Finally... some ND wheels on NB

[Daz]

No, but running around in the suburbs with 17" rims makes for an uncomfortable ride and every pothole makes you think you've just damaged your rim.

See my for sale post on the 17's I have been running around on for the past 17 years across 2 MX5's. Gutter rash for sure but not one ding, buckle or anything related to potholes. Lets face it, a 40 series tyre is hardly a rubber band these days.

Comfort wise, I have never experienced a decent ride in an early MX5 regardless of wheel package, adjustable coilovers do help though. In any case, if I want comfort I have other cars for that. I was just reading about the new 911 GT3RS, boy the owners of these things are going to be uncomfortable... 21's ! This is the kind of discomfort I dream of :

[KevGoat]

Not arguing with the science here, and it's probably got a lot to do with my 'ol fart driving, but I just don't find the wheel/suspension package of the SE an issue. I like it! Oh, and I should add that even more importantly, so does my wife!!

I fitted my old lightweight RH 15's on the car for a while and while there's obviously some difference in feel from the extra sidewall, it wasn't the big difference I was expecting. Fixing the spring/shock combination with some stiffer springs to settle the shocks would probably do more. Momentum wise, and probably a sad indictment, I don't think I have sufficient "feel" to notice any difference between a 15" and 17" wheel

Damage wise on 17's, yeah I've already done it to one of mine! But I hit a really horrible pothole at speed and the damage wasn't actually that great considering. In fact drove with it for a few thousand k's and three wheel balances before it was actually found! I still have to look real hard to actually find the deviation in that rim! Only evidence was a vibration between 58-60 kph, but funny enough both my NA6 and my NB8A had a similar vibration at similar speed!! But thing is, my wife has buckled one of her Echo wheels in the past - 14's with 175 tyres

Maybe on a track it would be a completely different story, but for normal street driving, not everyone hates 17's .....

[Nevyn72]

Given the factory SP rims were 6.5" +40 and the ND rims are 7" +45 the outside face of the rim should be in almost exactly the same place as OEM.

Nice work mate, looks great!

[project.r.racing]

Looking forward to seeing companies releasing some lower offset 17s for the ND that should fit an NB nicely.

Plenty out there now. The big Japanese wheel companies never stopped making 90s era 4x100 wheels.

[project.r.racing]

See my for sale post on the 17's I have been running around on for the past 17 years across 2 MX5's. Gutter rash for sure but not one ding, buckle or anything related to potholes. Lets face it, a 40 series tyre is hardly a rubber band these days.

Huge difference between a 285/40R17 and 205/40R17 widewall.

As for the Porsche. Again wheel diameter has nothing to do with it. Probably has more tyre wall than the 205/40R17s.

[rascal]

Lets face it, a 40 series tyre is hardly a rubber band these days.

Huge difference between a 285/40R17 and 205/40R17 widewall.

As for the Porsche. Again wheel diameter has nothing to do with it. Probably has more tyre wall than the 205/40R17s.

PRR is bang on here. Profile alone doesnt tell the full story.

MX5 205/40/17 = 82mm sidewall height
GT3 front 245/35/20 = 86mm sidewall height
GT3 rear 205/30/20 = 91mm sidewall height

So even the most raciest of Porsches still has more sidewall than the MX5 SE...

[Daz]

MX5 205/40/17 = 82mm sidewall height
GT3 front 245/35/20 = 86mm sidewall height
GT3 rear 205/30/20 = 91mm sidewall height

So even the most raciest of Porsches still has more sidewall than the MX5 SE...

Actually the the car pictured runs a 325/30/21 rear tyre, by the numbers its a 98mm sidewall, but thats irrelevant.

I think you missed my point, let me be a little more clear. Why don't Porsche fit a 19" wheel to their hardest most track focused car and give their buyers a more comfy ride ? I'll tell you why, because the buyers of that car don't care about the ride !

[forcedfive]

I think 17's are fine on an nb. If the overall weight and diameter is similar I can't imagine a massive difference in rotational mass. The quickest mx5 in the nsw club for some years was an na running 17's. Yes the ride quality may suffer a little with the lower profile but I believe the 17's look well suited.

[project.r.racing]

I think you missed my point, let me be a little more clear. Why don't Porsche fit a 19" wheel to their hardest most track focused car and give their buyers a more comfy ride ? I'll tell you why, because the buyers of that car don't care about the ride !

Sorry. The reason for 20s is to actually to fit over the huge 380mm rotors and the 6 and 4 pot calipers attached to them. 20 inch is the smallest wheel they can fit. It has nothing to do with wants or desires or care factors.

