15x7's or 15x8's or neither?
 

I am currently running 15x6.5 Rota MSR's that I bought for $100 a while back, which weigh somewhere around 16 pounds, and I am looking into finding a lighter set of wheels. I have been considering picking up some 949racing 6ul's, which seem to be a good bang for the buck. I am torn between 15x7's and 15x8's; while the 15x8's are a bit more expensive and a bit heavier than the 15x7's, I've heard they offer better steering feel and turn-in. Would it be worth it to spend the extra $100ish and gain a pound per wheel opting for 15x8's over 15x7's? I am planning on swapping over my 205/50/r15 Direzza ZII's from my current wheels if and when I end up installing the new wheels.

I currently daily drive the car and I am fairly new to autocross, although I plan on getting more serious about autocross in the near future (when events stop getting cancelled). Would it be worth it to upgrade to lighter wheels or should I hold off while I gain experience? FYI the car is stock other than a set of Meisterr ZetaCRD's, the aforementioned wheels and tires, and an exhaust.

Goodwin Racing has most of the Miata fitment wheels on their site, if that helps your shopping

I thought 6UL's where perpetually out of stock?

I found some 15x7's in stock, 15x8's are a bit harder to find. I'm not stuck on the 6ul's though, just an idea. My main point in posting this was to gauge whether I should go for a 7 inch or 8 inch wheel.

I hear 6ul wheels are on Amazon prime now

I would go for the 15x8's if you can find some. I was looking at 15x8 and 15x7.5 wheels but ended up going wider. I don't think I would've been as happy with anything less than 15x8

There will be more 6ul’s available soon. You can e-mail 949 for an update. I have three sets of wheels and have tested several combinations. A 205 on an 8” wheel is a bit stretched and does not ride well on the street. It also depends on the tire since some 205’s have a narrower section width. Example an r1r is wider then re71. IMO a 205 on a light 7-7.5 wheel 10-11lbs is a very nice combo for these cars.

Hey where'd you find the 15x8? I have one in tungsten with +36 offset that's been damaged and have been trying to find a replacement since August :/

I just emailed them this week and they said, "don't wait on us". It's gonna be a while.

How about advanti storm s1 15x8?
really nice light weight wheels.
I had them with 205 tires before I upgraded to 15x9 with 225

Chiming in because I recently went through a similar consideration process. More of an enjoyable street car than a super competitive Autoxer, but I do have an EFR setup, so I wanted more tire.

Anyway, initially had Enkei92 15x8 with Direzza z3 in 205's -- fun but pretty loose. I think this would be a decent setup for a n/a car.
Wanted lighter and more tire, so ended up going with RFP1 SBC 15x8 with 225 BFG Rivals. Thrilled with the look.

Both setups are available from Tire Rack, among others. I couldn't find what I wanted in 15x9, so said to hell with it. I liked the turn-in with the slightly stretched 205's, and didn't want to lose that with the fatter 225's on the same width wheel. Added the SuperMiata big grip sways/endlinks and I'm happy with the combination all told, at least on the street.

Happy shopping.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cfb29956be.jpg

https://www.counterspacegarage.com/9...6ul-15x8-4x100

I think they were available a few weeks ago, but I'm not sure now. It says to contact them for availability (so probably not in stock anymore).

Also not sure how legit the site is.

Anybody have experience with 15x7.5's?

Been looking at the Goodwin Racing site and I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on some Konig Hypergrams.

Having driven 225 tires on 15x8 and 15x9, I'd recommend a little bit of stretch for better steering feel. In my experience, I've noticed very little improvement from lighter weight wheels in anything other than ride comfort. I dropped from ~20lbs/wheel to ~15lbs/wheel and changing tires did a lot more for overall handling feel than the weight change.

Go for the 15x8 and if you're ready to upgrade to something grippier in the future you have flexibility to get either 205 or 225 tires since selection for the truly grippy stuff is a bit better at 225.

Just called these guys, they seem legit, but don't have any 6ul's in stock.

Ended up picking up some 15x8 et25 Konig Dekagrams. No fender roll and so far there's no rubbing with the 205's installed. I'm thrilled with the look, and turn-in is much improved. Next up is an alignment.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...446b223e0.jpeg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...105a232d6.jpeg

How do you feel the 205's on the 15x8 ? Are they a little bit stretched ? Losing some grip maybe ? Or everything good?

Hard to say as I haven't experienced anything wider than a 205 on a Miata. Went for 205's on 15x8's for better turn-in feel and so I wouldn't have to roll my fenders. They are a bit stretched, but I'm satisfied with how the car handles (very responsive). May change my mind whenever I end up driving a Miata with wider tires.

I started on 225's on 8" 6UL's and went to 205's and now back to 225's. For NA power I liked the 205's the best especially in tight sections were I could actually get the car to break loose and rotate the car. 225's are fine to but the only reason I went back to 225's was the tire I wanted that was the only size option that was available and fit, I raked the car slightly and I think that has helped rotation as well now.

I would also talk to your tire shop to make sure they will put a 205 on a 8" wheel....its a slight stretch but its more then fine, I had maybe 8 track days on my 205's and never had a problem

Thanks for the feedback. Looking to buy some Advanti or Konig. Think I will put 205's there and maybe at some point 225's for the track or just the sake of it. But should mostly drive with 205s.

My problem is i can't find these rims locally, so i might have to import them. So trying to figure out if 7.5" would be a more appropriate choice for what I want to achieve.

Go with 15x8's if you can find them. There are generally more offset options with 15x8's (I like to run +25), there's more flexibility in choosing tire size, you'll have a wider track, and you'll probably be able to set faster times. Plus with 205's on 15x8's, you'd have better turn-in feel compared to 205's on 15x7.5's.

That being said, 15x7.5's can be cheaper and lighter, and I have seen some people run 225's on them. Depends on how much you care about turn-in feel, grip, etc. I'm not sure how well 7.5's would handle with 225's; definitely not quite as sharp, as there would be more sidewall roll.

Anyway, I think 8" wheels would be a better option, but that might be different for you. It depends on availability, budget, what you're going to use the car for (if it's mostly street driving, you'll likely not notice much of a difference between the two, but you'd probably want 8's for track use), and how you want the car to look.

Keep in mind that I've never driven a Miata with 15x7.5's. I went from stock 5.5's to 6.5's to 8's. This is based on what I've read/heard/learned.

I bought my Advanti Storm S1's from Goodwin and when asked what size they recommend, they didn't recommend the 8" over the 7" for daily driving.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...87000f64ab.jpg

Another option is FM wheels 15x8: 12.4 lbs, +36 offset,
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1b04d558a9.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...90321f48eb.jpg

Have you had any experience with 225's on 7" wheels? I'm tempted to throw on some 225 R888's on my 14x7 panasports. Hoping for a light and grippy setup, but I'm concerned it'll make the turn-in feel much worse.

I would go with a 205 on a 7" wheel. It's a perfect match. The R1R is wide 205 and might be a better choice then the R888, especially if you run on the street. Another good choice is the BFG Rival 1.5S.

I have a spare 15x8 6ul with less than 500 miles if anyone needs one.