Optional 16" tires on US Cooper

Yes, that seems to be a mistake.

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3267

There is also another possibilty. If I recall correctly the aspect ratio of the tire also has a bearing on it's actual overall width. I believe it is possible that a 205 45-series tire is the same functional width as a 225 55-series tire.

Check out this page for more info:
http://www.dunloptire.com/tt101_sizing.html

Hope this helps, and it still could be a misprint.

mblommel said:

There is also another possibilty. If I recall correctly the aspect ratio of the tire also has a bearing on it's actual overall width. I believe it is possible that a 205 45-series tire is the same functional width as a 225 55-series tire.

Check out this page for more info:
http://www.dunloptire.com/tt101_sizing.html

Hope this helps, and it still could be a misprint.

Click to expand...

Actually, aspect ratio determines the height of the sidewall, which contributes to the overall diameter of the wheel and tire package.

The MINI USA site 225/55 figure is a typo ... it should be 195/55. A 225/55 tire on a 16" wheel would mean an overall diameter of 25.74" ... which would make the speedo and who knows what else inaccurate. Using the 175/65-15 overall diameter of 23.96" as a base, 24.75" (+3%) is probably as high as you'd want to go. A 225/45-16 combination would have a 23.97" diameter, but whether you could get that sized tire on a 6.5" rim and whether the tire would rub on the struts or inside fender well are questions yet to be answered.

cool!

Thanks for the tech info, I need to re-read the page I hyperlinked to, my reading comprehension must be slipping!

Re: cool!

mblommel said:

Thanks for the tech info, I need to re-read the page I hyperlinked to, my reading comprehension must be slipping!

Click to expand...

You can also check out the FAQs on wheels and tires now in the EXTERIOR STYLING forum