Finding Wheels By Size/Bolt Circle/Offset/etc? Who? Where?

...and I'd be delighted to check first at a GRM advertiser, if there is one!

I'm trying to put 15x7s on the MGB, and it's kinda fussy. I'm finding it remarkably difficult to find places that let me filter wheels effectively by all the basic paramaters.

Anybody know any good ones?

In case anybody's curious about the parameters, I'm trying not to have the one billionth MGB GT on Panasports (yes, they look great, but... I'd like to do something a little different). There are a few interesting wheels out there, and I've talked briefly to a Rota distributor since they're one of the few whose global site offers some workable offsets in wheels that I find both different and attractive. I've heard all manner of horrible things and counter-arguments regarding Rota; I'm so limited in my options I'm loathe to write anybody off. Enkei Apache IIs look neat, but fitment looks to be a matter of buying the ones with 38mm offset and spacering back, which would be nifty to avoid; moreover, they discontinued the silver ones and I really don't like the black, and now we degenerate into whether I ought to be put off by having to paint my new wheels...

I digress.

Anybody know any places with a good selection of wheels and actually lets you search and filter, and doesn't do weird things like just lump wheels into low/mid/high offset? (e.g. wheelfire).

As an aside, I could strangle the folks at Enkei, who A: don't even seem to list all their wheels, and B: require you to find a wheel you like the look of on their site, then open its data page to look at the chart of dimensions available. The overview page doesn't even let you know available diameters without clicking into the wheel...

And just because although I'm really after a resource I can search myself, it'll drive folks berzerk if I don't post the dimensions I'm after:

15x7, 4x114.3 lug pattern, ~25mm offset (20mm dead minimum, 25mm probably ideal, more than that requiring a spacer; OTOH, the dish in the rear drums may require room for a 5mm spacer depending on whether the wheel makes room outside the lug circle) ~3" center bore, though the MG is not set up for hubcentricity, so I think it's a matter of just having enough room. I believe the number I've seen sold most specifically for MGs is 73.1mm.

Summit racing lets you filter all that stuff.  It’s my go-to for wheel shopping

In reply to Patrick :

It's true! They've earned a tip o' the hat for that. Unfortunately, they have no wheels that do me any good...

As a serial wheel buyer I will say that I’ve only ever bought one set of wheels new. I prefer old style wheels, if you are open to that I would look at the forums for zilvia, japanesenostalgiccar,  club4ag, ratsun, stanceworks and hondatech. Don’t forget to look on eBay by bolt pattern.

Cool. I'm looking for "different" wheels for the Miata. I've not heard of the places chandler mentioned. I'll check them out. 

Tire rack really annoyed me while looking for a 17 x 9 30mm back spacing 5 x 114.3.  The answer was sorry we can’t sort that way.  Good to know summit can.

Shadeux said:

Cool. I'm looking for "different" wheels for the Miata. I've not heard of the places chandler mentioned. I'll check them out. 

For 4x100 add vwvortex 

akylekoz said:

Tire rack really annoyed me while looking for a 17 x 9 30mm back spacing 5 x 114.3.  The answer was sorry we can’t sort that way.  Good to know summit can.

It's all about how the database access is structured. Summit sells to racers/modifiers, Tire Rack sells to normal people. Different priorities. 

I'll bet my wholesale guy at TR has this sort of access to the database, but the wholesale guys do run a different system than the retail guys.

If you're going to post an offset number, it's important to specify + or -

Even at 25 mm it's still a healthy difference. 

In reply to z31maniac :

I defaulted to my understanding of convention and integers being positive unless otherwise specified 

That said, you're right, there's too much ambiguity in these things always. I meant 25mm positive offset, the mounting face being 25mm closer to the outer face than the inner. Or the tire being held 25mm closer to the car centerline than 0 offset, however you want to think about it.

Looking back, on a small screen, my tilde for "approximately" looks perilously like a negative sign...

In reply to Keith Tanner/akylekoz :

I have it in my head that TR is basically disinterested in selling fitments they haven't checked, thus saving themselves dealing with customers torqued off because their, uh, "optimistic" fitments didn't work.

Which means that while I dig them when I want something they know, they are of zero use to me sometimes, like now.

Yeah, it's not worth the liability (fiscal or legal) to serve that really, really small sliver of the market that knows enough to put the wrong wheels on their cars on purpose. They have started offering STR fitments on some cars and will sell you something that requires fender rolling, though.

I know they have the data we need for our bastard cars, but there's just no easy front end for them to get at it which means it's basically not accessible.

Now, if you can identify another car with similar characteristics, you'll be able to use the Tire Rack data. An Integra Type R might be close. That 73mm center bore is likely a limiting factor, that's huge. 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Good call; that at least let me see that they offer a 240Z fitment in 15x7 and 4x114.3 and suitable center bore, in a deeply hideous (IMHO) Enkei Compe that looks like someone crossed a Panasport knockoff with any of the current faux-rally stuff with a bunch of ribs on the perimeter, and then only in 0 offset. So at least they're probably not hiding a bunch of suitable wheels from me, even if that's not an exhaustive list of stuff that they might have...

As a fellow 4x114.3 wheel whore I feel your pain. Try the early Altima fitments. They were 4x114.3 and I believe around your offset. 

Also research 4 X 4.5".