I'm not a fan of 13x7's apart from looks perspective (hey we run them on the moke). IMO they are too wide for a mini, increase torque steer in high powered cars and tramline under brakes and over bumps not to mention the massive stresses on wheel bearings..

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Honest quesetion here - whenever wheel size comes up somebody brings up bearing wear. However it's always (? stand to be corrected) somebody without wide wheels that says they burn bearings.
How come nobody with wide wheels ever says "yeah, I chew through bearings".

Either they don't care (the price you pay) or it doesn't happen. Never have heard a definitive answer.....

Twincammini has 13x7s on his Suzuki Min, and it was always going through front bearings.
Not sure if it's on the road at the moment though.

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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.

Conversions don't count due to other factors affecting the geometry

That's my theory anyway

Spiro has 13x7's and has gone through 2 (timken tapered) wheel bearings in a year...so i'm talking from experience.



They look awesome and are still the only wheels for that car - but i stand by what i said before.

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Okay Josh, you are only taking into acoount Superlites (Superheavies)

At 13x7 the impart a lot of force onto the bearing surfaces due to the extra leverage they can apply with the 45mm negative offset. This is compounded by the additional weight that hangs outside the flange face

You can still run 13 x 7's or even 14 x 7's with minimal or no negative offset that would not stress the bearings anywhere near as much. Also wheels are available that are 1/4 the weight of Superheavies.

The same argument holds true for bump steer, torque steer as well.

Its not just the wheel width, but the wheel shape and weight that has as much to do with it as well.

Cheers,
Tricky

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"Not Speeding Officer..........Qualifying"

True..Superlites are stupidly heavy for their name, though i don't think you could fit a 7" rim under with much less offset? Would foul on the trailing arm/shock at the rear and on the front would foul on the shocks..

Any attempt to space it out would also negate the effects of the lower offset?

The bump steer and torque steer characteristics are mainly to do with the weight, agreed. I think it also has to do with the contact patch which with a 195+ tire the mini struggles to apply a firm footprint and the tires are designed for cars with much more weight than the mini.

The whole suspension geometry on a mini (not one on coil-overs) was never designed for such large wheels (14"+) and when originally designed the large sidewall of 10" tires was meant to work in unison with the rest of the components.

I don't think anyone can argue after driving a 10", 12" and 13" mini that the handling gets worse the larger you go without making serious changes.

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Is it only the 13x7 wheels that have drama with wheel bearings??? I've never had dramas with my 13x6's. Although they are running a 16+ offset. If its only for looks you gotta ask if its worth it. Not sure what a set of bearings cost because I've never had to replace mine on the GTI Mini.

Back on track times. Are 1/4 miles in other states open all year round??? Ours has closed until september. I wanted to run mine down in current spec to get an idea of what crappy tyres did to my times. If I have to wait till september then I may be doin a few more mods. Then I really will need those semi slicks. Will be aiming for around 120hp atw N/A power.

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Torque Steer is a very evil thing. Fun..... but evil.

West Aussie Mini Boys Represent...!!!

I don't know about elsewhere, but I know that Willowbank's open Wednesday nights most of the year... http://www.willowbank-raceway.com.au/ . Click on the link for "Test'n'Tune". I went to a few of these last year - never as a driver, only as a spectator, and never with a Mini. A mate had a blown, NOS'd V6 Gemini... Cars don't have to be engineered, just can't go under 11 seconds unless they've got a full CAMS cage, etc, and then you need licenses, etc. For a street car, you just need to have a helmet, and no visible oil/water leaks. Never saw anything other than V8's and Ricers. Read: I didn't once see a Classic car (well, a non-Australian one).
So someone from Brissie needs to go out and do a run!!! Sorry, my car isn't the one to show anyone up down the quarter, otherwise I'd have a run myself... Oh, and a tip, if you want more than two runs, get out there early. It's always busy.