Wheel/ tire combo for a street driven MINI S?

Time to upgrade my 2004 MINI Cooper S JCW.  It's wearing old 205/45ZR17 run-flats on the stock JCW "MiniLites" (perhaps the worst name ever given to some of the heaviest wheels ever built). The ride is horrible. It feels like it is riding on the rims. 
 

I purchased the car for Challenge money, and wanted to bring it to the $2000 Challenge. My last Challenge MINI S really woke up with sticky rubber and lighter 15" dia wheels. So I was waiting for a good deal on Challenge wheels.

Now it's my daily driver, and I think I have to get serious about good street tires/wheels, even if it costs me a little.

Any recommendations for a nice street setup?  What's the hot setup for a street driven MINI that might see occasional autoX?  (Might include suspension in the future)

In reply to SV reX :

I run mine on 16x7 Rota RBs with a 205/50 Continental all season tire. Roads up here are rough and 17s were too much. You would be fine on 17s and a 205 tire.

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

Yes, except I really hate the 17's I have. The acceleration suffers badly. 

I ran my 2006 Cooper S on 15x7 Konig Rewinds. These are fairly light, much lighter than the stock wheels, and made the car feel more alive.  The sidewall was pretty tall with the 15s, but ride quality improved and they worked well enough for occasional autocross.  The issue nowadays may be a lack of sticky rubber in that size with a 15.  If that's the case, look at the 16x7 Rota RBs that Warren suggested.  They look pretty good on a TR6.

Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 is almost always the right answer for a primarily sporty summer street tire with occasional motorsports use.

In reply to Andy Hollis :

I've actually got 3 of them in 205/50ZR 15's. I could buy a fourth and some 15 inch wheels...

In reply to SV reX :

Will 15" wheels fit over the brakes? Might be worth checking before investing on new wheels. 

In reply to Slippery :

Yeah, there shouldn't be any issues. The early JCWs didn't have a brake upgrade- they were standard brakes. But there are builds on this site that use big brakes with 15's, so I think I'll be ok

In reply to SV reX :

Yeah, You shouldn't have an issue. I've put 15" rims over JCW rotors/4 pot Wilwoods before. Currently I have the same size as the R56 S rotors and a pretty hefty caliper tucked easily under 15" rims. 

In reply to bmw88rider :

Do you know what offset you have used?

I know it's the next gen car, but since you mentioned suspension..... I had a 2008 cooper S, replaced the shocks with Koni Golds and it was a fantastic ride.  Good for around town but also better than stock for autox. 

15x10 ET12 ......245 tire......Basset wheels 

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

Those looks good

Looks like 15x8s would fit, on those you could run 205/50R15s or 225/45R15s where there will be a better selection of performance tires than you'd find in any 16" size, including all the Spec Miata takeoffs you could ever want. I've been eyeing Konig Dial-Ins or Advanti Storm S1s in that wheel size.

In reply to SV reX :

+45 on a 15x6.5" rim and +40 on a 15x7 rim

In reply to bmw88rider :

Whew!  I guess I'll avoid those +20s!

SV reX said:

In reply to bmw88rider :

Whew!  I guess I'll avoid those +20s!

You can run a 20 offset. What are the other dimensions?

Edit: do you have non-stock wheels on your Miata and have you put them on the MINI yet ?

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

Yes, but they don't fit. Hubs are different. 

In reply to SV reX :

The Miata wheels are hub centric ?

Get out the router !!

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

I hear you, but I've only got 2. The other 2 were destroyed in the wreck

Keep hunting, there lots of 4x100 wheels around. I saw a couple of sets of 15x8s just today. Miata and MINI owners are a dime a dozen around here.

In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :

Not around here. If it don't fit on a pickem up truck, it's Un-Amurican . 

15x8 +205/50 ECS is my favorite street setup ever.  If you can make that work on a Mini, do it.

In reply to ProDarwin :

Ha!  That's exactly what I was settling on!