Wheels

[PaulAmes]

I want to use the Rover Sportspack Wheels on my Honda powerd mini. It has teh metro stud pattern - is there a way that I can get these to fit?

[Geehawk]

Wrong PCD as you say, and completely the wrong offset too. So the answers no I'm afraid.

[mikeb]

why dont you use metro turbo 4pot set up .this way you can put any wheels you want on it as there the same pcd as a mini

[mikeb]

so it looks like i'll have to bin my brakes then !!!!! :oops:

[mikeb]

and my nice +shiny sports pack wheels :o

[PaulAmes]

There has to be some way to do it - I mean the wheels will fit on the hubs when they are redrilled. Whats wrong with the offset? Will the wheel be sticking to far out or too far in? I cant see the wheel sticking too far out. What offset is needed and what has the sportpack arches got - anyone?

[Oz - not logged in, oops]

Whether the Sportpack wheels and Metro brakes will fit depend on whose subframe you are using.

Watsons and P&L use K series Metro hubs and brakes so will only accept K Series Metro fitment wheels and brakes

The SAE frame use Mini hubs and brakes so the Metro Turbo brakes will fit as will the Sportpack wheels BUT since the SAE frame is buily around the K Series frame you will need arches of at least 5/6 inches to cover the Sportpack wheels as the K series frame is much wider than the Mini frame putting the hubs outside the bodywork.

Really the only way to use your Metro Turbo brakes and Sportpack wheels and keep them inside Sportpack arches is to get the welder out and make your own frame from a Mini subframe !!!!

I believe AMT were supposed to be building a frame that put the Vtec in a standard roundnose front an used Mini hubs retaining the Minis track but this never seems to have materialised considering Andy at AMT told me this time last year that the frames would be ready in about a month !!! :shock: :? I gave up calling in the end and started looking at the Watsons frame !

If its the Sportpack look you are after and you are using a Watsons/P&L frame, there is a company advertising in the Mags that produce a shallow dish 5x13 Sportpack wheel (I think its a KN wheel). You could try them as to whether they could make a Metro spec version of this wheel, just a thought.

If its the Sportpack look you are after and you are using a Watsons/P&L frame, there is a company advertising in the Mags that produce a shallow dish 5x13 Sportpack wheel (I think its a KN wheel). You could try them as to whether they could make a Metro spec version of this wheel, just a thought.

I tried that, and they don’t do a 13" Rover 100 wheel in a 'Minilite' style wheel, you need a Rover metro 100 wheel - not to be confused with a Mini Metro wheel, - not the same stud pattern and and an offset of at least ET38. eg 4" in 1" out from the hub ( there abouts)

And guess what? nobody makes them. I’ve tried them all, the only solution is to buy CXR's from Compomotive, They are correct – like the ones I have for sale, or have 14" star type mags as on Tony's car

KN is currently trying to make a wheel for ‘Our’ cars, but its some way off yet, Geoff has some samples I had sent, and he is seeing what can be done to machine metal off the back, otherwise it makes the 'Watsons' car look like ‘Carlos Fandango’ with most of your wheel on the outside of your body work – See the photo of the black car on www.watsonsrally.co.uk for an idea of how wide the car looks like without Sports Pack arches on.

Or try and ask Minilite to make another set as they have done for me, Neither option is cheap (£600 ish) of suffer people laughing and pointing out that after all that hard work, you only have cheap Metro wheels on your expensive car.

C.ab

[Colin.ab]

See this page and you wil see what I mean if you put on any wheel with the slightest dish in it. - Black car at the bottom

http://www.watsonsrally.co.uk/page5.html

C.ab

[PaulAmes]

I take it you are looking at the width of the car?!! Yeh its a bit much - will this be true for the sportspacks?! The wheels are bolted a fair way from the center - how come any other wheel will make a difference. The sportspack hasnt got a dish on it.

[Geehawk]

Those being 7" wide does not help either.

I would say go for a 14x6 wheel, with 195/45 tyre. With a et38 offset. There are more styles about (compomtive even do a Minilite style one) and I doubt anyone would really look twice.

