mx5cartalk.com

Hi Guys, need your opinion here...
It seems in US there are a lot of MX5 using 16 X 8 with 0 offset, I must say they look hot with those Sportmax 002 but what abt the handling?
Has anyone here fitted those kinda wheels before?

C.O.W. (Can Of Worms)

In my own opinion.....I would look F*&king hideous. but thats not the point here.

It will be illegal for a start. in more ways that one. I'm very confident this is in all the states here in Australia. But it could be engineered.

The MX5 is an underpowered car so any excess wight will not be good.
The Mx5 is also a very light car so massive increase in unsrung weight is also a bad idea. Unless of course you go forced induction. But then the handilng will still be affected by excess weight.

0 offset. Looks overcooked. But on the other had lowers your center of gravity. increases wear on your wheel bearings. & YOU WILL ALSO BE A COP MAGNET.

on another note...... according to Norman Garret having wider tyres does not increase your contact patch. only changes the shape of the contact patch. So why bother going to a massive increase in width & extra wight.

My race car runs 16x8s in +35.....they rock. NFI how you'd get +0 under the guards though.

CT wrote:My race car runs 16x8s in +35.....they rock. NFI how you'd get +0 under the guards though.

No idea how...but this guy did it with 205/40/16 tyres. Apparently he just rolled the guard.

well i having some ssr mk2 coming in 3 weeks time.....they might be for sale when they arrives here....

15 X 8 ET + 6 and 15 X 8.5 ET+12...and they looks X 1000000000 times than the spotmax 002...

If you increase the track by that much(using 0) I would have thought that handling must be affected.

I would also imagine there could be increased tramlining and thatyou must be increasing the load on bearings etc.

Effectively the ratio of width to length is being altered( not exactly shortening the wheelbase but something similiar) and at the extreme you miht find it swaps ends a little easier than before when you do reach the limits.

Must admit it looks good though!!

Peter

The issue is that even rolling the guards means that with an offset like that, you can't afford to have your suspension use it's travel as it will rub on the guards. AND, that car has much more camber than an unmodified roady will get, which also helps the wheels miss the guards. When you get them that low, the steering geometry is often stuffed so don't expect it to drive well. Looks cool yes, but practical on the road..........not.

that NB actually looks pretty sweet, apart from the frigging bonnet that is........those rims look hot .......wouldn't be much chop to drive on aussie roads but

CT wrote:The issue is that even rolling the guards means that with an offset like that, you can't afford to have your suspension use it's travel as it will rub on the guards. AND, that car has much more camber than an unmodified roady will get, which also helps the wheels miss the guards. When you get them that low, the steering geometry is often stuffed so don't expect it to drive well. Looks cool yes, but practical on the road..........not.

Hei CT, got more pics of your car? Show us the engine as well

It pretty easy to fit, NB have much more room than NA's under the gaurds though.
You'll need at least -2deg camber all round and a good amount of rolling of the gaurds. Also on the NA model you'll have to be running 195's to clear everything.

As for load on the wheel bearings and such, i've been running in the +25 down to +0 for a good 2 years now and so far the bearings have held up fine, thats on an 89 import too. Handling wise i feel its much better, give the car a better footprint on the road and twistys are more fun. I drift with +9 offset on the front and either +25 or +40 on the rear, oversteer wise it doesnt make a difference - the main factor in snap oversteer is tyre grip/compound.

You will find it is a bit different to steer though cause of the pivot point on the tyre contact patch, i feel its better with +9 than +40 but hey i de-powered my power steering and i like that better.

Good luck with it!
Dave

I have 15x8 0 offset 002's on my car, handling is very different from the standard wheels. There is alot more grip, and the care feels very stable when cornering. The turn in suffers from having such a high offset, although you have more grip with the 002's, the car cornered faster with the standard wheels.

Im not out to win races, so it dosent bother me. I like them, and I like the way they look.. thats all that matters. Each to their own..

Im running 195/50 r15's stretched on the 8\" wheel, you couldnt pick it though. My guards have been rolled, and I am still to put alot more camber on the wheels..



oh and sorry for the crap photo, Im yet to get some good photos taken.

Cheers

green_comet: have you had any issues with stretching the 195/50 over such a wide rim? Cause thats pretty dam wide.

I wanted to fit Bridgestone re001s but due to the very hard sidewall they wouldnt stretch. I ended up going Nexen n2000 tyres, excellent wet grip, and dry grip is pretty good too.. They were the only two i tried to fit, the Re001's wouldnt stretch, and the Nexens went on no worries..

No issues with handling or drivability as a result of the sidewalls being over stretched?...

Nope everything is fine.. The tyres are not overly stretched on the wheels, 99%of people wouldnt even know they are 195's. Some people have crazy stretched tyres, that is when you need to start worrying about problems..

This picture always makes me cringe, and shake my head. :shock::shock:




The 195's will be fine, I have been driving with mine for a few months now, and have not had one problem.