Max size of wheels

Wheels, Suspension, Brakes & Tyres questions and answers

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bensale
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Max size of wheels

Postby bensale » Sun Jan 25, 2009 6:29 pm

EDIT: Great post fatty, considered not posting this after reading. Although I think you are a bit of a wuss bitching about 16's for daily driving :P :lol:

As the rolling diameter of the wheel is similar to what other people are running I would doubt that you'ld have too many issues fitting them, as people have said you may have to roll the guards. If you can mock it up would be a good move.

I've read posts where people have said na6's on 16's handle like rubbish, are slow, don't do it, etc. And really in my opinion its not a huge difference as long as the wheels are still relitivly light, in my opinion you retain most of the handing brilliance of the car, just loosing a bit of feedback and response. 19's on the other hand may not be quite so good in this regard, but as handling its not your reason for having the car, why worry.

If they fit and you can put up with the ride quality and the handling aspects of them. The only issue I see is the legality, I thought you weren't meant to go up more than 2', although I may be wrong. I look forward to seeing what they look like, love it or loath them, it'll definetly be different..

Although I disagree and think that the mx5 looks fantastic, on 14's or otherwise.
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Max size of wheels

Postby wun911 » Sun Jan 25, 2009 7:47 pm

I think some of the volk 18" probably weigh the same as the heavy OEM 16".
Then wrap your volk 18" with some 30 profile rubber, less peripheral rotational mass.
every ounce counts

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bigdog
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Max size of wheels

Postby bigdog » Sun Jan 25, 2009 9:17 pm

wun911 wrote:Soz I dont know how you got the numbers but can some one tell me the standard size of SE with the 17" rims??


SE 17" 205/40x17 tyres = 595.63mm diameter - so only 16.5mm difference to the 19's Greg is proposing.

One thing to beware of Greg - different brands can differ in height quite a bit despite being nominally 30 profile (hoosier race tyres are notorious for this. Their 60 profile is generally close to 45 profile on other brands). Always check the manufacturer's spec sheet before purchase when size is critical.

And well said Fatty... we're here to help each other regardless of our tastes. Those who have been around here for a while can remember lots of 'out there' mods which were not to the taste of many, but in the end it's your car to do with as you wish. I think that the only time we have the 'right' to be really critical of a proposal is when mods threaten the basic safety of the driver/passenger, and I can't remember anyone suggesting something downright dangerous in the time I've been around (except maybe the Gold Coast's wingzzz sauce :shock: )
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StanTheMan
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Max size of wheels

Postby StanTheMan » Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:28 pm

bigdog wrote:SE 17" 205/40x17 tyres = 595.63mm diameter - so only 16.5mm difference to the 19's Greg is proposing.





This is the way I see it

Standard size for an NA is 575mm the 19" size is 633mm to me that's 58mm higher. (Thats massive.)
that means the car will sit 29 mm higher in the standard suspension height setting but will also be 29mm closer to the inner guard compared to the standard wheel.

so really its a bit like lowering the car just over an inch and a bit. except that its now got a bigger wheel & has 29mm more ground clearance right?

The NB8B rimms have the same offset as your proposed. but they are only 6.5" wide. If I was to put 25mm spacers I know I have to roll my guards. but to simulate your 19x7.5 rimms I would only have to put on a 12.5mm spacer.

I recon they will fit. At worst you will need to roll your guards. but you'll fugure that out while you fit them.

just have it all organised when you pick them up.

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Last edited by StanTheMan on Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Max size of wheels

Postby Wivvix » Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:44 pm

meanmx wrote:
Wivvix wrote:I didn't say anywhere that driving with a particular size wheel/tyre would have the effect of reducing cornering capability

Wivvix wrote:In my opinion 17's totally screw with the handling on an NA

hmmmmm

Yeah, the car feels different through corners. I didn't say it reduces the cars ability to corner however, just that it's a different feel and I don't like it. "Screws with" probably wasn't the best choice of phrase. You seemed to interpret this as meaning a decrease in cornering potential, i.e. that 17"+ wheels mean slower lap times. This is not the message I was trying to convey. My apologies for the confusion.

meanmx wrote:
Wivvix wrote:Lack of forbearance for different styles? That's rich considering you're pretty intolerant yourself of differing, yet valid opinions.

That's funny considering I have one of the most individual cars in this place. Besides which you aren't offering a different opinion you are just regurgitating the same thing I have heard from a million other people on here over the last 2 1/2 years when talk turns to larger than 16" on an NA. I wasn't personally having a go at you anyway about lack of forbearance, just the general forum theme. Sorry if you took it that way. Personally I can't wait to see 19's on an NA but that's the autosalon side of me coming out

Ben

I'm not saying different styles are a bad thing, I actually really like what you've done with your 5. Autosalon is fine and I think as long as you're enhancing the vehicle through tasteful mods you can't really go wrong, but 19" wheels on an mx5 is going to be a purely aesthetic exercise which is deleterious to ride quality. I don't allow mainstream prejudice to influence my own opinion on things. I personally tried out 14-17" wheels/tyres and found 14's and 15's to have the nicest feeling handling through corners. If this happens to correlate with what other mx5 owners say then great, it seems I share company with people who have similar tastes.

