15 or 16s?
 

What do you think?

i think that you need to turn it down with the threads...the mods will fry you...just a word of advice, you can take it for what it's worth

Whats wrong with the treads? I thought the purpose of a forum was to share information- The more information shared the more valuable the forum. maybe im wrong here. If thats the case maybe i should keep my inquiries and car talk to my local group, in person.

Im serious though, whats the problem?

Personally, I like 15's. I like less rotational mass. Of course, that isn't as important to others. Some people like the look of 16's better and don't mind the extra rotational mass.

depends on what you prefer looks wise and how deep your wallet is. you CAN get some really light 17s even but it will cost you, plus your tires will cost more.

15s

13's...

20s

what goal are you trying to acheive?

What tire options are there for 16's in a miata application?

I know with the 15's we have 205/50 and 225/45 for the street/track and 245/40 (AVON) and 275/35 (Hoosier) for the track only.

Well, the application would be for 95% street use, and some track days when the time is available. I do prefer the looks of the 16s, but im not sure if something like SSRs 16x7 or so can out perform a set of say, konigs. Id like to find out what the performance gain really is by sticking with the 15s. I understand the whole bit on increased rotational mass. if i understand correctly, the tires weigh a bit more than the rims, so i assume it may be possible to keep a good tire/rim combo (16s) and have an equal performance level to a set of average 15s due to say, the rotational mass being closer to the axle. Has anyone gone from 15s to a good set of 16s or viseversa?

I went from stock 14's to Motegi 7 spoke 15's with 225-50's and it slowed me down A LOT! The traction was excellent, but the added weight sucked. My acceleration is better with the stock wheels/tires, although now traction limited, and the steering feel and turnin is a lot quicker and lighter. Im ready to sell the old ones and get some 14's or 15's that are as light as possible, such as Emilo's 6UL's.

Im in a similar situation ive got the 14 in BBS set on my 92 black and tan. i believe they are under 10 lbs. despite the great looks of a 15 or 16in set, im not sure ill actually enjoy the grip if im really gonna lose my acceleration as much as im predicting with around 150 hp.

15x8s 13lbs, i love mine.

There's the magic question. Your performance tire choices are going to be more limited with 16s than with the more popular 15" tire size.

get 15's Cheaper tires. Good size for the wheel wells. And there is sooo many styles available.

15x8 FTW. I'm still running 14x6s though..... :(

26s raise that shizzle up ma nizzle... fo sho... bizatch... ma negro... I bless the rains down in Africa... Obama's not "black"

probably time to put the bottle away...

lorinsers, on yokohama tires.

your car will look silly if it isnt lowered and you put 16's on it..
like so:
Attachment 215584

I now have 14's on my car with azenis... I love them, hopefully the new 15"s wont feel as sluggish as the 16"s did


here are the 14's
I like the look more than I thought I would
plus 14 tires= crazy cheap :bigtu:
Attachment 215585


I'd so go with 15"s

iv had 14" 15" and 16" aslong as the wheel alighnment is set up correctly the car will handle absolutly spot on
15",7" wide want to be 195/50 r15
16", 7" wide want to be 195/45 r16
16", 8" wide want to be 205/45 r16 (can look a liitle sterched)or 215/45 r16

you could go for a lower profile but then ride becomes harder although there is very slight less tyre roll

i have 16's on mine 7" at front 195/45 zr16 yokohama 8" at rear 205/45 zr16
stupidly low on GAZ coilovers and handles and drives like a dream although the fronts could do with possibly a 5-10mm spacer

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...c/DSC07047.jpg

there's nothing wrong with running 205's on 15x7 stockers.

I suppose first thing is first. Ill put the turbo on, live through winter with my current 14s, then figure out what the rotational mass difference is between my top pick combos and go from there. Im sure with the extra power of the turbo Ill want a little more grip going through the apex. im aiming for about 150 hp at the rear in under a year- or before summer 08 hits.

anyone here know if its possible to free up some rotatal loss with a set of lightweight pullys on a turbo? Ive heard that thats not really good to do.

http://www.miata.net/faq/wheel_weights.html

this should help with the total weights of all types of wheels and tires. Its a good reference.

go 15s, 16s only look good on nbs in my opinion. Just my personal impression on appearance.

Hell yes!

I've owned a set of 13", 3 sets of 14", 3 sets of 15" and a set of 16". Except for 13" all were stock Miata wheels.

14" - rubbery feel, breaking loose to easily, great for winter.
15" - great balance, competent grip (Azenis 615), nice ride over bumps.
16" - best looking, good grip, hard, rough ride, felt heavy.

15" and 16" were the same total weight (tire+rim) but 16" felt heavier from drivers seat, they were bit to harsh for my butt and GC setup.

Go with 15" 205 Azenis are wider than most 215, or go 15x8 and put 225/45

Kempi

http://www.949racing.com/

15s

fuck looks.

16's look great.

15" r-compounds are $130
16" are $160+

Attachment 215573

TWENTY-TWOOOOOZZZZZZZZZZZ

14s are cheapest, 16s "look" the best, but 15s still look great (better than 16s IMO) and the tire selection is by far the best. Grab a set of 15x8s in January from 949racing.

this is good stuff here. I suspected 15s would be best for day to day and track days in the summer, while the 14s ive got would probably become winter wheels.

So you recomend 949Racing- is there anyother sites/material to look at in addition to 949? tire research is easy enough. Its the research on wheels that makes me think a little here. My current 14s are 8-9 lbs, so im hoping to get a new set of wheels with some pretty good performance. Id hate to go to 15s and regret the money spent.

just get the friggin 6UL's and be done with it. please show my a more well thought out wheel, for cost, looks, performance, and durability.

he has a bunch of different widths in the works, pick your grip, and what you are prepared to spend on tires, then pick the wheel. the tires start costing more than the wheels very quickly.

Just try someone else's 15".

If You want that light, 15x7 enkei rpf1 are 9.8 lb ($185 a piece).
949 15x8 are 12.8 lb there are also beautiful Rota RB but 15x8 weigh 15.5 lb ($550 shipped for 4)

For track/street on 15x7 you can put 205/50 RA-1 or 195/50 RE-01r or on the cheap side Azenis.
On 15x8 - 225/45 RA-1 or RS-2.
AFAIK 225/45-15 RS-2 are just $99 but out of stock till spring.

V700 might work too, but I don't know the new sizes.

Kempi

15s will give you the most options, however, IF you plan to upgrade to wilwoods and larger rotors, interior rim clearance becomes and issue. Then you'll have a tougher (but not impossible) time finding a light weight 15 that won't rub the calipers.

When I upgraded to the wilwoods, I also stepped up to 16s. There are some (not many) 16s that are <= to stock in weight. ie: the Enkei RPF1s I settled on; lighter than stock, but heavier than the heliums I was running prior to the brake mods.

As to tires, I am running Toyo 205/45s. 205/40s are available and turn 917 revs per mile vice 918 for 195/50-15s.

- L

i drove a boat once.....

and i'm hopin to run 215/50's & 225/50's on some 15x7's so i think 225's aren't quite utilizing the wheels' potential

Just to get more from this thread.... when would you decide to go from the typical 7 inch wide tires to the 8in? Im not getting 8, but what the heck, Ill see what you all think.

It's faster with stock power, so I'd decide to do it immediately. Emilio has shown that on short, tight tracks, even low-power cars can benefit from an 8" wide wheel. He's actually realized that the 225/50, even though it's taller, is actually faster on some tracks, so he's planning a run of 15x9s to fit it better.

Go wide or go home.

I need to rob someone so i can pick up his 15x9s