Sorry Alex, do your measurements then let us know what you think...

The Falken is roughly 145mm ish across the tread... while the Bridgies are only about 120... A008s are in between but close to the Falkens... all nominally 165s.

It obviously depends a bit on what you mean by tread width.. do you measure the bit that sits on the road or include the patterned bit at the base of the sidewall.. Even including the sidewall pattern won't get you anywhere near 165mm...

cheers, Ian 

Almost right.  The section width is across the tread not the sidewalls.  Falkens have a much more pronounced bulge than Yokos as they are constructed differently, and behave differently on the road.  If the section width was measured across the sidewalls, they'd be the same bulge.

If I remember, I'll chuck a tape across some different sets.

I just bought from the UK  some NANKANG tyres in both 145/70/12 inch and 165/60/12  . Damn cheap. with DOT marking..  do NOT buy the ones here on ebay.com as they are 21 inches HIGH..  must be 19.3 or less to work on a classic mini.. later bc

I have tried 145/12s on 4.5 Rover wheels, with the power level of my 1360 Cooper S the fronts would not hold the power in first and second in the dry and wet I could spin them in any gear. I replaced the 145s with 165/12s still using the 4.5 Rover 12 inch minilite copy. They just barely stick out from under standard fenders without flares. The also solved my tire spin issues. I'm currently working on a mid 80s Mayfair with 5.5 wheels and 145s I think it will look much better on 165/12s and the anniversary flares. I also have a car with sport pac flares and 6/12 wheels and it looks very much the part with 165/12 tires. Currently building a power unit for it with a lot of help from Nick Swift. For serious work he has a set of 5.5 wheels with Yoko 165/12 autocross tires they don't last long but do the job. Steve (CTR)

golf cart tyres are NOT legal here in the USA on ANY car.. or very safe.. to say the least

"..Are those much wider than the stock tires?"

Uuuummmmm  145/60 12 = 145mm section = 145mm (5.7 inches) overall (nominal) width = overal width of tyre measured at its widest point (about the middle of the sidewall) when mounted on the manufacturers spec wheel.  A 165 tyre in nominally 6.5 inches wide....  Different manufactures obviously use different size  wheels....

I was interested to recently find that a (165/70-10) Yoko A008 is about 10mm (approx half an inch) narrower than the same sized Falken..both mounted on 4.5" wheels.  A 165 Bridgestone was a bit narrower than the Yoko...

A wheel with more offset will have a more aggressive appearance.

You might want to search for earlier threads on "golf cart" tyres... Mini tyres only come in 145 or 165 widths (for 10 or 12 " wheels).

Cheers, Ian

Are those much wider than the stock tires?

 go with 165/60 12.s.. I do NOT like the 13 inch ones.. as they do NOT drive well in the rain. all over the road.. as minis do NOT have enough weight to hold them down..  

I would like to make my new Mini look a little more aggressive looking with a little wider tire than the stock 145/70R12 tires.  I have read a lot about 13 inch rims and the negative things it can do to the car and suspension.  What recommendations do you guys have for the over best handling and looks for tire size and any pictures would be awesome.