The sportspack wheel may not be dished in the traditional sense (big shiny flat outer rim), but the effect is the same. ie the mounting face is nearer the centre of the wheel, rather than the outside, the effect visually is lessend cos the "spokes" go the the wheels edge

Even if you could fit them (by changing PCD), apart from looking W...I...D...E, the handling would be atrocious.

Graham

[PaulAmes]

yeh but by going with 14" wont I have to really play about with my arches to fit them on - even my back ones?

[Colin.ab]

Really the only way to use your Metro Turbo brakes and Sportpack wheels and keep them inside Sportpack arches is to get the welder out and make your own frame from a Mini subframe !!!!

As Oz said it, there is no way you can fit Sports Pack wheels to a Watson/PL Rover 100 subframe, if you desperately want to use them you only have the option of an AMT frame and ageing Vauxhall engine conversion (sorry GM boys)

The Sports pack wheel has a dish, - concave, a Rover 100 wheel is convex - meaning the dish goes out like the shape of a football, the suspension hub on a Watson/PL frame is level with the outside of the cars body work, so any wheel you put on to it needs to have the tyre further back inside the cars wheel arch, unles you want to have the Fortech Mini wheel arch look.

http://www.7ent.com/page.cfm?pageid=5


C.ab

[PaulAmes]

Ummm, OK I get your point - sorry if i seem so persistant but sometimes you have to see it yourself before you will beleive it!! So can I get the Compomotive ML Motorsport Wheel which is on there website as this is the classic shape? Will this fit on my hubs? If it does I would like to keep to 13" cos it will fit under the rear arch (wont it :roll: ). However what width would be good - christ they go up to 13x10!!

[Geehawk]

A 14" wheel running a 195/45 tyre has a smaller rolling radius than a 185/55 13" tyre (which will fit), and is only approx 2cm bigger diameter than a 175/50 (just over 1cm would be lost between tyre and arch)

Yes you may have to play with arches, but even with a 13" with a 175/50 thats true at the front. At the rear you can probably get away with it, I ran 185/55r13 tyres without cutting the rear, as does Darren I believe.

I only chose to modify the rears as I wanted to go lower at the back. For the amount of work required in doing the whole conversion, modifying the arches is quite minor.

I think Colin said compomotive don't do ther ML in a 13" with the correct fitment, although according to their website they do it in a et38. Best bet is to contact them.

Dont go over 6" in width, if you want to keep the handling.

Graham

[PaulAmes]

i dont like the sound of 14's - my mini is gradually loosing its mininess! The car is bound to handle better with the 13's on and the ride will be slightly better 2. is this not true.

[PaulAmes]

Just looking at Colin.ab's comments (in for sale) about the ML wheels not fitting the metro hub - surely you can just change the PCB to fit and the offset will be fine?

[Geehawk]

Personally, I think the handling on 13s would be about the same as 14s, although the Metro people seem to believe that 14s are better than 13s or 15s. I cant really comment as I've not been in one with them fitted.

As to ride, it would probably be much the same again.... bloody rough :lol: With 13's on 175/50s though you probably get the best chance of getting the ride smoother, as it allows more space to have suspension move rather than have it rock solid to avoid rubbing.

Certainly whichever you choose, you should find the ride and handling with the Metro suspension, much better than standard Mini suspension running 13's. Tramlining and bumpsteer are a thing of the past (provided of course you get your wheel offsets right :D )

Graham

Youre best off speaking to Compomotive about the ML thing. It might be that they cant do a 13" in a et38 for some reason???

[PaulAmes]

OK, think that is what I will try to do - get the ML's 13x6 on mine if they do the et38's - then I will just have to drill for the PCD. Where is a good place to buy the ML's? Any good packages about?

[Geehawk]

Order them direct from Compomotive. Then, if its possible to do, they will make them up for you, with correct offset and PCD.

If you go through a 3rd party for something thats not standard, then you have a high chance of getting the wrong thing.

[Oz - still not logged in]

Has anyone tried MWS ?

The P&L blue clubman had 5.5x14 minilights, and I see they do a very flat (ie inset) 5.5x13 minilight (like the KN Minators) that might fit under a sportpack arch. I dont know if they do a Metro fitment tho'.

