| Any advice on the most suitable 15" aftermarket alloys for a Mk 2, bearing in mind how light the OEM alloys appear to be? (4/00) |
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References: 1 Team Dynamics/TSW are lightish.. but all have wheel
nut cover that cannot be refurbished Typical weights I got; (mine are the last ones...) Note the 15" are always lighter .. just try to factor in the 16"!! As a rule; Most are lacklustre engineering solutions.. there are the odd lightish wheels but you really have to dig for them. (4/00) |
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Have a look at: http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/index.html You will need shockwave and the site is not that quick but it will show you the wheels on your make/model/year/colour. It has at least 50 to fit a 1990 Miata (4/00) |
| 15's are my preferred option, but can anyone out there give me a quick A-Z of alloys. I'm reading stuff about counter weights, fitments, low profile tyres etc, so I'm guessing the change is more than cosmetic ? (10/00) |
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Alloys .. the type is quite standard (offset and bolt pattern) and your alloy supplier should be able to tell you what fit from their book. (35 to 45 mm offset with 4 x 100 bolt pattern - Mk2 offset is 38mm?? on 15"). You want light weight if you like to do that boy racer bit... and all the dealers will not know what you are on about (see www.quithel.co.uk under wheels and tyres for more).. at a reasonable price (ignoring Volks, SSR, BBS etc at nearly 200 GBP each) you can get Team Dynamics as a lightish wheel (you may recognise some as fitted by Mazda on the option list). The style is up to you .. but BBS etc are a nightmare to keep clean. Note the second number is rim width (i.e 15"x7") and the narrower the better .. 6.5" is plenty for a tyre that is only 195 wide. Get stick on balancing weights .. clip on balancing weights damage paint and cause corrosion so wheels look ugly sooner. Steel valve stems are nice .. but steel caps seem to be prone to smaller boy racers on two wheels in some parts of the country .. standard black rubber things do fine and are 'higher performance' (lighter!). Locking wheel bolts are normally required by insurance (who will interested in changes :-( ) and you will also need new wheel bolts (note bolts not nuts) as steel ones are different. 195/50-15 is the preferred size in 15" for tyres (195 is width, 50% high side walls, 15" wheel size) Bridgestone S02 if you are rich, Goodyear F1 slightly less so, Goodyear Ventura a good regular tyre that does well in wet, Yokohama A520 if brave in wet but like race tracks in the dry with a little extra wear. Toyo T1S are a bit unknown but liked in US a lot - I found them hard to pick up 'off the shelf' at the local corner place and cost about same as the best of the bunch S02. Best option is to decide on alloys and tyres and then ring around for a 'package' deal including fitting, balancing, wheel nuts and steel valve stems as required. (10/00) |
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I have found these useful: http://www.miata.net/faq/wheel_weights.html http://www.miataforum.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi (performance section, tires & wheels subsection) http://www.tyres-online.co.uk/techinfo/alloy.asp In general, increasing from stock (14") to 15" diametre gives a wider choice of tires and a slightly larger 'footprint', and hence better grip. Most people feel a larger (>15" wheels) footprint isn't necessary unless you have a turbo or other major engine modifications. Still, some people like the look of big wheels and are prepared to make some sacrifices for looks: the larger the wheel, the lower profile the tires, the more chance there is of aquaplaning (I'm not sure how much) and the bumpier the ride. Most after-market alloys are designed for looks and are consequently heavier than OEM alloys. More weight is bad, but light wheels are expensive. Mazda wheels are generally lighter than most aftermarket wheels of the same diametre, but are expensive. Second hand wheels are hard to find, but it can be done, if you are prepared to wait. It has taken me about 4 months to find some second hand 15" Mazda wheels. (And I haven't quite got my hands on them yet!) (10/00) |