My old Panasport 13x9.5'' C8 3 pc wheels were 8.6lbs each.

 

The 13" wheel use be the way to go on the Miata back in the day? Do they still dominate the autocross track, or are most cars using the 15" wheels now?

 

can't say much about autocross, but we have a TTE 1.8 miata on 13xX panasports that is pretty much 1st or 2nd place in NASA-SE...I think his name is John Haff, but can't remember exactly.

 

Most serious Miata autocross cars run 15s.

If cost and durability are no object, Keizer will sell you an FSAE spec 13x7 that's under 7 lbs. The first pot hole you hit will probably taco them, though, and you're on your own for useful 13" tires, but you won't find a lighter wheel.

 

If price is no object the easy button would be Volk RE30(lighter but less strong than TE37), or discontinued SSR Comp-C's. If you want to spend like the Sultan of Brunei than custom forged magnesium wheels are in your future. For reference: http://www.miata.net/faq/wheel_weights.html

 

..Can u explain how that is so?

 

traction>anything else

there that was easy.

 

Buy 3 more spare miata tires, profit?

 

Does that apply to tracking the car only? Wouldnt u want lighter wheels for street use? Would be better for handling,braking,accelaration etc....

 

I would say durability is much more important than lightness in a street wheel.

Also depends on your application. If you will be pushing 350hp, then the wider wheel is always better.

 

If you want to get in to the symatics of it, you technically want the narrowest, lightest wheel possible, to get you the best gas mileage, and have decent traction in the rain, as wider tires tend to hydro-plane easier than narrower tires. Since we all drive legally of course.

But, if you're using a corner carving canyon run as your comparison, then you shouldn't sacrifice anything when looking at street wheels and tires. Grip is grip, handling is handling, braking is brake, and acceleration is acceleration. I guarantee the track junkie companies like Savington's TSE are considering those factors just as much as you when looking at race wheels.

His point was an extra inch of tire will make a bigger difference than the 5lbs of wheel width required to run that extra tread width. That goes for a track or a street.

 

Tnx....^^^^^

 

On wheelweights.net you can find size and weight of practically every wheel manufacturer.

I disagree with those who say grip is always preferable.

I currently have 15x7 on my slightly lowered miata but recently I tested it with oem 14x6 enkei's that are much lighter and narrower and the car was simply amazing. I love the way it flows on the road, the way it gently looses traction and the kind of involvement it provides with smaller wheels.

Indeed, I am going to fit some watanabe 14x6,5 wheels I just got from UK!!

 

I have to agree with you. I prefer driving my car on the street with grippy tires on stock wheels.

 

That's nice. I guess we will all throw away our mountains of empirical evidence and lap times and just do what feels right

 

I prefer to make my car as shitty as possible until it's possible to drive it at 10/10ths on the street and have nobody notice.

 

Some people do think that way, as evidenced by the Prius tires on the Toyubaru. But that is different than the question "what are the best wheels for the street." The best wheel/tire combination won't necessarily be everyone's favorite.

I just think those people are wrong.

 

I am not suggesting small wheels will make the car go faster on the track, and I do not run the small wheels all the time. It is just fun to me to run the stock wheels on occasion. My car is not exactly overpowered. Something with more power would be fun with a bigger wheel.

 

Right. I understand, it's just not my preference.

Grip > everything.

 

On my daily Acura TL I went up 2 sizes,An inch and half wider and with TE37's that are lightweight to make up for increases over stock...Plus there hot looking....On my boosted Miata I have 13lb 15inch wheels,but want something better looking but with equal weight or lighter...I dont track the car so not sure i need to go over 8inches in width...