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


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



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

 

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

**** looks.

 

16's look great.

 

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

 

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

 

or just buy any of the 949racing wheels

 

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.