Going to a 16" wheel
 

Running 15" oem wheels and I want something a little more glamorus. Just picked up some 16" american racing wheels 4 x 100 7.5" I currently run 195/50R/15s.
I'm told that I need 205/45/16s to fit. The wheels fit. I'm thinking about buying yokohama S drive tires. Is there a down side to going to the 16" wheels. Any other recommendations for tires and purchasing bargains?

weight

and they induce homosexuality

What Sean Said...

Aside from the expensive, heavy wheels and the expensive, heavy tires in narrow sizes and crappy compounds, 16" wheels are awesome!

lol they suck
but otherwise, awesome

Only reason to run 16's on ana NA/NB Miata is that you like the way they look. Otherwise, you have limited tire choices and the car won't work as well. It's a style thing and if you had not already gathered so, this particular forum isn't heavy on style over function. There are several other forums that are though. In the end though, if you are happy with the outcome, then it's a good choice.

To be fair, I had a set of 16x8 Advan RGIIs and I loved the way they looked. They were objectively inferior in every way to the 15x9 6ULs I had for track use, but damn they looked cool.

Had a set of 16x8 +25 Watanabe's with 225/40 Toyo T1R's on my NB back in '04. Looked bitchin. Handled and rode like shit. Put a set of Team Dynamics 15x7 +40's from Goodwin with some 205/50's and never looked back. That was the beginnings of the search for a lightweight, high offset and affordable 15x8 that didn't yet exist..

Wow a glimpse into the humble beginnings of the famous 6UL. I'm honored :)

Hey there is a functional reason to get 16s. 16x11's or 12s that is, since thats the only wheel size hoosier makes the R75A.

This ^ staggerd setup need 16X11 and 16X12 for 23.5X11R16 and 23.5X12R16 Slicks. One day I going to do it.

As my car is pictured, I was running the wheels that were on it when I bought it. Mad Tyte 16x7 Motegi MR7's with 205/45/16's. I now run 15x8 Konig Flatouts in Bronze +25 with 205/50/15's. I lost 7 lbs per wheel/ tire...and..well...only pics can describe. I gotta update my profile...I never bought after market wheels for any vehicle I've ever owned, and I'm more than happy with my decision.

As a matter of fact, here is the first uploaded photo of my car with the new dope wheel/ tire combo.
Attachment 144045
I gotta take a photo from the rear/ front. It looks like it has at least 225's on it.
My suspension is Bilsteins with FM springs. If I remember correctly, I cut a 1/2 a coil off the front, and a full coil off the rear. From center of the wheels to the lip of the fenders, I get 12 1/2" in the front, and 13 1/2" in the back.
I might go more, but I wanna drive it for a week or 2 to work and see how it feels/ settles down.

Must Admit your situation may differ depending where you are based.

In the UK there is not much around in the way of wide 15" tyres. 205/50R15 is the widest that has half decent scope of tyre choice. If you want wider then you are pretty much limited to 225/45R15 Toyo R888s. or 215/50R Dunlop Direzas.

If you want to run 215-225 width decent road tyres that are not pure track orientated like R888s then 16's seem like your only option in the UK. As there is still an ok range of 215/45, 225/45 16" tyres on the market.

I was considering this myself lately as Im UK based. Are 16"s really that bad in comparison to 15"s. Say if you had a decently light 16" with 225/45's on, the negatives can't be that bad when comparing to a 225/45R15.?

225/45/16 would be a 1" taller tire. With a good sport suspension designed to use every bit of available bump travel, you'll get massive amounts of tire rub under compression. The fix is raising the car and reducing bump travel which makes for a slower car. To keep the OD about the same, you need 225/40/16's, of which there are precious few choices.

Sorry that was an irrelevant comparison on my part.

Ill will change that, considering the likes of Advan AD08R's and similar non pure track orientated decent all round tyres are only available in up to 205/50R15 in UK, if I want wider, which is where I am considering I would have to be looking at 215/45R16 or 225/45R16.

