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 New wheels & tires

 Created by: britleyland
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 Posted: Dec 24, 2021 10:33AM
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Nice choice dropping down to 12's. Better ride and handling. 

On average, with the 12's, you'll gain sidewall height (depending which tire size that you go with) but then you'll lose an inch in diameter going from 13's to 12's. So overall you may end up with a bit more 'fender gap' in the wheel wells,....again, depending on what tire size that you go with. 

What are the sizes for the 13's that you have now? 5.5x13, 6x13, 7x13? As well, what is the offset for them? Same two questions for the 12's that you are wanting.

As for looks down the side of the car, it depends what offset that you have on the 13's right now and what the offset is of the 12's that you want. Do you now what you have for offsets for the 13's AND 12's, so we have a better idea of what to tell you?
Offset will determine how much the wheel and tire stick out. So even if you have 6x13's and want to switch to 6x12's, there's no way to tell you whether they're going to have the same protrusion outwards. They may stick out or they may be sunk in. All depends on the offset. 

A lot of 6x13's will have a positive offset like 16mm to 25mm. With the 6x12's you'll come across more negative offsets like -7mm to -10mm range.

The 7x13's will usually have a negative offset around -7mm to -10mm.

The 5x12 and 5.5x12's will mostly have positive offsets.

If you like the flares and don't wish to change them, you could always look around for negative offset 12's to bring the wheels and tires more outward to the outer edge of the flares. 

The greater the negative offset number, the more the wheels and tires stick out. For instance, a -10mm offset wheel will stick out more than a 0mm offset or any positive offset wheel. 

You could also try 7x12's if needed/wanted. There's a few options in this range. Not many. They'll really stick out.

If you want to keep the flares that you have, AND go with 12's, you'll have to go with at least the 6x12's. Most 5x12's will be in the positive offset range and the wheels and tires will be sunk in for sure. I think there's a couple 5x12's out there that are around 0mm offset. But for the most part, they're in the positive range. 

Happy holidays to you as well

.
Simple recipe for Excitement:  Take 1 Classic Mini. Throw in 1590cc's of engine. Add 5 gears. A dash of 94 octane. A sprinkle of style inside and out. Toss in 1 MadMan and finally heat tires and pavement to taste. Recipe produces 1 Mini VTEC conversion and full satisfaction. Motor on!
 Posted: Dec 24, 2021 12:17AM
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GB
No, is the quick answer.

Unless you go for a very wide 12" with a big offset, you'll never fill the arch and it looks daft.  I can't post the pic, but I recently ran a spare set of 5" x 12" Slotmags on my Knightsbridge (the garage can't fit the tracking gear to 13" wheeled Minis due to the sidewall being too small) and it looked ridiculous.
Change the arches, and you're away.

 Posted: Dec 23, 2021 07:32PM
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I want to say that I never had a mini with 13s. I like the look. The best riding tire / wheel combo is the 10 inch. I don't like the 10s because I feel they are to squirrely. I'm driving in all kinds of weather from dry sunny days to snow and ice on the roads. I feel the 10s are too slippery for a daily driver mini. I don't like the 12s with the 165/60 combo because of the harsh ride. Your 13s have a sidewall height of 50. These 12 inch tires have a sidewall of 60, which is not a lot of difference between the two. I run 145/70 12s because of the taller sidewalls and are more compliant. They are acceptable in the wet and snowy conditions. My mini does not look as good as a sport pack mini.

Now to address your concerns. The 12 x5 wheels will look funny because there will be too much over hang of the arches. The 12x6 will fill space as will the 10 x6. But the 10 x6 are going to require a brake change.

To help with the ride, I run 4 coil steel springs. I've tried the smooth ride cones and found them to be a little less bouncy than the stock cones.

 Posted: Dec 23, 2021 09:43AM
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Member since:Jan 30, 2003
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US
After the first of the year, I am planning to switch from 13" wheels to 12" and have a couple of questions. I currently have sportspack flares and need to know will 12" wheels look out of place after running 13s for the past 18 years. Will the 12s fill the flares as did the 13s. I am trying to get a better ride and improved handling and I feel with 12inch I will not have the low profile as I do with the 13s. Also, which will be better, 5X12 or 6X12 wheels? Any feedback welcome.....Happy Holidays!

"A gentleman does not motor about after dark".  Joseph Lucas (1834-1902)