Mini2.com Forum Header Mini2.com Forum Header
» Premium
» Wheel & Tire Center

» Sponsors
» Sponsors
Go Back   MINI2 - MINI Forum > MINI Technical Forums > Wheels, Tyres & Brakes

Wheels, Tyres & Brakes
Find Sponsor products associated with this forum
For (almost) all things alloy, steel and rubber, plus upgrading your MINI's stopping ability

Please Visit our Site Sponsors

MINI2.com is the largest MINI Forum on the internet. Registered Users do not see the above ads.
Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Rate Thread
  #1 (permalink)  
Old Jun 10th, 2009, 08:39 PM
skdmrk
Offline
MINI2 Newbie
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 8
Local Time: 03:21 AM
Norway
Buy new ones or respray the rims

Just bought a mint condition, lady driven 2007 Cooper D. Very happy and very proud. [see attachment].

I had decided before buying the car to get some 17" black rims, which will make it a hell of a lot cooler. But after driving it with the original 16" with recommended tyre pressure, I think not. It would be too bumpy, or am I wrong here.

Anybody got some suggestions, respray and keep the comfort, or get the 17s. PS! I drive around on a lot of cobblestone.

Thanks in advance.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	CIMG1200.jpg
Views:	56
Size:	46.8 KB
ID:	157406  
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
Advertisement
 

  #2 (permalink)  
Old Jun 10th, 2009, 09:18 PM
Paul's Avatar
Paul
MINI2 Privilege Member
Has met Quack Quack Jack
Offline
Trained Monkey
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Big grey box
Posts: 43,251
Local Time: 02:21 AM
England Male
Either get some light 17" alloys and good non-runflats if you MUST go 17", otherwise, stick with what you have, or even better get some nice, light, 16" alloys.

Personally I'm not a big fan of the black wheel fashion, with the MINIs big black wheel arches it can sometimes look odd to me.
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old Jun 10th, 2009, 09:37 PM
Soopercooperinfo's Avatar
MINI2 Regular
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Kansas, US
Posts: 66
Local Time: 02:21 AM
United States View Soopercooperinfo's Pepper White & Black 1st Gen MINI Cooper S Profile
If you are thinking about repainting your wheels, here is a thread that may help.

06 MCS PW/B
Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)  
Old Jun 10th, 2009, 10:37 PM
mini doller$'s Avatar
mini doller$
Offline
MINI2 Regular
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: carlisle
Posts: 167
Local Time: 02:21 AM
United Kingdom Male
I hed 15" standerd alloys on my one changed them to a bk 399 18" wheel an 35m tyres.
yer you feel evey bump in the road but it looks very cool biger the better in my eyes so go on put the bigger ones on!!!!!
Reply With Quote
  #5 (permalink)  
Old Jun 11th, 2009, 07:13 AM
Paul's Avatar
Paul
MINI2 Privilege Member
Has met Quack Quack Jack
Offline
Trained Monkey
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Big grey box
Posts: 43,251
Local Time: 02:21 AM
England Male
Depends if you want a car because of how it looks, how it drives, or a compromise between both really I guess.
Reply With Quote
  #6 (permalink)  
Old Jun 11th, 2009, 07:57 AM
mini doller$'s Avatar
mini doller$
Offline
MINI2 Regular
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: carlisle
Posts: 167
Local Time: 02:21 AM
United Kingdom Male
yer your right guess its just what ppl like!!

not a big fan of the black wheels my self but again it what ppl like!!
Reply With Quote
  #7 (permalink)  
Old Jun 11th, 2009, 08:58 AM
IanDW
Offline
MINI2 Newbie
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 24
Local Time: 03:21 AM
United Kingdom
I had a similar dilema. I ended up deciding to get my current 16" wheels refurbished and sprayed anthracite (dark grey with metallic flake).
I am well please with the results (attached). Total cost £180 GBP.

For any wheel refurb make sure they weld the rims (to fill kerbing) and preferably powder coat then lacquer.

Finally ditch the runflats if you want better ride. Those stiffened sidewalls on runflats dont absorb bumps well. Clearly the trade off is not having a spare and therefore relying on a can of tyre weld and a compressor......
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	DSC04773.JPG
Views:	58
Size:	32.2 KB
ID:	157410   Click image for larger version

Name:	DSC04775.JPG
Views:	59
Size:	28.2 KB
ID:	157411  
Reply With Quote
  #8 (permalink)  
Old Jun 11th, 2009, 10:54 AM
skdmrk
Offline
MINI2 Newbie
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 8
Local Time: 03:21 AM
Norway
Thanks all

Thanks for the feedback.

Are there runflats on as standard? The original tyres are on the car.

I think I'll og for the respray. IanDW could you please explain the powder coating opposed to lacquer. I am not going to do this myself, and do not know the Norwegian explanation for it.

Thanks

Last edited by skdmrk; Jun 11th, 2009 at 01:29 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #9 (permalink)  
Old Jun 11th, 2009, 02:18 PM
IanDW
Offline
MINI2 Newbie
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 24
Local Time: 03:21 AM
United Kingdom
OK I'll try and answer your questions:

1) I am not sure on your model and territory if runflats are standard. My guess is they are. You can tell for sure by checking if you have a spare tyre or tyre weld (if not you will have runflats). There is also a runflat marking or comment on the side of the tyre normally. Or get the tyre model and search on the web to check if its a runflat.