Will a 215/45R16 or 225/45R16 not out perform a 205/50R15? Lets just say I wont be running that low and Arch clearance won't be an issue, as arch rolling is always an option if needed anyway.

It's the top of the tire you need to worry about, not rolling the fenders/arches.

I think the answer you're going to get, no matter how many different ways you ask the question is: 16s suck. Don't do it.

A 215/45R16 is only 8mm taller from Hub center to arch roof than a 225/45R15 so not much of an obstacle to overcome "if" it turns out to rub. Also even a 225/45R16 is only 12.5mm taller from Hub to arch, not 1".

I can't see raising bump travel point by 8mm or 12.5mm and overall body ride height by 16mm or 1" being more of a downside than gaining 10mm or 20mm more footprint on every corner.

Sounds cool. Go ahead and try it. Sounds like way too much work, money, and weight for me to bother trying for an academic at best increase in width, but i say that as someone who runs 15x9s.

I think Joe Fis Racing is using a 17 inch wheel on the AX Miata but it's also got fender flares and aero.

Don't really see how it will be much work at all. Fit wheels, set ride height, adjust or roll arch if needed. Done.

Cost will of course be higher buying 215/225s 16s over 205 15s but then generally going wider in any sense weather it is 15s or 16s cost more. Issue is wider than 205 on 15s is not much of an option if you want tyre choice in the UK. So cost is just back to paying for what you want, as why pay for what might not be enough or right.

As for weight well same again weather it is 15 or 16 you will always be adding weight by adding width. Yes the 16" will be slightly heavier than an equivalent 15" tyre but can't see it being that much of a difference. And wheels all depend on just making sure you get a decent light wheel. They do make light wheels in larger sizes than just 15"....

Im considering a 16" tire as I drive my car to autox's. With the 4.1 rear its ~3700 at 75. I want to do a 4.3 rear but don't want to put any more rev's on the engine at 75 so thinking of a 24" tall tire like RE71-R in 205/50/16 would keep the same ~3700 cruising rpm.

Mind you I drove to SGMP from Hollywood which is about 450 miles and I usually drive 140 miles one-way for auto-x's. If I had the budget I would do a 16x8 RPF1 with the RE71's in a heartbeat.

But only in the back, and its a horrendous idea.

I'm not sure you realize how much reducing your bump travel by like 20% by adding a packer is going to effect how your car rides and handles.

Who mentioned anything about adding a packer?

I would be just raising up coilovers to compensate.

You don't have to go to 16" to find too tall tires to try with. 225/50-15 is available in quite a few options, all rub the fender wells or make you run too high for decent roll center balances.
Feels like running the car on clogs.

However the Maxxis RC-1 is E-marked... (but not the fastest E-marked 580-590 tall you can get your hands on).

People still buy American Racing wheels?

I sold an '04 Miata that had american racing 16" wheels on it. I thought to myself "Ha, kinda funny that back then some people actually thought those looked good."

Well if you raise the car, but dont add a packer the car's still going to bottom out the wheel by 1/2" unless your bumpstops are already setup wrong.

Don't see how I will loose any travel if I have coilovers and just raise them up 1/2". ..

Niklas, I have thought about going with a taller 15" tire but they don't make a 24" tall tire in any of the extreme performance tires, yet. Going with something with less performance won't be a bad thing as it would probably also improve ride comfort. But since I only use the car on a limited basis I like having the grippiest street tire available for the few times that I actually get to drive the car. That and I would use the street tires as a rain tire in case of bad weather at an auto-x.

And as far as rubbing goes, I auto-x with 15x10's and 275's so I doubt 24" tires would lead to any more rubbing than those.

You're not kidding.

I remember being at a BBQ in 2005 where I first met Emilio. Thought he was a tad eccentric until he started talking about wanting to design and build his own wheels. Then I decided he was crazy.

Ten years later, we have 6ULs.




But, seriously, about this 16" wheel thing. Last year I bought an '04 which came with them stock. The ride isn't awful, but a few months after I bought the car I started noticing white nose hairs and Klas Ingesson died. Coincidence? Probably. But why take the risk?