OK, I can't imagine why no one has put up a bunch of pictures in this section, so I'll be the first. Maybe because their is already a section for that, but at least this will break the ice and get things started.

When I built my car several years ago, I wanted 5@4.5 bolt circle so I could tap into the vast selection of Mustang and other wheels in that pattern. So I converted it using a combination of Ford Racing Cobra rear hubs and RX7 front hubs.

Attached are some of the wheels I've tried over the years, not necessarily in chronological order. The car presently has the 16X8 BBs on it with 245/45/16 rear and 225/45/16 front

17X8 GT500
16X7 late Mustang 6 cyl
15X7 RX7 BBS
16X8 BBS RS
15X7 Chaparral S


The yellow car (slated for an L conversion) has the stock 4-bolt pattern, these wheels and the 6UL may influence me to go back to the 4 bolt pattern on the '91.

Mike

 

Wow you have a good collection of wheels. I like the yellow one. Because those have more good color and design. But the first one is also very nice. If I choose for me from these then I go with these yellow car's wheels. Thanks for sharing. Nice sharing

 

I like the look of the 6UL's and have them also. What did you use for tires on that one? I'm looking for a nice wide rear tire that will fit that NB wheelwell.

 

If you do decide to go back to thr 4 bolt pattern I would be interested in your 5 lug conversion.

Email me at turbotyler@yahoo.com

Also I am swapping my 01 se and I may go with 17x9s and 245/35

 

I've had two sets of wheel on my car since converting it.

First Generation 6UL's - 15x8 36mm offset:



In the pic above they are just mounted up. Later I found that they were slightly rubbing my Willwoods on the track so I added 5mm spacers and ARP studs.

I picked up a set of TireRack C1's to run my track tires on. I mounted my last set of street tires on them to change things up a bit. They are 15x8 20mm offset:



The above required a slight roll in the back and I had to push the front inner fender mounting tabs up a bit to make them work.

In both pics the tires are 225/45-15 RS3's. I may try those new BFG's next. If they are equal to the RS3's I'd rather send my money to Tennessee than Korea.
I’d really like to move up to 15x9’s for both my street and track wheels. If I do I’ll probably go with Rota K7’s for the street and current 6UL’s for the street.

Rota K7's:



-Jason

 

Sorry about the delay. The 6UL's are not on the car at this time. The NT01's are too noisy for street driving, at least for this old man. Sounds like an old Jeep with knobbies. The tires are 225/45/15, the wheels are 15X8, 36mm offset.

I've decided I like the looks of the 16X8 wheels with 245/45/16 on the rear and 225/45/16 on the front. That's whats currently on the '91 and I like the way they fill the wheel wells. The rears are rolled but I have good clearance. Actually, I have camber adjustment on top and bottom at the rear, so that might be why.

 

CV 20, Who makes a street tire for this 245/45/16 tire? I have searched all over and it seems that until I get to a 17" rim I can't get a tire wider than 225 that will be small enough in diameter to fit my car. Any brand names you know that will work?

 

I am running Toyo tires in that size.

 

Are they the R888 tires for the track? I have those and they are noisey for the street.

 

Proxes T1-S, but after looking at the Toyo website, my tread pattern looks like the T1-R. I did not see these available in 16" diameter. Discontinued? Maybe that is why I bought them so cheap.

 

Jason what size tires would you run on 15x9s? Are there many options for that wide of wheel?

What offset would clear that wide? 25 maybe?

 

225/45 15 and 36et. 949s website goes into great detail, plus they are some sexy wheels!

 

Thanks! The 225s are only 8" wide on the tread so I'm not seeing the value of running a 9" wide rim. For RS3s in that size the suggested rim width is 7 to 8.5 so it seems to me it would do better on an 8" wheel.

On my Camaros I always ran 295/30 18 on 10.5 wide rims and the tread face on the tire was also 10.5.

I'd love to go 9 wide but I'm really not finding much for tire options that are 9 wide and a short side wall. Thoughts?

 

I'm running 255/40/17s on 17X9 Enkeis

 

Great Pics! Thanks. I hope to see more posted here.

Has anyone tried running stock(ish) wheels/tires?
I've attempted a similar set-ups with larger wheel/tires but the car had a tendency to hunt while cruising. She did great in the corners.

I know this a dumb question and I partially know the answer. However, my goal is get to a set up that doesn't detract from a miata's great handling AND cruising characteristics.
Wider tires result in greater contact with putting power to the pavement but can someone provide an example of lessons learned going from stock wheels/tires to the magic size and when too much tire is too much. I see most have gone to 7" to 8" wide tires.

 

NCs have more options but for an NA or NB the answer is no. It is not possible to put too much tire in the these cars because the tires to do so don't exist. The widest 15" tire you can get is 225 and that's pretty wimpy. Any options to go wider in 16 or 17" wheels are too tall and won’t work very well.

So 225/45/15 or 8 or 9 inch wheels is pretty much the only viable option unless you can live with taller than 23” tires on larger than 15" wheels to go wider. Not a big fan of the monster truck look on a v8 miata myself but I am considering going to 17s anyway.

As bad as it is now in 10 years I bet there will be far fewer options in 15" tires...