Hey all
Want to get some opinions of 13's on mini's.
I've got 13's on lil and while they look nice, I keep hearing how they aren?t so great for handling.
Since I haven?t had or even driven a mini on 10's. I don?t have a point of reference to go from.
So my question to the world at large is: Any one got an opinion, Stemming from personal experience about them?
Mine are 13x5.5's running a 45 or 55 profile and are running with adjustable everything's.

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One Lill-Red 1100
A project morris van
One rusty assed delux shell
and a clubby van

Personally, I really liked 12" on the rear with 10" on the front.

I ran that for 2 weeks and loved it.

I didnt like 13"s all around because the car just felt heavier, 10's made it feel a bit more nimble through turns/bends.

Now I run 10"s all around.

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No more Minis!......For now.

13s can work very well if you bear in mind the following:

1. You will be using a tyre which is probably wider, and certainly lower profile, than with 10s. This makes it more sensitive to camber angles - so you need to take the time to setup the suspension properly, and obviously all the suspension joints must be in tip-top condition (no slop).

2. The wheels and tyres will be heavier than 10s so it is more important than ever to choose light weight wheels and good quality dampers, otherwise the ride will be 'crashy' over bumps.

3. Resist the temptation to offset the wheels outwards to fill some really wide arches. This will make the steering heavy and the car will get unsettled by bumps and ridges in the road surface.

I'm using some light Compomotive wheels from England, tucked as far in as I possibly can (the inside of the rear tyres *just* clears the trailing arm) with Koni Classic adjustable dampers, and everything is in perfect condition. It's not *quite* as nimble as my other Mini on 10" Minilites, but it is a lot closer than some would have you believe. It has a huge amount of grip too...

I run 12's, but i cant fit 10s, so i have nothing to go on. 12s seem to be good. i can out corner ALL of my mates cars, so its all good. Other than that, everything else in here looks true.

but it settles it for me, i wont go to 13s after looking through this page

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If only milk and orange juice is meant to come in 2 litres, only cheap wine comes in 5 litres...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13922833@N04/

I blew my Diff not long after fitting the 13's

I think you're supposed to get used to doing that with bigger wheels (especially if you have a fair amount of grunt).

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Bob Slattery
Duffman Says A Lot of Things - OH YEAH!!

looks good, handle bad

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I belive 12's are a better option, less dramas,nice ride, look great.

Doogie

PS to Bob, you & your wheels blew a diff recently, im sure you had a lot to do woth it too!!!!

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I won Hay once, here's the pic to prove it..


Hay, it's not about the car, it's not about the venue, it's about the people that come here. Peter Dwyer, Mayor of Hay NSW.

The handling is so much better on 10s. Accelaration is slightly quicker and there's less unsprung weight to carry around.

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Slide
1965 Mini Van (1360)
1970 Mk2 Cooper S (1310)
1978 Rover SD1 V8 (4.6)
1996 Land Rover Discovery V8 (4.0)

Thanks Jules.
I'm uncertain of the wheight of the wheels, They are a cast alloy minilight knock of made by preformance.
With the offset, If i squat at the rear of lil and look up the length of her, I can see that the fronts are offset somewhat. There aren't any spacers in the front assy so would i be corect in assuming that they would be as narrow as practical?
Suspension setup is something that i would like to spend a little time learning how to do properly. I dont think the cowboys that did my last wheel alighnment did to good a job ether.
Thanks again Jules

To all in general
The reason i ask about this is:
On account of lil having 13's and fairly standard arches. I think she sits exccesivly high and therefor would like to cut the guards and screw the hilo's in a bit. But am currently working my way through some handling issues. If they are in part caused by 13's, I wont cut the guards and i'll change to 10's.
The issue is that on grand junction rd, between chirchill and south rd she tramlines (or kicks to the side) like an absolute cow. If i'm not paying attention i recon it could spit me accross atleast into the next lane, or off the road......
Anyone else had issues like this?

While the 12's are nice she came with 13's and i've got 2 sets of 10's in the shed. So i doubt that i can justify buying a set of 12's. Well not with the van sitting in the shed sreaming at me to spend some money on him.

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One Lill-Red 1100
A project morris van
One rusty assed delux shell
and a clubby van

Hmm... not sure what you mean about the offset.

What tyres are you using, and how much do they clear the rear suspension arm (inside corner of the tyre)?

i have used 13 for years, for me its looks and also less tyre roll going around corners, u dont see V8 supercars on 14"noe do ya???? Im happy with my 13"s and the overall weight differance is bugger all as the rim is heavier but tyre is lighter .

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A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but a true friend will be sitting next to you saying "Damn...that was fun!"

Race cars and street cars are 2 different keetles of fish, V8 supercars do run suspension that is designed to run the tyre/wheel combination that they run and do not use any standard suspension part or geometry from the production car. Have a look at one of the super minis racing with 13 inch wheels, they move the suspension pickups to overcome the problems that are caused by fitting such large wheels to the vehicles, minis were designed to run 10 inch wheels and the whole front end design is for 10 inch wheels and wihtout major work the larger wheels do not handle as well and increase bumpsteer and tramlining to the point that the car is uncomfortable to drive

Jon

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Roundies and Clubbies(except vans) are both ugly that is why I have Midas and a van
1293 Mini Midas Bronze,1275 Clubman van

ts the same rolling dia , so ur telling me a moke will not corner. i think this topic always upsets someone.

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A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but a true friend will be sitting next to you saying "Damn...that was fun!"

same rolling dia as what a mini with 12 inch wheels and yes mokes do not handle as well as mini at speed, dont get so upset 13s look great but they just dont handle as well

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Roundies and Clubbies(except vans) are both ugly that is why I have Midas and a van
1293 Mini Midas Bronze,1275 Clubman van

The rolling diameter isnt really the problem, the 12's are generally heavier so there is more unsprung weight, the result being the tyres dont track the road surface as well. Also there is more mass further out so the 12's have a higher moment of inertia which will reduce the acceleration.