Sounds like a good plan. Both wheel and tire combo if it's just for street use. I usually recommend either Nitto Neo Gens or Hankook Ventus V12 Evos. Seen both perform very well for the "spirited" street driver of MINIs.
Lighter rims will make the car feel more "playful".
I was so amazed by the change with my 15' winter rims/tires, i have been toying with finding lighter 16's for a few years...but my 16's are the lightest oem 16's....so i have held off...keep finding other stuff to buy!!
I have heard that reducing rorational mass gets you 4x the payoff of static, so tires and rims are a more costeffective way to improve things imo than many others!!
For tires, many folks have been surprised with some of the "general" tires, now they are owned by conti....one thing to watch for...many of the more popular cheaper tires have soft sidewalls, ok for the street, but a bit soft for track/suto-x use imo.
Lighter wheel/tire package pays off several ways. Weight, unsprung weight, rotational mass both going & stopping. I too felt that my MINI gained a few pony's once the winter tires went on, holies with Pirelli snow controls. Lost cornering grip in the dry should pay dividends in the snow..
