If you are the one other person in the world that will choose wheels for their weight and not for their appearance, you may want to see this list of F56 wheel weights culled from the ETK web site. There is no money-back guarantee on accuracy and three wheels (Double, Cross and Track), marked *, have two alternative weights listed. Not all wheels are available in all markets, so you may not recognise some. 3.5x15 Compact spare - 5.75 kg / 12.67 lb 5.5x15 Heli spoke 492 - 5.12 kg / 11.28 lb Steel disc (bare) - 6.86 kg / 15.11 lb Steel disc incl plastic cover - 7.42 kg / 16.34 lb 5.5x16 (winter) Radial 508 - 8.70 kg / 19.16 lb 6.5x16 Loop 494 - 8.20 kg / 18.06 lb Victory 495 - 8.75 kg / 19.27 lb 5.5x17 (winter) Double 534 * - 9.45 kg / 20.81 lb Double 534 (alt) - 10.85 kg / 23.90 lb 7x17 Tentacle 500 - 9.6 kg / 21.15 lb Track 501 * - 9.8 kg / 21.59 lb Cosmos 499 - 10.08 kg / 22.20 lb Multi 505 - 10.20 kg / 22.47 lb Race 498 - 10.45 kg / 23.02 lb Propeller 503 - 10.55 kg / 23.24 lb Roulette 502 - 10.60 kg / 23.35 lb Track 501 (alt) - 10.83 kg / 23.85 lb 7x18 Cross 506 * - 8.90 kg / 19.60 lb Cross 506 (alt) - 9.85 kg / 21.7 0lb Cone 507 - 11.44 kg / 25.2 lb Cup 509 - 11.6 kg / 25.55 lb Vanity 504 - 11.75 kg / 25.88 lb
I don't understand the 'winter' bit. Are MINI selling wheels meant specifically to be used with winter tires? I must have missed a memo somewhere along the line.....
Right, I just think it's strange to label them that way. They're just narrower wheels...right? I'm sure they aren't built or constructed in some unusual way that makes them winter-specific, not suitable for summer other than maybe aesthetically. Sure, you might make an intelligent choice to use narrower wheels for winter and switch back to something wider for summer but they're still just wheels. I guess I'm wondering whether they're hoping buyers will see the 'winter' label and decide they need to buy some because the wheels that came on their MINI won't work in the winter. Oops, is my cynicism showing?
The Winter Driving laws over in Europe vary quite a bit as seen here. Winter driving laws across Western Europe | Continental Tyres All the manufactures over there offer a winter wheel and tire package.
Thanks Angib, the science guy -- as usual. :biggrin5: One thing I learned when I built my Miata track toy, is that the optimum wheel/tire package isn't always what you think it will be. Many of my peers were using 16-plus inch wheels. But, after a lot of research, I went with 15X7 BBS wheels that weighed 11 pounds. On a car that weighs 2,400 pounds and has limited horsepower, huge, heavy wheels and black rubber-band tires just weren't the right choice. CD
I think you are describing what I call specification-itis - "But it's a bigger/smaller number, isn't that always better?" This is most often said by young men who may be obsessing about another 'important' number - though personally I've always found half a dozen rolled-up socks in my underwear make for a very satisfactory result. For example, loads of folks think a 10 MP camera will always be better than an 8 MP camera, though there is no number that will tell them that the 10 MP camera manufacturer buys reject beer bottles to make into its camera lenses. Similarly because number of airbags is an easy idea to understand, many people seem to think it measures the safety of a vehicle. That's specification-itis. In the motoring world I reckon US auto mags trumped everyone for dumb use of numbers by measuring lateral g on a skid pan and using that as some shorthand for cornering ability.
I dug around just a little re your * / alt entries. I didn't find much useful info on your 2nd or 3rd entries but I did find the following on the first set, the 17" Winter wheels Double 534 * (9.45kg) and Double 534 alt (10.85kg). Looks like your alt entry is actually Double Spoke 510. The 510 shows up as 10.85kg, an exact weight match, is also for the F56 and also 17". It's also 5.5" wide so this must be the correct Winter wheel entry. I can't find a weight for Double Spoke 534 but I did come up with a 7 x 18 wheel size. Given width, not a Winter wheel. Might want to move it to the 18" section and, unless better info comes up, use the same 9.45kg weight. Anyone with better (even conflicting) info, please post up. We're turning this into a short Library reference article and will use this thread for any updates you offer. Thanks.
There is now an article in the Library. The only significant difference you'll see is pics have been added in the article. Wheel Weights: 3rd Generation - Library