# "Wheels not available in the US". Why not?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheels-not-available-in-the-us-why-not/713914>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 1, 2015, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheels-not-available-in-the-us-why-not/713914 "2015-03-01T05:03:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheels-not-available-in-the-us-why-not/713914/21 "2015-03-02T21:43:18Z")

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[Sure it does](http://www.spireautomotive.com/pdf/mini-hatch-brochure.pdf) (p. 22) - just not in the US. Which brings us neatly back to the OP. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheels-not-available-in-the-us-why-not/713914/22 "2015-03-02T22:59:16Z")

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> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#):
>
> [Sure it does](http://www.spireautomotive.com/pdf/mini-hatch-brochure.pdf) (p. 22) - just not in the US. Which brings us neatly back to the OP. 🙂

Yup… Standard in the US is a 16" Silver Loop Spoke, with a Silver Victory Spoke or a Black Victory Spoke available at no extra charge.

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**Author:** ![busterpickle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@busterpickle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/busterpickle)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheels-not-available-in-the-us-why-not/713914/23 "2015-03-03T19:02:58Z")

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> [@rsa](#):
>
> This is totally wrong. I doubt any current car in the U.S. has a speed rating lower than “S” which is rated for 112 m.p.h.
> 
> [Here is a list of tire speed ratings.](http://www.michelinman.com/tires-101/tire-basics/about-tires/tire-speed-ratings-and-tread-life.page)

I concur, the only time I have ever seen the low-speed tires, as in under “S” rating were on re-treads, like for dump-trucks and other heavy vehicles.

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**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheels-not-available-in-the-us-why-not/713914/24 "2015-03-03T19:09:33Z")

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I’m assuming that one or more certain styles of wheels are not available in the US. Perhaps it is due to licensing reasons? For instance Mini may use a European wheel manufacturer as the OEM supplier for its cars but maybe that particular style is licensed to an American manufacturer for the US market and Mini doesn’t want to use their wheels for whatever reason.

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