof would look more balanced with white wheels as well. Might be hard to keep clean with disc brakes and all the brake dust, not to mention road grime. (Just to rehash what everyone else has already said )

Anyone had a scratch appear on the white ones yet? Somehow, I imagine silver might show scratches more easily. Granted I have never owned a car with white alloys...

Anyone?

USAGooner

[Garfield]

I wanted to get whites for my Miata, but never did because of the quickness to get dirty (or show dirt at least).

But, since my MINI will not be an everyday driver, a racecar better yet, I'd like to do the white roof, mirrors, stripes, and wheels. I won't have to clean them that often.

If it was my everyday driver, I'd want them, but never get them.

BTW, I may even do the Dark Silver with all the white. It's definitely got to be contrasting, I don't think I could do the Yellow or Pure Silver with the white.
Red, Indie Blue, or Dark Silver (my wife doesn't like the Black, but I love it).

[Basil]

Silver 17" S-spokes.

Not only to match the Pure Silver Body Colour, but also because light silver is a very good "dirt" colour.

Not keen on white simply because they would be powder coated. The silver is "probably" simply the original aluminium alloy with a couple of laquer coats for protection.

[gonnandgotone]

The white 17"s look quite nice - see photo and I agree with gooner they do balance off better with the white roof. Cleaning is a bit of a nightmare, had mine 9 days and cleaned it 3 times - the wheels actually still look ok even when they are dirty.

Basil - They don't seem to be conventionally powder coated as they have a gloss finish, my previous experience of powder coated wheels have always had a textured matt appearance.

[Red & White Cooper 2]

Obviously, its purely down to personal preference. My preference is for silver - alloy wheels should look like alloy wheels. I also think the metallic element enhances the contours of the wheels.

I know there is the "matching the white roof" factor with the Mini, and its "fun car" image, but do you ever see a Ferrari, Porsche, Lotus or Jaguar with white alloy wheels?

[gonnandgotone]

Agree - of course it down to personal preference but....

I think we are maybe kidding ourselves a little bit with bracketing the mini with porkers, ferraris and the like - we are talking about a fun hot hatch that is a very well executed caricature of the previous mini - which I do seem to remember did occasionally wear white wheels.

Ps. In my experience most alloy wheels are painted with several coats of silver paint, few of them are actually laquered alloy, the alloy is more for reduction of the cars unsprung weight rather than any inherent asthetic beauty.

[smiffy]

White are nice but show the dirt
silver is the classic look & I have opted for these
but I must say that chrome alloys on a black car like the biz

[Red & White Cooper 2]

Silver alloys are indeed normally painted silver, but they look like alloy. AutoCar thought their white-wheeled Cooper had steel wheels. My reference to Ferraris etc was not to bracket the Mini with these cars but use them as examples of good taste. I could have said "which cars do you see white alloys on? Boy-racer Nova SRs" but I was trying to make my point without being offensive.

Again though it must be stressed - it is all down to personal opinion. And while I have an opinion, its hardly crucial to me. Could I live with white wheels on my Cooper? Yes.

[Basil]

Quote:

Originally posted by Red & White Cooper 2
Silver alloys are indeed normally painted silver, but they look like alloy. AutoCar thought their white-wheeled Cooper had steel wheels. My reference to Ferraris etc was not to bracket the Mini with these cars but use them as examples of good taste. I could have said "which cars do you see white alloys on? Boy-racer Nova SRs" but I was trying to make my point without being offensive.

Again though it must be stressed - it is all down to personal opinion. And while I have an opinion, its hardly crucial to me. Could I live with white wheels on my Cooper? Yes.

you weren't offensive buddy. It was a good point. Oh and by the way, there's a yellow Ferrari driving around Brisbane that has white alloys. So as you say, it's simply a matter of taste.

Opinions on the "colour" of wheels were what we were asked for after all.

(Just as a technical point, both Powder Coat and PVF2 can have high gloss finishes.). If i'm wrong may the hand of god strike me down.........

[MrCooper]

I've gone for the silver ones in the end. I have to agree though it is a very difficult and personal touch. As long as you like them you can't be wrong

[Garry]

Quote:

Originally posted by MrCooper
I've gone for the silver ones in the end. I have to agree though it is a very difficult and personal touch. As long as you like them you can't be wrong

I went for the silver wheels too. The white look great on some colours, but keeping them clean was an issue.

I am an old geezer, so I went for the safe silver.

Cheers

[kjs]

Quote:

Originally posted by sdmidget
BRG

White Roof (top)
White Mirrors (middle)
White Alloys - 5 Star (botttom)

Balanced!

That's what I did, and it looks awesome!!! Had some last minute "oh my god, I hope the white alloys look good" panic-type moments before delivery, but when I saw the car on the dealer's forecourt, I was blown away.

White vs silver, well its all academic at this time of year! (LMB - I'm sure silver alloys will look good with BRG too!)Drive any distance and your whole car gets covered in road grime and isn't going to look its best! Mine is covered in kak - just (ahem) hoping the dealers will wash it for me when its in on Tuesday!


kjs

[Mickey Gem]

I agree with sdmidget, white roof and mirrors needs white wheels, even if they are hard work!

[Ibb]

I was gona go for white wheels but I changed my mind cos the white alloys are absolut mugger for keeping clean, but they look ace. But if u are like me which is a abit on the lazy side go for the silver alloys, cmon I wanna drive the thing not keep it stationary and waste time trying to make it look prsitine.

But then again white is cool, gotta have a whit roof though, otherwise it will look way odd!

[Viscount Charles]

Looking at about a dozen MINIs on the dealer's forecourt today, I thought the white roof/silver wheels combination looked like it was missing something.

White wheels on a car with a body-coloured or black roof looked equally uninspiring.

So my choice will be white wheels if I have a white roof, otherwise silver wheels.

Who cares about the extra effort of keeping the things clean? I'd not cleaned my almond green car for the last 4 months - yes, it had turned a dark grey/brown. Cleaned and polished it, two weeks later and it's almost pitch black again!