[SomeBlondeGuy]

I think the white 16" 5-spoke rims look WAY better on the Mini (with a white roof/mirrors) than the 17" multi-spoke ones.

I keep seeing everyone mention the 17" rims.

I wish the white 5-spoke ones came in 17", instead of 16", but that won't deter me from ordering them.


What wheels are YOU getting with your Mini?

 

[Viscount Charles]

It depends on the colour of the car, and prices of the various options.

I agree that the 5-spoke wheels look good in white when the car has a white roof. I'm also not sure that the 17" wheels look so good in white. As my first choice is for a white-roofed car, and money's a bit tight, I'll have white 5-spokes.

OTOH, if the Chilli pack includes 17" wheels and is a reasonable price, I might have to start seriously thinking about what they look like in white and may end up changing my mind about the colour of the car AGAIN.

 

[SomeBlondeGuy]

You can't get the 17" multi-spoke rims in white. Only the 16" 5-spoke.

EDIT: I guess you CAN get the 17-inchers in white.

*SomeBlondeGuy stands corrected*

 

[Viscount Charles]

I'm pretty sure I've seen it written that you can have any size of alloy wheel in white if you have a white roof.

I may be wrong, but I thought that I'd also seen a picture of 17" wheels in white (though at first glance they can look a bit similar to the multi-spoked 15" wheels).

 

[LMB]

You can't get the 17" multi-spoke rims in white. Only the 16" 5-spoke.

Yes you can

 

[Viscount Charles]

Woohoo! *That's* the car I want! Be even better wit ha big spoiler and an alloy filler cap, of course.

 

[scollins]

I think white 16's on a black/white with white hood-stripes looks truly amazing. But, I'm just not into constantly cleaning my rims. Can you imagine the brake dust on white wheels? If BMW uses pads with a compound similar to what came on my 318ti, forget it.

 

[SomeBlondeGuy]

BMW has come a long way since the 318ti. I'm sure something will have improved in that respect.

 

[scollins]

BMW has come a long way since the 318ti. I'm sure something will have improved in that respect.

Actually, BMW's, much like Mercedes and other German marques, typically use a high-dust pad. This is one of the trade-offs of braking performance vs. cleanliness. A higher-friction pad will stop great and give good pedal feel and feedback, but they will dust more. Look at even the new E46 (3 series)--those front wheels get dirty fast.

On my 318ti, which is primarily a track car now, I'm currently using PF95's (Performance Friction). They dust like crazy when they're cold, cost $600 a set, but the stopping power will loosen all of your fillings. When they're hot they don't dust much at all. This is something that is hard to accomplish on the street. You just don't generate the kind of heat during street driving that you do on the track. If I drove with my PF95's on a day-to-day basis, they'd last about 2-3 weeks and need to be replaced. I switch to PBRs (Metal Masters) for daily driving because they don't dust much. However, the braking performance really sucks even compared to stock BMW pads. The convenience, on the other hand, is wonderful.

With respect to 'coming a long way since the 318ti' -- is 1999 a long time ago? The other E36 (1992-1999) 3 series used similar pad compounds as well. I think BMW OEM's Pagid among others.

Shawn

 

[BruceK]

....Look at even the new E46 (3 series)--those front wheels get dirty fast.
....

It's been said the MINI has the same calipers as the E46, so perhaps it uses the same brake pads?

 

[Basil]

I think the white 16" 5-spoke rims look WAY better on the Mini (with a white roof/mirrors) than the 17" multi-spoke ones.

I keep seeing everyone mention the 17" rims.

I wish the white 5-spoke ones came in 17", instead of 16", but that won't deter me from ordering them.


What wheels are YOU getting with your Mini?

Lose the centre caps to show it's nuts and you've got me hooked. The centre cap on the 5-star 16" make em look girly......Got to see it's nuts ok.

may have mentioned this a few times somewhere before.

 

[monsta]

Re: Re: Does no one like the white 16" rims?

The centre cap on the 5-star 16" make em look girly......Got to see it's nuts ok.

I suppose the best way to make people realise you're not girly is to show you nuts! He's got a point

 

[SomeBlondeGuy]

Actually, BMW's, much like Mercedes and other German marques, typically use a high-dust pad. This is one of the trade-offs of braking performance vs. cleanliness. A higher-friction pad will stop great and give good pedal feel and feedback, but they will dust more. Look at even the new E46 (3 series)--those front wheels get dirty fast.