BTW I checked the mag and the 5x13 Sportpack replica is advertised by Revolution as a SCP Minator !!

[Colin.ab]

OK, think that is what I will try to do - get the ML's 13x6 on mine if they do the et38's - then I will just have to drill for the PCD. Where is a good place to buy the ML's? Any good packages about?

KN does a ML with an ET38, but not in a Rover 100 stud pattern - I’ve tried.

Why bother wasting your time re drilling hubs when you can with a little searching obtain the correct type of wheels?

Spending a lot of money on a conversion like this and just putting on any type of wheel that takes your fancy that was not designed for the suspension geometry will get you killed.

Don’t underestimate how quick these cars can travel, it may be a standard Honda engine, but the car it is being fitted to was not designed to do 130mph, and it will get you there in no time at all.

I switched lanes high speed at Castle Combe because of cheap tyres and hit the Armco hard and bent my wheel and suspension on the cars first day out.

The only people to speak to in my humble opinion - as I’ve spoken to them all several times - are Compomotive - very helpful people, product second to non.

Components Automotive 73 Limited
4/6 Wulfrun Industrial Estate,
Stafford Road, Wolverhampton,
West Midlands, WV10 6HG
United Kingdom

Tel: 01902 311499
Fax: 01902 715213

Or Minilite- ask for Don, who has gone out of his way to make a set correct wheels for 'Our' type of car - that is a Rover 100 suspended car - Mine with larger brakes tho.

(Minilite)Tech-Del Ltd.
Unit 4 ARoughmoor Ind. Est.
Williton
Taunton
Somerset
TA4 4RF

Tel: 01984 631033
Fax:01984 631044

If they cant answer your questions then no one can.

Don’t listen to any bull from wheel shops or wholesalers who have 'Special' deals on.

They don’t have a clue about Honda Minis and how they perform, unless you have a particular taste for Hospital food - Providing you survive the crash in the first place that is.

C.ab (sorry rant over)

[PaulAmes]

I was only redrilling hubs because I CANT find the correct type of wheels. I will give these two companys a call and see what they say though. I just want a 13" wheel which looks like it belongs on a mini.

[Minimivic]

Dont know if this helps but here goes :lol:

I am running 7x15's with a 45mm ofset ( OK,OK Show off etc etc) :lol:

But if you use a metro subframe you can cope with 5.25" inside of rim at the front. what that means is that if you measure from the mounting on the wheel to the inside of the rim you have upto 5.25". This means that you can run a 5.5 or 6 x 13/14/15 with a 49-50mm offset. If you redrill the flanges to 100mm PCD you can use Vauxhall fitment wheels and get a massive choice.

Best to double check this because i had to use a 3mm spacer to clear my calipers.

BTW: my 7x15's stick out about 20mm wider than sportpack arches.

If you take the 7" wide ( 175mm) divide by 2 to get the centre line of the wheel 87.5 and add the offset 45mm you get 132.5mm inside mount to rim edge or 5.3" or 43mm to outside of rim
So take the same principle for 6" rim 150mm divide by 2 = 75mm add offset of 49 = 124 so 5" inside but only 25mm to the outside of the rim.

So 6x 13/14/15 with a 49 offset should fit under standard sportspack arches.

P.S I take no responsability for wrong wheel choice, but am willing to help anyone that needs more info or help on this. :?

[MINIMOKE]

MINIMIVIC
I have a chance to pick up some 13"x5.5 wheels with 40mm offset.Will they clear the caliper?The bolt pattern is 100x4 which I intent to switch to.
Do you think they will work?

[strudel]

Minimivic, What size and type of tires are you actually using in your car?

[PaulC]

Hi everyone,
Sorry to bring up the wheel subject again but i am thinking of fitting 14" wheels to my mini. I'm using the SAE kit which uses mini hubs and mg metro 4 pot calipers. What offset do i need to keep the wheels under portspack arches?

Thanks for any advice Paul C

[PaulC]

Thanks Darren. I don't know if the track is the same i'll have to investigate this further.

Paul C