[dinger]

Which of these is the Genuine R85 as I'm not sure....any ideas.????

[Alan W]

Dinger,

Mini have sourced their wheels from two different suppliers/foundries, one of which was Ronal. I've seen both wheels close up and the most telling difference is from the back, where there is a strenghening rib on the Ronal wheel running down the back of each spoke. There is also a slight difference in the colour of the wheels when put side by side. The Ronal wheel has a slightly brighter silver paint finish. They are both genuine R85 wheels.

There was a thread recently on mini2 about this and there's been a few on 'NAM' over the years with photos also.

Sorry I can't identify those in your photos but they both 'look' genuine.

I am not aware of any pattern/copy wheels on the market yet, other than the obviously different RH Maxilite seven spoker.

Hope this helps.

Alan W

[dinger]

Thanks Alan.

Heres another pic this R85 copy is by Toora,but I could not find out if they were or not.?

[Alan W]

Quote: Originally Posted by dinger

Thanks Alan.

Heres another pic this R85 copy is by Toora,but I could not find out if they were or not.?

Dinger,

That certainly looks like a very good copy. I wonder if that wheel is being cast in one of the same foundries that supplies the 'genuine' R85 wheels. Other than the centre cap, it appears identical. I think you really need to see the reverse side of the wheel to ascertain its origin.

Here's a link to one of the previous threads discussing the two genuine R85 wheels sourced by 'Mini': http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthrea...&highlight=Rib

Alan W

[S33BBY]

Cool New stock a replica by "Racing X", but I suppose these could just be re-badged Toora wheels.

http://www.coolnew.co.uk/product_det...id=295&type=14

[SFJAMES]

hey guys/gals, Brutus is on 02 MCS and upon taking him in to change out coolant tank his S-lites (R85) got curbed, they are the same right? Anyhow, after pulling teeth, they replaced the rim with another.
A month passes and I'm cleaning the rims and thought I noticed a difference as I cleaned the insides of the rims. Got down and looked and sure enough, they gave Brutus a mis-matched shoe.......I got upset once again, all over again and had to let those guys know the deal. Long story short, the original rims were smooth from right behind the spokes all the way to the inside of the rim and the replacement rim was smooth at first, but then had a ridge about 2 inches before the inner most part of the rim. Whats the deal? I have a full set of both now, I'm going to have one set powder coated black.

[SFJAMES]

oops.....after reading a bit, I noticed Alans reply about the two different suppliers. Now, I wonder if the strengthening rib adds more weight? Wutcha think.

[Alan W]

Quote: Originally Posted by SFJAMES

Now, I wonder if the strengthening rib adds more weight? Wutcha think.

I am sure previous posts did not identify any weight difference between the two genuine R85 wheels.

The Ronal wheel with the strengthening rib has thinner spokes, I believe, hence the need for the rib to strengthen the spoke. The other genuine wheel doesn't need additional strengthening ribs because the spokes are thicker.

Alan W