2) I attach a link to Wikipedia which explains powder coating and a link to the guy that did my wheels also.
Basically powder coating means they attach the wheel to ground (negative) and charge the paint powder positive (via a special gun). With application of heat the paint powder is attracted to the wheel and melts to form a coating.
Powder coating produces a thicker, harder and hence more resilient finish than the alternative which is spraying with wet paint (like they spray car bodies).
As wheels are close to the road they are prone to scratches, stone chips and kerbing hence stronger paint via powder coating is better than wet painting.
Lacquer is simply the clear coating which is applied after the coloured powder coat. This is used to seal and protect the base colour coat and also makes the finish nice and shiny. It is a bit like varnish.

If you have plastic centre covers (like I do on my wheels) they cant be powder coated as I guess you cant apply a charge to them as they dont conduct electricity. Hence my centre covers were sprayed with wet paint - they still match the main wheel well. This shouldnt be an issue as it is less likely you would scratch the wheel centre than the rim.

In UK as a guideline it is normally around GBP50 (about €60) per wheel to get this done including repairing any minor kerb damage. To do this they should TIG weld the damage as it is stronger (again look in Wikipedia for definition of TIG welding if not sure). Some places just use car body filler which is not good as it isnt as strong......

Hope this helps. Cheers.

Powder coating - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

J P Polishing Essex Alloy Wheel Refurbishment
Reply With Quote
  #10 (permalink)  
Old Jun 11th, 2009, 02:21 PM
IanDW
Offline
MINI2 Newbie
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 24
Local Time: 03:21 AM
United Kingdom
Another good link to show examples of finishes you can get and process used.

Alloy Wheel Refurbishment - Refurb - Refurbishing - West Midlands
Reply With Quote
  #11 (permalink)  
Old Jun 11th, 2009, 08:59 PM
james76
Offline
James76
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Bolton
Posts: 27
Local Time: 02:21 AM
United Kingdom Male
i would recomend a refurb but keep runflasts coz changing them makes the steering and handling feel vague
the suspension is set up for them so unless your gettin new suspension keep runflats
Reply With Quote
  #12 (permalink)  
Old Jun 11th, 2009, 09:26 PM
skdmrk
Offline
MINI2 Newbie
 
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 8
Local Time: 03:21 AM
Norway
Thank you, thank you, thank you

I'm all set, an will shop around for a respray. Those rims of yours IanDW looks smashing, so I'll try to get similar color. And I'll delay the tyre shopping till they are worn.

Thank you all, you've been a great help
Reply With Quote
  #13 (permalink)  
Old Jun 12th, 2009, 11:12 AM
IanDW
Offline
MINI2 Newbie
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 24
Local Time: 03:21 AM
United Kingdom
I dont agree with james76. My experience of ditching runflats for Toyo Proxes T1R in stock size was a major improvement. Same nimbleness and turn in. Much better overall grip - I found the OEM tyres pretty poor. Biggest improvement is the ride quality as non runflats can absorb bumps more working with the suspension. For me the standard setup is very firm and poor at bump absorption on UK roads (bumpy where I live).

Also non runflats are 25-30% cheaper.

Only downsides for me are the obvious ones (not having a spare, etc).

Cheers.
Reply With Quote
  #14 (permalink)  
Old Jun 12th, 2009, 12:59 PM
scraggles's Avatar
scraggles
Offline
MINI2 Regular
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 240
Local Time: 02:21 AM
United Kingdom Male View scraggles's Pure Silver & Body Color 1st Gen MINI One Profile
Quote: Originally Posted by james76 (original)
i would recomend a refurb but keep runflasts coz changing them makes the steering and handling feel vague
the suspension is set up for them so unless your gettin new suspension keep runflats

My experience was exactly the opposite of this. Ditching the run flats removed the harsh ride, sharpened up the handling and improved comfort.

Like others have said, you'll be better going to a wheel refurb specialist than getting them resprayed.
Reply With Quote
  #15 (permalink)  
Old Jun 13th, 2009, 06:05 PM
broady
Offline
MINI2 Newbie
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 47
Local Time: 02:21 AM
United Kingdom
Black wheels

Black wheels everytime!! the major advantage is you dont have to clean them every other day like silver ones as the brake dust from the mini is always a nightmare!
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	CIMG0115.JPG
Views:	27
Size:	153.8 KB
ID:	157439   Click image for larger version

Name:	CIMG0116.JPG
Views:	30
Size:	148.2 KB
ID:	157440  
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags:



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Respray Ives First Generation MINI Exterior 11 May 11th, 2009 03:37 PM
Interior Respray danevans First Generation Interior & Ice 0 Aug 23rd, 2006 11:18 PM
SSR or Gram Lights Rims wanted - where to buy? Igor Wheels, Tyres & Brakes 1 Oct 15th, 2005 04:32 PM
Bumper Respray? Kaj First Generation MINI Exterior 2 Apr 24th, 2005 08:37 PM
respray cost!!! KJ_daGreenMini First Generation MINI Exterior 4 Jan 21st, 2005 04:43 PM

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.1.0

All times are GMT. The time now is 02:21 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2010, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
SEO by vBSEO 3.2.0