On my 318ti, which is primarily a track car now, I'm currently using PF95's (Performance Friction). They dust like crazy when they're cold, cost $600 a set, but the stopping power will loosen all of your fillings. When they're hot they don't dust much at all. This is something that is hard to accomplish on the street. You just don't generate the kind of heat during street driving that you do on the track. If I drove with my PF95's on a day-to-day basis, they'd last about 2-3 weeks and need to be replaced. I switch to PBRs (Metal Masters) for daily driving because they don't dust much. However, the braking performance really sucks even compared to stock BMW pads. The convenience, on the other hand, is wonderful.

With respect to 'coming a long way since the 318ti' -- is 1999 a long time ago? The other E36 (1992-1999) 3 series used similar pad compounds as well. I think BMW OEM's Pagid among others.

Shawn

I used to be a detailer at the BMW dealership I'm getting my Cooper 'S' at. (Haven't worked there for almost 2 years).
I had first-hand experience as to how hard it was to get the brake dust (usually baked-on) off of customers' rims, especially the multi-spoke ones - with all their nooks and crannies. I always assumed the customers neglected their rims (and I'm sure MANY did) because many were stained a light-brown, which could only be cleaned with corrosive wheel acid.

My Dad's late-model Pontiac Firebird has huge disc brakes front and back, and even just after driving 2 km's in the city, the rims get coated with brake dust (and he's very easy on the brakes). It frustrates me!

Is there some kind of coating/spray that repels brake dust?

(Sometimes I wax my rims, which repels the dust to a point).

 

[CrazyPhil]

Do what I did when I took delivery of my Cooper,
washed, and Waxed my white 16" Daytona's straight away and now the muck and dust comes off v.easy when washing

PS. 16" White Daytona's on Indie Blue is the dogs danglies

 

[Varse]

In answer to this question, no, they look tacky IMO, but then again I don't even like the white roof!

The only ones for me are silver 7 holes as they look class, shame they don't come in a 16, also the S-spoke 17s are excellent, and I like the standard S wheels.

As always it all down to personal taste though.

 

[kjs]

white alloys

personally, i think they look excellent in certain colour combos with the white roof.... BRG and Indi Blue with the white alloys being my personal favourites at the moment. who knows, maybe if i'd seen a blue cooper with white wheels when i was placing my order i might have gone for it, but then i did have that feeling of "its got to be BRG"


kjs

 

[PeterG]

Brake Dust

Is there some kind of coating/spray that repels brake dust?

(Sometimes I wax my rims, which repels the dust to a point).

The best solution to this problem that I have found was on my 1997 Lotus Elise, which had aluminium/composite disks and pads. They produced zero brake dust, which meant sparkly clean alloys without any washing at all! Also they significantly reduced the un-sprung weight of the car, thus improving the handling.

Does anyone know if you can still get this type of disk/pad as an aftermarket option? I seem to remember that the company went belly-up a couple of years back, hence the iron disks on more recent Elises, but maybe some other company do a similar product?

 

[noahe]

Any pictures of brake dust on white rims?

I certainly know what you all are talking about, when I wash my Grama's 3-Series, I'm amazed at how dirty the rims were, but they didn't look all that bad while they were dirty, just less sparkly.

I have seen various other cars, like 5-Series and Mercedes that have very, very dirty front wheels, and realtively clean rear wheels (yes I know that's how the brakes work). Not all cars suffer from this imbalance in the apparent dirtyness of the wheels.

So, since the MINI has lots of 3-Series parts, but it is much lighter, but it will have white wheels (on mine at least) what's this going to look like? Anyone snapped a pic of their dirty car?

Plus, what extremes are we talking about here. I usually wash my car quite frequently in the Summer (if I like the car) and about bi-monthly in the winter (because of the excessive use of road-salt in Canada). I have a feeling that the brake dust builds up more in the summer when you're flinging it around, and you have the opportunity to wash it more easily (and cheaply) in your own driveway.

I also expect I am going to have an alternate set of wheels with winter tires... (sorry to get off-topic, anyone seen nice white 15" steel rims?)

 

[Llama]

Re: Brake Dust

Does anyone know if you can still get this type of disk/pad as an aftermarket option? I seem to remember that the company went belly-up a couple of years back, hence the iron disks on more recent Elises, but maybe some other company do a similar product?

The Elise was fitted with iron brakes due to the fact that the composite ones were dreadful in the wet and there were a great many complaints about them.

What happened to the company after that though I don't know, I never heard they went bust myself.

 

[Kinster]

white roof and wing mirrors with 17" S SILVER alloys look the best. White wheels make them look plasticy. Reminds me of BMX mag wheels.