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Hey guys, I know there are so many similar questions going around the forum, but I found that none of the answer are suitable for me, so I would really want to ask this question again, I am really sorry, if someone felt irritating.

So here is the question, I have a NB8B with the original 16inch Mazda wheels/rims, I assume they are the same (please correct me if not), and I would like to upgrade my wheels/rims, and I am kind of stuck in the middle. I went to a tyre shop and asked for some advise and the guy suggested me to go 17inch for better look, concerning, and more fun, because bigger rims will have thin tyres, so I can even feel all the little rocks while driving (I don't know why does he want me to feel the rock). However, our lovely friend - geofiz suggested me to go for 15inch or stay as 16inch and the reason for that is because the wheels will be lighter for the car, and at the end before I left his house, he told me that smaller sidewall of the tyres will let me have better concerning, so I am back to beginning......

What should I really get?
15inch with balloon tyres
15inch with tyres as thin as possible
16inch with thin tyres
16inch with original tyres (stay the same) which I feel thats not a upgrade to me
17inch with thin tyres

And now I am in between of the choice of wheels, should I go 15inch, 16inch or 17inch. Although I am focusing on the performance more than look seriously I don't want to have a 15inch wheels with balloon tyres.

Please guys, tell me what should I go for?
By the way the car is mostly on the street, not track race, maybe I will someday, but not today.

15's have the advantage of being lighter and also tyres appear to be much cheaper so from a purely performance side they'd be the best choice. Personally I would stick to a 16x7 or x8 for the NB since they look much nicer than the 15's (fill in the guard better) and the drive isn't harsh like the 17's.

Wheels are one of those things where personal preference plays a major part in your descision, I'd suggest trying to drive on a couple sizes and see what you like best.
On that note, if you want to drive my SE and see how the stock 17's feel you're more than welcome, just pm me.

Thank you for the offering and the explanation my friend, I would love to try to drive a NB with 15" since I saw a lot of that combination going around to youtube, it is much smaller and lower. I guess 16" may be is the best size, is that possible and legal to have a thinner tyre on that, or I should go to the tyre shop and ask for a lightest 16"/17" with thin hard tyre?

Smaller sidewall giving better cornering (after a certain point) is a fallacy.

Tires need some distortion to work or they aren't able to absorb cornering forces. Have a look at most race cars, while they are "low profile" ie their ratio of sidewall to tread width is low, they all keep a reasonable sidewall height.

The "low profile tires handle better" thing came around when a 50 series tire was low profile, and was true, compared to say something running a 155/85/13 tire.

Which ever way you go, car ride height should be almost exactly the same if the tyres are the correct size. Ie a 195/45/16 might equal a 195/50/15. Total diameter should be within a few mm. (not necessarily in those sizes, just an example)

So as a general rule,
17s are rubbish, ask how many se owners sold their 17s and got smaller rims to keep their fillings in.
15 will absorb bumps better
15 will get stickier tires cheaper, so corning will be faster per $ (not counting buying rims which had some pay off period.
15 vs 16, particular on a nb is personal choice in terms of looks.
Lighter wheel and tire combo will "feel" better and will generally drive better (this rule breaks down when your talking track cars and big rubber, which is ultimately faster, despite being heavier, but loses some of the light "feel".

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15" tyres are cheap, whether it be rubbish chinese tyres/performance street tyres/semi slicks
15" rims are more likely to be lighter
15" have a lot more wheels available in 4x100pcd
15" in my opinion look terrible on nb 2's.

16" tyres are more expensive
16" rims are going to be heavy unless you get lightweight racing rims like Rays/Volk etc.
16" are the factory size, and suit the car perfectly.

17" tyres are so expensive, go google to prove this
17" rims are so heavy, even the stock SE ones are boat anchors
17" dont have a lot in 4x100
17" can look good, but if stock height will look too big and clunky.

I would say stick with 16", maybe go 7" or 8" in width, lower the offset so they sit more flush and fill the guards a bit better.
Any time you change wheels the cars look changes so much, doesn't always have to be bigger to be better

NB owner here.

Going from 16" to 15" was the best decision I've ever made (as long as you get rims lighter than stock - I got 15*7 6ULs) in terms of "performance mods".

The car felt more agile. I felt that the car could accelerate a little faster. I could get much better tyres for just $100 a corner. The 3 factors put together allowed me to corner at a higher speed than before without feeling like I've disrupting the balance of the car.

I picked higher profile tyres to ensure that the diameter remains the same as my original 16" (195/50/15 vs 205/45/16). It was alot more comfortable to drive in, especially for day to day purposes.

Looks wise - it's a personal preference. I lowered my car a little to keep it in 'proportion'...

17" rims should NEVER be put on an an NA/NB unless it's just for stance or photoshoots - they're heavy, ride/handle shithouse and I'm one of the many SE/MSM owners who gladly upgraded to 15" rims and will never ever go back to 17s.

16" rims are aesthetically the best for NBs which is why they came that way, unfortunately tyre choice is limited and more expensive than 15" tyres.

15" rims on an NB give it the 4WD look:



You will need to lower your car to fix that (via coilovers or lowering springs).

Here's some "evolution" shots of my SE/MSM for comparison...

17" OEM SE/MSM Racing Hart Rims at OEM height (hate that rear wheel arch gap):


Top: 17" OEM SE/MSM Racing Hart Rims and Lowered (via BC Racing BR Series coilovers):
Bottom 2: 15" 6UL 15x8 Nickel Rims and Lowered (via BC Racing BR Series coilovers):



I must admit that it took me a while to get used to the 15" rim look on my car but now I can't look at 17" rims on an NA/NB without thinking they look too big and like wagon wheels (17" rims really do feel like driving on wagon wheels).

Well, seems like after all the suggestions from you guys, I believe I will go for the lightest 16" in wheel world or tech9, thank you so much guys.

what a f@#ken joke...

Good choice.

If you see a guy at a wheel shop who brought his own scales then it probably means he's an MX5 owner. This might save you some trouble. It's filtered for 16", turn off the filter and you can see them all.


Edit: Maybe I should have said good choice on 16s. I just went back and checked why PRR made that comment. Nice collection of boat anchors at tech9, didn't bother with the other site after I saw that.