[Dan]

^ Yep, that

Also it’s important for people to understand that wheel size isn’t necessarily where comfort comes from. If the car is designed around the larger wheels it can still be comfortable - What modern luxury car runs 16’s?

The problem is that the NB wasn’t designed around 17’s which I assume is why Mazda used the uncomfortable +40 profile tyres because its a closer rolling diameter to 16’s which lets them avoid changing too much while giving the car the look of 17’s.

The NC on the other hand was designed and geared to accomodate 17’s which is why they fitted tyres with +45 profile and you don’t hear people complain about them being uncomfortable. Funnily enough some people on the NC move down to 16’s for performance reasons as the stock brakes can accomodate 16’s (I stayed at 17's as I could get lighter wheels than 16x8 FD rims which is most people's 'lightweight' choice and I get better tyre and brake options).

[Daz]

I think you missed my point, let me be a little more clear. Why don't Porsche fit a 19" wheel to their hardest most track focused car and give their buyers a more comfy ride ? I'll tell you why, because the buyers of that car don't care about the ride !

Sorry. The reason for 20s is to actually to fit over the huge 380mm rotors and the 6 and 4 pot calipers attached to them. 20 inch is the smallest wheel they can fit. It has nothing to do with wants or desires or care factors.

Oh man, does nobody check their facts here any more... the car pictured is a GT3RS, it runs a 21" wheel, you have a regular GT3 shown above. Note also both the GT3 and GT3RS run SMALLER brakes than the 911 Turbo S (380 vs 410mm rotors) because they are lighter, but the Turbo S still stuffs it all under a 20 !

[project.r.racing]

I think you missed my point, let me be a little more clear. Why don't Porsche fit a 19" wheel to their hardest most track focused car and give their buyers a more comfy ride ? I'll tell you why, because the buyers of that car don't care about the ride !

Sorry. The reason for 20s is to actually to fit over the huge 380mm rotors and the 6 and 4 pot calipers attached to them. 20 inch is the smallest wheel they can fit. It has nothing to do with wants or desires or care factors.

Oh man, does nobody check their facts here any more... the car pictured is a GT3RS, it runs a 21" wheel, you have a regular GT3 shown above. Note also both the GT3 and GT3RS run SMALLER brakes than the 911 Turbo S (380 vs 410mm rotors) because they are lighter, but the Turbo S still stuffs it all under a 20 !

You typed 19s. Doesn't matter if the larger is 20 or 21s are fitted to different cars. Your suggestion that 19s would work and only aren't used for desires of owners is incorrect.

And if you missed my point. 19s do not fit over the brakes.

p.s. Only the rear wheals on a GT3RS are 21 inches. The picture I showed was the same front wheels and brakes size on both the Gt3 and GT3RS. Doesn't anyone fact check anymore? haha

And if you paid attention to the actual rear tyres sizes, 305/30ZR20 and 325/30ZR21. You note Porsche increased the tyre wall size, the tyre width and the tyre rolling diameter. They didn't do it just for looks or cool factor. You understand what happens to a tyre's grip levels when the rolling diameter is changed right?

But back to the NB SE in relation to the above. There was no reason other than looks for Mazda to increase the wheel size. Brakes weren't upgraded. Big wheels were all the rage in the late 90s. They actually decreased the rolling diameter by 5mm will would have decreased the acceleration and braking performances by a minimal amount. And kept the tyre width the same. Not increasing lateral grip.

[Mr Morlock]

you could fool me on all all of it. A car enthusiast I am but could not give a rats about tyres or wheels as long as the stock tyre / wheel I have fits the purpose. I have an NB and it has stock wheels and I reckon they look really good. Many wheels today look ugly- great big black rims and in the old days everyone was stuck with bloody ugly black wheels and now they make a comeback- but not with me. Fancy wheels and tyres a brilliant method to dispose of money. I also don't worry too much about Porsche either- too expensive and too rich for me and here we are in regime that has speed limits the same as the 1950's- what crap.

[taminga16]

Mr M,
I am with you on the wheel thing but tyres are something else, there is a bloke in town with a Z3 who happily buys as hard as glass tyres from China bragging about the money he saves, to each his own but I do not believe that he is even close to what he is missing out on.
I have spent a considerable sum on suspension/ handling and reap the rewards every time that I drive my car.
There is no substitute for decent tyres and as an enthusiast, I would not consider $400.00 per tyre as being too expensive it is, after all, it is a hobby.
Greg.

[Craig]

Aren't you so glad you posted your new wheels Daz!