Help! I'm terribly confused, but I'll try to make this simple. Current: Stock 15inch wheels on R56 Cooper. Want: I want Team Dynamics Pro Racing 1.2s in White. Like: I'd like to get rid of some of the wheel gap. (17s + lowering springs) Problem: Middle of Nowhere, South Western PA isn't very flat and some of the roads aren't very smooth or flat. Getting into my garage, down a dip in the driveway, my MINI just barely doesn't scape. Dream: Ideally I would like to be able to make my car appear lower (getting rid of some wheel gap with lowering springs - less than an inch) without it actually being lower to the ground (to avoid scraping). At first I thought if I'm getting wheels that are 2 inches larger in diameter then lowering it a little that I would maintain the same height from the ground that I am at now with the stock 15s. But I guess due to tire-thickness that wouldn't really be the case? Is there some configuration to achieve this? Less wheel gap but maintaining my current clearance from the ground (or close to it). Or should I just buy 16inch wheels and just deal with all the ugly wheel gap?
1. Swapping from 15's to 17's won't change the gap alone. What changes the gap and height is the outer diameter of the tire which relies solely on the tire specs you choose. 2. If your main concern is just scraping, I have a far better solution for you than monster truck looking tires. Roll the car into your garage. Either grab a screw driver and remove the lower lip under the bumper entirely or grab an exacto-blade and trim off an inch of it. When you scrape, that's the only thing anyone at your ride height scrapes. You're not scraping your subframe and you're not damaging your oil pan, so it really isn't something to worry about. It's just that plastic lip that hangs down a ridiculous 2-3 inches. You remove that and I can almost guarantee that you'll never scrape with 1" lowering springs. If it were me: 17" TD Pro's, 205/45/17 tires, 1" Lowering springs, Trim undercarriage lip. You can see how ridiculous the lip is in this picture. Easy to remove and frees up 2-3 inches of ground clearance. No more scraping noises.
Thanks Rally. Does this lip actually have any function? Or is it just there for looks? (Just wondering.) Can anyone point me toward reasonably priced lowering springs that don't drop it too much? Looks like springs are in the $200-$300 range. Is that all I need? (The labor won't be a problem, my bf & dad have already torn my car apart to change the rear sway bar.)
The function of the lip has been debated pretty heavily for a few years now. The consensus from most is that it was an aerodynamic move while others speculate that it encourages more air into the radiator/IC. I've removed mine on both cars and haven't noticed a single difference besides the lack of scraping. By lowering your car you're already achieving a similar aerodynamic improvement by cutting down the amount of air that goes under your car. $200-$300 is about right. H-sports lower the car about an inch which I personally think would be good for what you're looking to achieve. Mach V sells some that lower it a little less. Both are within your budget and offer comfortable rides as well.