What are the best options for a minilite wheel , either genuine minilites or copied.?.

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WANTED - COOPER S

1973 GTR XU-1

I have some Minispares Minilife wheels - now called “ST”. They are 4.5” wide and have the right offset for 7.5” disc brakes and no flares
https://www.minispares.com/c-21a1968-wh ... l-s-offset

I bought them used and they were made in 2010, so it shows how well they hold up

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If you haven't seen it, there is a technical article by MiniSpares, explaining the history and connections between the Minilite/Minilife/ST names at:

https://www.minispares.com/blog/2023/11 ... t/#respond

Thanks for that. I hadn’t seen it before.

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WANTED - COOPER S

1973 GTR XU-1

The Web advertises Minilite wheels produced by a follow on version of the original company Tech Del.

MSpares advertise theirs as "closest" option to the original 60 Minilite. I think this refers to the fact that the later TechDel versions have "Made in UK" and the size cast into the outside of their new wheels.

Apart from this labelling, the ones I bought around 20 years ago look identical to the original (magnesium) ones that a friend has. Maybe the Magnesium wheels look a tad greyer than the silver finish on mine. Notably all Minilites are painted ... originally to protect the magnesium which is highly reactive and would quickly deteriorate if left unprotected....

Cheers, Ian

There’s been so many different revisions and different manufacturers over time. The “best one” can mean a few things to different people depending on what you’re looking for:
Quality & longevity
Diameter and width
Availability of spare caps and nuts
Resemblance to 1960’s wheels

For me - I wanted to fit the wheels without flares so the Minispares 4.5” was the best one in that size and offset.

Top left is original 1967 minilite magnesium wheels. Soft transition from the spokes to the barrel and also note the raised edge on the lip

Top right is the revised 1969 Minilite magnesium wheels with the thicker flat lip

Bottom left is new Tech-Del Minilite with cast details. The inner edge where the casting marks are is quite square compared to the original

Bottom right is Minispares Minilife or ST wheels

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I have 5x magnesium 10x5.5” tech del minilites which I will get refurbished & crack tested before using.
I swapped them 40+ years ago for some 100+’s I had. Some pics ..
Btw - I do realise the spare won’t fit under the boot board.

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1970 Mk2 Cooper S under restoration

I've often wondered if the "raised lip" Timmy refers to is rather the result of a reduced thickness outer rim (thereby reducing weight) for a wheel intended for circuit racing whereas the thicker flat outer edge might be intended as strengthening for wheels intended for rally use????

The original wheels I've seen have the thicker edge. LBL6D has the thicker edge in the Gaydon Museum.

Tech Del called the 4.5" rim the "FIA" style in their catalogue. They mirror the dimensions of the standard S rim and fit (juuuust) under standard arches with 165 tyres....

Cheers, Ian

Mine have the flat thicker outer edge and different thicknesses where the tyre bead beds -10.6mm width outer and only 8.3mm inner . Interesting .

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1970 Mk2 Cooper S under restoration

The raised/stepped lip was the earlier design. They revised it to the flat/wide lip for more strength pretty quickly

Minilite, minilife, minilight, superlight - pick your favourite!

My other favourites are the Performance brand version in 5.0” and 5.5”

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What’s the best width to fit under the standard “S” flares ?

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WANTED - COOPER S

1973 GTR XU-1

Most 6" are too wide unless they're GB alloys. (And probably illegal re track width).
5-1/2 are uncommon.
I run 5" 'Mini offset' ROH Contessas, they are legal under my Innocenti Mini flares, or Cooper S ones.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

There is a theory held by some that anything much over standard compromises handling and puts greater stress on components.

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Cheers Dave.