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?