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Max size of wheels

Postby PUR157 » Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:46 pm

*group hug*

Just out of curiosity greggtr... do you have any wheels in mind?
or is it just the size you're looking at right now?

Also had a similar experience as Fatty, I've had a steer of a friends late model NA8 with 17" wheels (that were actually quite heavy) and as an old fashioned MX5er I approached with much apprehension
But because of the Power Steer I was pleasantly surprised... maybe I'm just not perceptive enough to the handling side of things but they did not interfere with the handling as disastrously (if at all) as I initially thought they would
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Max size of wheels

Postby GP » Wed Jan 28, 2009 4:40 pm

205/50/16 = 612mm height
225/50/16 = 631mm height
215/45/17 = 626mm height
215/35/19 = 633mm height

They are all Illegal :shock:
Standard size for an NA is 575mm the 19" size is 633mm to me that's 58mm higher. (Thats massive.)

That's Insane, the Plod are going to love you :lol:
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Max size of wheels

Postby devolutio » Thu Jan 29, 2009 12:54 am

I feel silly for having read this thread in it's entirety. i think i lost a few brain cells in the process. that was like 'researching' interccooler size for a sr20det on ns.com. thankfully i haven't been that bored at work for quite a while.

i'm not going to give any advice and this post is only as useless as most of the others here.

hope they fit! :D

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PASHN8
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Max size of wheels

Postby PASHN8 » Fri Jan 30, 2009 12:51 am

Greg, i'm pretty confident they will fit, as long as you check the offset of the rim which will make ALL the difference.

I had 18" rims on my NA6, tyres were 215/35/18 from memory and the ride was just fine and handled very well running up the front of the non-turbo pack on all the cruises/runs it went on.
They fit with ease, didn't rub on any occasion and didnt' require guard lipping or modification. I believe the right offset is paramount to get the wheel in the place to start with before lowering.

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What you must understand is that unfortunately not all people have dríven a vast range of cars and been part of a vast range of car scenes, so some mentalities will always stick with tradition.

End of the day mate, if you like that look, go for it! What you like is what matters, not the people around you :)

(with the right wheel tyre combo and a subtle lip/kit I think it would look good!)
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ampz
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Max size of wheels

Postby ampz » Fri Jan 30, 2009 9:11 am

Where abouts in Sydney are the rims bud?
I can check them out/try fit them if the seller agees.

I have an NA6 and won't be ashamed to try before you buy :mrgreen:

I had to switch to heavier 16s to regain some traction on mine :oops:
Huh?

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Max size of wheels

Postby tassone56 » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:29 am

greggtr wrote:Lets face it, the MX5 at the best of times is not a good looking sports car


uhh.. no.

I do however see what you mean about larger wheels making it look a bit better. I recently baught some 17" for mine, and i think they look great for size, handling difference is barely noticeable if your just an everyday driver. The only problem is now it looks a little too high. Of coarse if you have adjustable coilovers that wont be a problem. anyway.. to be constructuve, i have seen an mx5 for sale with (dont laugh) 20"s on it.. yeah.. big shiny chromies too.

After swallowing a small rush of vomit i concluded that it was far from impressive. Anyway, when i baught the 17"s i have now, the dealer said the rolling diameter is just out of the legal range, from memory i think he said about 5mm or so. aside from the fact that it would not be legal for 19"s and all the handling problems, i find that because of the small size of the car, 17s look large enough, im sure ur oppinion may vary though.

If u end up getting them, post some pics!

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MxJadeMonkey
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Max size of wheels

Postby MxJadeMonkey » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:46 pm

Could be totally wrong here, but didn't "BCHLOR" (alex, with his auto salon NB) have 19's?

Any one got any pic's?

I could be wrong here.

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philz
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Max size of wheels

Postby philz » Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:26 am

He had 19's but they scraped, and so he went back to 18's.

Refer to this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=23051

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Jeo
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Max size of wheels

Postby Jeo » Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:41 am

MxJadeMonkey wrote:Could be totally wrong here, but didn't "BCHLOR" (alex, with his auto salon NB) have 19's?

Any one got any pic's?

I could be wrong here.

Josh


I've got a magazine feature on that floating around somehwere.

*goes looking*

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Max size of wheels

Postby gtr123 » Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:43 pm

I have 18's with no problems.
See them on for sale 18inch wheels


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