the right wheels

[miztapizza]

i am currently in the process of upgrading my wheels but i am not sure which size i should go for.
i have a 1990 eunos roadster 180kms that (among other things) has a set of king spring lows(about 1 1/4 inch lower) and a set of 15in wheels.
my choices are between 16 & 17's.

16s
pros:
cheeper
easier on my suspension
cons:
won't look as good(i am 19 it's a big thing lol)
will i regret it?

17s
pro's
the look i want
never have to look at wheel upgrade again
cons:
more $$$
harder on suspension
might look like a tracter an need further lowering = $$.

if anyone has any advice(keeping in mind a small budget and my age) please let me know or if you have lowered your mx5 a simliar height and have 16s or 17s or know some that does PLEASE PLEASE get me some pics it would help alot
thanks

[Okibi]

Don't get 17's.

If you want "big" wheels get 16's.

17's are just too big, too keep your speedo accurate you need pretty thin rubber, and they'll be just too thin to enjoy driving your car.

If you have more sidewall you'll have a bit more warning when things are about to turn "pear shaped".

ALSO .. you need to make sure what ever you get is light weight. I'd try and get as close to the stock wheel weight as you can. Heavier wheels tend to pull and take some fun out of the MX-5.

I've got a big set of shiny 17's sitting in the garage, the factory 15s ride so much better.

Additionally you'll need to make sure you get the correct offset.

[EGG80X]

i was about to get some 17"s for my nb but the aus-cartalk guys talk me out of it

because 17" being heavier and easier to buckle due to low profile tyres

ended up getting some phat deeeeeeeep dished 15"s, which still looks hot!

[maxwolfie]

i am currently in the process of upgrading my wheels but i am not sure which size i should go for.
i have a 1990 eunos roadster 180kms that (among other things) has a set of king spring lows(about 1 1/4 inch lower) and a set of 15in wheels.
my choices are between 16 & 17's.

16s
pros:
cheeper
easier on my suspension
cons:
won't look as good(i am 19 it's a big thing lol)
will i regret it?

17s
pro's
the look i want
never have to look at wheel upgrade again
cons:
more $$$
harder on suspension
might look like a tracter an need further lowering = $$.

if anyone has any advice(keeping in mind a small budget and my age) please let me know or if you have lowered your mx5 a simliar height and have 16s or 17s or know some that does PLEASE PLEASE get me some pics it would help alot
thanks

I have 17's, they fit perfectly - no scrub whatsoever - My old 16's did scrub however (offset)..

Doesn't look like a tractor at all - wouldn't go any bigger though.. My car is lowered and kitted though

Have been meaning to get some pics up anyways so hopefully I'll upload some soon

What kind are you looking at??

[JBT]

Listen carefully to what Okibi has to say regarding wheel/tyre combination Grasshopper. The MX-5 suspension is very fussy about wheel weight, offset etc. You could end up with something that looks good but behaves abysmally. A shame really because you'd be destroying the best characteristic of the car.

I'd be looking for 15s given your age etc. I think there may be an insurance problem if you go bigger than the +1 wheel size. In any event, try to get a wheel of equivalent weight to the original. NB wheels are good.

[Dubly]

Miztapizza,

NA6's are not fast cars and 17's will make yours that much slower. As mentioned, the weight of the wheels will hurt every aspect of performance. The diameter is another problem (205/40/17's are ~1 inch bigger then stock and very prone to flats). The large size changes your final drive ratio and makes for taller gearing. You can get away with 16's at most. However, 13-15's are your best bet (without factoring in bragging rights and getting into teenage girls panties).

Egg80X,

Your Centra Type 11’s look great, nice to see some old school 15’s.

[EGG80X]

Egg80X,

Your Centra Type 11’s look great, nice to see some old school 15’s.

Thanks

it was a rare find indeed

[nath]

I'm also going to put up my hand and say don't get 17s.

I have an NA6 and currently have the NB8A 15s on it. I was thinking about getting another set of rims in a bigger size to visually make it nicer....

I put on a set of gold Volk TE37s, but they were copies and not that light. In fact they were down right heavy. I knew that heavy rims made a difference, but didn't know just how much.

Basically it felt and drove like crap. Because they were heavier the little 1.6 struggled to give good acceleration - you could actually feel the difference. Because they were heavier they also made the car handle like a boat. You'd turn the wheel and ..... wait..... and then it would respond. You just couldn't chuck the car around like you could on the factory rims.

I'd personally try and find a set of NB8A 15s or NB8B 16s. They are going to be much cheaper than a set of similarly weighted aftermarket 17s. Plus tyres are going to be cheaper too! Use the money you save by buying factory rims and put that towards a good set of tyres and trust me, you won't regret it.

Oh and if you needed any more reasons, NB8A rims look like sex on a lowered NA!

[chris d]

I actually changed aftermarket 14's to original 14's on my car and the weights dropped from about 10-12 Kg per wheel to about 5Kg per wheel.
Apparently, any increase in unsprung weight actually adds an apparent four times the weight to the car.
My car was instantly much faster.
You may be going the other way around if you do get heavy wheels as others have said.

Chris

[miztapizza]

thanks guys i think i would be best off with 16's
does any one have any pics of my model that has 16's so i can have some motivation to spend money

[StanTheMan]

sabs car has 16 inch rimms on it.

its very clean. sexyest car in the country....in my opinion

[smiles]

Here's a pic of mine with factory 16's on it


Can anyone easily change the black side skirts to match the car, I'm thinking of getting this done but curious to see what it would look like first. Whenever I do it it looks crap!

[fd3s]

especially when your car is light and you increase the weight (rims) you will feel alot of difference but if your car is reasonably heavy they the effect is not as drastic

[Okibi]

Use this to work out the "look" you like, then try and find something lightweight to match.

[OMY005]

Excellent wheel info here but not MX5 specific. Lots of different wheel weights.

http://www.planetsoarer.com/wheels/guide.htm