New Mx5 Owner - Wheels to fit NA

[cerigby]

Howdy!
I'm a new Mx5 owner, and I'm looking for new wheels to fit my 90 NA model. I'm looking at getting a new tyre and wheel package locally, or finding some 2nd hand mx5 wheels here or eBay etc. I was hoping to go to 15inch or maybe even 16inch, but how would I go with the spare tyre being a toy 14inch one? I don't think a 15 or 16 inch spare will physically fit in my car lol. How do I get around this? Or should I simply stay with 14inch? Also will NB rims fit my NA model? It's a 1990. Are all NA models rear wheel drive? (Being a chick & new to Mx5's - some help is needed lol). Did the model change within 1990? Was there an early 1990 model and a late 1990 model?, as I've come across a vehicle bolt pattern reference site to help me to find rims to fit my car and it states 90 onwards to be high positive of FWD, but my car is a RWD?. Is this acurate to what I should be looking for? Here's the site:

http://www.discountedwheelwarehouse.com ... erence.cfm

Any help appreciated lol. Thanks
Celeste

[Steampunk]

Welcome to MX-5 ownership and the forum Celeste

All MX-5's are rear-wheel drive.
All NB rims will fit NA's. (I have NB wheels on my NA)

Forget about the fancy numbers, the basic thing you need to know is that your car will fit wheels with 4x100 stud pattern.
If you are buying new wheels and tyres then you will unlikely come across problems with offsets, but just to illustrate simply, offset means how far out the wheel will sit. +0 (zero) offset means the wheel will stick WAY out of the body of your car, whilst +40 means the wheel will sit in the normal position. The lower the number, the further out the wheel sit. For a standard car, you don't want anything less than +30 offset.
Most aftermarket wheels from Bob Jane, Jax Quickfit etc have +35 to +45 offsets.

If you have 15" wheels, and if you have to use the 14" spacesaver in an emergency, it is not a problem as the difference in outside diameter is negligible.

I will be planning an evening get-together sometime next week at Mt Cootha for coffees and a light dinner. Check the "MX5 Events" section. Come along, introduce yourself, and meet the rest of us lucky MX-5 owners

Cheers

Andrew

[Adam_NAclubman]

Hi Celeste, welcome to the forum!

You'll get massively ripped off if you buy new wheels, and unless you buy really expensive ones or Starcorps (which aren't eveyone's cup of tea visually) you'll end up with something heavy, which you really don't want in a MX5.

I'd suggest having a look through the picture threads on sites like roadsterdrift.com or jdmstyletuning.com or clubroadster.net and see which style of wheels you like, maybe link the photos back here and we can help you work out what brand/model/size/offset it is that appeals to you. Then you can either find some on a forum for sale or get some from a Jap importer.

For best feel when driving, I'd personally go for something like Weds TC-05 in 14x6 with a standardish (ie close to +40) offset, as they're incredibly light and I think they look much better than stock wheels.

Looks-wise however, I think a wheel that fills out to the edge of the guards looks better, but because the wheels on a MX5 start off so far inboard, getting them out to the edge requires increasing the track more than is legal. That is where the 15/16x8 +0 wheels look good though.

For something that looks ok and still feels alright, a 6.5 inch wide wheel with a +20 offset isn't too bad

You could get a decent idea of different wheels by searching through the Members Garage here aswell, it just takes a bit more hunting than the massive threads that other forums have put up of either their cars, or cars they like the look of.

Adam

[cerigby]

Thanks Adam and Andrew! The rims I'm really interested in are NB 16" Rota rims, I really do like the look of them. How would my spare go with 16inch? How else can I get around it? Are they super heavy rims? I've also found a set of 100x4 protech rims which I quite like aswell. Do I just need to be looking for 100x4 generally? I'll take a look at some of those sites suggested and post anything I quite like here. Thanks again.
Celeste

[cerigby]

Here's a few I quite like the look of and the size of. Thanks.

[tbro]

Hi Celeste

You seem to like multispoke rims, this is whats on my NA 15 x 7 rims



Try looking at the different models NA/NB on the wheels/suspension menu

And welcome.

Terry

[Steampunk]

Do I just need to be looking for 100x4 generally? Thanks again.
Celeste

Yup.
Just choose a design you like best and go for it.
Although Adam makes a few good points, one thing he forgot to mention is that super-light, big-brand name wheels = lots of $$, and if you don't have much aspiration to take your car to the track, spending unnecessary $ on very light wheels is pretty much a futile effort. Most wheels that you will find are light enough insofar as they are not heavy.... that is unless you like chrome (please say you don't like chrome)

Don't be concerned about the space-saver spare, if you have to use it, it will still work ok with 16"wheels as long as you buy tyres with normal sizes.

[PUR157]

If you have the time go to a wheel shop to have a browse I say... lots of rims look nice in picture... but aren't that nice in real life (and the converse is sometimes true too)
I think you'll find that even in 15" the weight differences aren't too horrendous... once again this stuff you can get a feel for in the shop!
an acceptable weight range that doesn't mess around with steering weight is about 5-7 kilos for a 15" rim

About the space saver... just make sure if you ever get a flat, always have two full sized wheels on the rear wheels and put the space saver on one of the front two wheels (the opposite is true on front wheel drive cars... put the full sized wheels up the front)

Remember to post pics when you're done though...
and Welcome!

[Adam_NAclubman]

Although Adam makes a few good points, one thing he forgot to mention is that super-light, big-brand name wheels = lots of $$, and if you don't have much aspiration to take your car to the track, spending unnecessary $ on very light wheels is pretty much a futile effort

No they're not, you can pick up a set of pretty much anything secondhand for less than a new set of heavy locally sold wheels.

My super super super light Weds cost me $400 shipped, my Buddyclubs were $350, Volks were $350.

Even if you're not going to take the car to the track light wheels make a massive difference to the feel of the car and also the amount of clutch slippage you need to get it off the line every time you stop at the lights. If you don't believe me, try bolting on a set of average weight 15's, drive it a bit, then stick some light 14's on and you'll automatically try and use way more revs than you now need to when you take off the first time or two

[cerigby]

Thanks for the info guys. If I had 16's and got lighter 16 tyres, does that sound reasonable? Oh and I can't have clutch slippage...I don't have a clutch lol.

[cerigby]

..Bumpity...

Legally (tyres) I can't go any wider than 1.3 x times the manufacturer's width btw , so whats the limit I can go with things/measurements etc?

[meanmx]

Get some 17's. You'd look very, very cool

Ben

[93_Clubman]

how would I go with the spare tyre being a toy 14inch one? I don't think a 15 or 16 inch spare will physically fit in my car lol. How do I get around this?

How would my spare go with 16inch? How else can I get around it?
Celeste

I run NB8A 15" rims on my NA8, & bought an NB8A 15" spare which fits ok in place of the old 14" spare.

[Steampunk]

..Bumpity...

Legally (tyres) I can't go any wider than 1.3 x times the manufacturer's width btw , so whats the limit I can go with things/measurements etc?

Hmmm... we'll assume you are have chosen a wheel that is 16", the most likely widths of the wheel will be 6", 6.5", or 7". Generally speaking:
195 series tyres fit best on 6" wheels,
195 or 205 series tyres fit best on 6.5" wheels,
205, possibly 215, series tyres fit best on 7" wheels.

Oh, and just stating the popular mantra on this forum; Buy the best tyres you can afford.
Please stick with brands like Bridgestone, Dunlop, Michelin.
I think Bob Jane currently has a special on Falken ZE192, in my opinion, Falken are the best "budget" tyres available. They can't handle track abuse, but are great on the road.