Thanks Timmy - beaut looking little red rocket.

I went back into the comparison website to see what each of the rims and tyre combinations would look like vs the original 3.5" steels with 145/80's on them.

With the "genuine" minilites with +23 offset: tyres 6mm further away from shocks and protrude out a further 6mm
For the reverse coopers with +16 offset: tyres 13mm further away from shocks and protrude out a further 13mm
For the contessas with +17 offset: tyres 12mm further away from shocks and protrude out a further 12mm

So if sticking with the 145/80 tyres, all of these rims are ok.

Looking at the option of going with 165/70 tyres, these are the results

With the "genuine" minilites with +23 offset: tyres 4mm closer to shocks and protrude out a further 16mm
For the reverse coopers with +16 offset: tyres 3mm further away from shocks and protrude out a further 23mm
For the contessas with +17 offset: tyres 2mm further away from shocks and protrude out a further 22mm

Looking at these figures, the minilites with +23 offset appear to be suitable with either 145 or 165 tyres on them - providing I've got sufficient clearance on the inside to allow for the tyres to be 4mm closer to shocks.

However, the minisport (and minispares obviously) website state that the drum brake version (+23) are not suitable for 165 profile tyres and you need a spacer. I wonder if they're just being overly cautious with the reduction in clearance. I note they sell 3mm and 6mm spacers so maybe that's their answer where spacers are ok to use. Mind you, I don't know what difference a 3mm spacer screwed onto the brake drum would make safety wise. Very little I'd reckon.

I could fit steeped drums on the rear as Doc has suggested and they would bring the wheel 25mm further away from the shocks giving plenty of clearance on the inside and would make the tyres protrude out a further 25mm bringing the total distance out to 16mm + 25mm = 41mm. The contessas you have on with 165 tyres protrude out 22mm according to the calculator.

If these numbers are correct, it means that if I wanted to fit 165's down the track and end up with clearance issues to shocks, then I'd need to fit stepped drums and the wheels would stick out a further 19mm to your contessas, unless I went with S offset rims. Bit hard to tell in your pic but with an extra 19mm, do you reckon you'd need flares?

Cheers Rocky

The standard Contessa wheels definitely won't fit with stepped drums without flares. But they fit fine with 165 tyres so you shouldn't need the extra spacer.

Just remember that all 165 tyres aren't the same. The A032R tyres have pretty slim sidewalls, the A008 are a bit more rounded, and the Falken 165 are wider again.

If you fit the spacer drums front and rear (along with the matching longer wheel studs) then you could go with the "S" offset wheels front and back. This would give you the option of 145 or 165 tyres, and if you were to do a disc brake upgrade in the future you could keep the same wheels and rear brake setup.

I currently have the minispares minilife / ST / C-21A1968 wheels on my mini and they are great quality. I bought them used and they're 14 years old and the paint is still very good, mine have polished lips (C-21A1964) and no problems with clear coat peeling or damage from age.

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Thanks Timmy - you've pointed out a few things I didn't know or hadn't considered.

I just assumed that all 165 tyres would be the same and now I understand what Doc was saying about the Falkens being baggy in the sidewall. I'd give them a miss and go with something better.

I also hadn't thought about putting stepped drums all round and then getting S offset rims. Makes sense for longterm options of going disc brakes and there seems to more options rim wise with an S offset. My mindset was stuck on leaving the front as is and only considering the rear.

The wheel and tyre combo are expensive enough so I'm trying to work out what will be best so I don't have to replace them if things don't work out.

Cheers Rocky

Individual cars can also be different as well as tyre / rim combos. Years ago I fitted 165 bridgestones to standard rims and ran them no problems on 1 car. When I changed wheels I put the bridgsttone wheels on another car and they touched the shockers. I made 5mm spacers which solved the problem. So same model mini different outcome. You may have to go with what you like best and deal with issues as they arise.

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Cheers Dave.

G'day Dave,

Well there's another thing to consider - I wrongly assumed they'd all be the same. Thanks for the headsup.

I think your suggestion of dealing with the issues when or if they arise might be the way to go. I know that I shouldn't have problems with 145 tyres and might have a problem with 165's if I ever decide to fit them.

I'll get under Minnie and see what I can find out clearance wise each side. It's hard to measure under there while it's on the ground.

Cheers, Rocky.

Logically alll dimensions are the same ....within production tolerances or course .... and allowing for the different drum type option (only 2?

However, rear camber changes will affect clearances... as I would also expect with toe changes..

Cheer, Ian

Well I've taken a few measurements and the results aren't all that encouraging for an easy decision. I thought I'd have clearance issues with the shocks but that's not the case. The radius arms are the problem.

On the driver's side I've got about 11mm from the tyre sidewall to the shocks and about 5mm to the radius arm.
On the passenger side - 9mm to the shocks and 3mm to the radius arm.

So if I get the drum brake version with +23 offset, I'll need to run with 145 tyres unless I fit steeped drums or fit a small (say 6mm) spacer. Could well be the easiest solution. My only concern here is that currently, there is only one decent tyre in that size and what happens if they stop making it? That's why is was looking at having the option of 165's in the future.

Timmy - your contessas have an extra 6mm offset and so the 165's fit ok.

Other option is go stepped drums all round and get S offsets.

Didn't have these same issues with the F150 I've restored

Thanks everyone for all your help with this.

Cheers Rocky

Bother.. .sounds like a bent radius arm...

Cheers, Ian

I reckon that's the case Ian.

You may recall that I've recently asked for help with toe out on the rear and it was suggested that a bent radius arm could be the culprit.
After a fair bit of mucking around, I hope (fingers crossed) I've overcome the toe out issue by putting on a modified bracket.

I did my best to assess the arms when I was doing Minnie up and before I rebushed them etc. I thought they were real close compared to each other but a whisker out would make a fair bit of difference.

All part of the fun I guess and nothing that can't be overcome by throwing a bit more money at it

Cheers, Rocky

There’s a few options in 145mm at the moment:
Falken SN807
Yokohama Y350 GT Special
Aquajets
Blockley 145
Dunlop SP10
Dunlop SP175

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Thanks Timmy,

I'll keep all those in mind when I need new ones. More options than I thought, even If I need to get them on special order or direct from the UK.

Cheers Rocky

Nankang also do 145 and 165 at a reasonable price and available.

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Cheers Dave.

An old and bold racer once told me about a jig that his team used if they suspected damage to a rear trailing arm due to an off course excursion (exceed track limits as they call it today or other "incidents"..... Basically two pieces of curtain rod connected together forming an "H". The end of one rod fitted over the stub axle and the other fitted though the trailing arm pivot. If the stub axle and the mounting hole were parallel all was good. Otherwise a new trailing arm was required....

Cheers, Ian