So I am getting tired of my 14 inch Miata wheels, mostly because of the tire selection. And in my area finding anything that will fit a Miata and in 15 inch is nearly impossible, unless you want to pay out the nose for some ancient BBS wheels.
What I do commonly see on the marketplace is 16 inch miata wheels. The weight difference is approximately 3 pounds. Is that enough to make a difference that is noticeable? I only autocross the car and daily drive it
Depends, are you the type of autocrosser that complains you didn't bring enough gas for bonus runs and argues over half a psi of air pressure, or do you just go out to have fun and flog the car?
That seems to be the difference to me in how people answer that question.
Also is that just wheel weight or wheel plus tire weight difference?
Personally, when I went from stock 14s to 15x7s from Pep boys, I didn't notice the extra 7lbs (combined) per corner, but I only really dove it for a season and a half. They aren't the lightest wheels available, but with the almost constant buy 3 get 1 free sales they have, it was cheaper to buy new than on Craigslist.
Fun & flog. Maybe competitive in a another lifetime. Lol.
What is the pep boys deal? (Not that I have a Pepe boys anywhere near me...)
that is just wheel weight, according to miata.nerd
You'll find that appropriate tire sizes are more difficult to find in 16".
If you drive them back to back with the same tires, you'll notice a difference. But the tire is going to have a bigger effect on feel, ride quality and grip than the chunk of aluminum stuck in the middle unless you start going way off the norm.
I find it hard to believe that 15" 4x100 wheels are hard to find. They don't have to be off a Miata, there are hundreds of thousands of cars out there that came with that size.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Correct as usual, but to find 15” wheels that meet a lot of the criteria is. 1) 15”, 2) not a cheap Chinese wheel, 3) looks decent, 4) isnt “worth” more than a brand new set of Rotas, or Avantis...
for instance, if I wasn’t picky, I could get a set stock integra wheels for next to nothing. But they look so gross and weigh about the same as 16”.
You may not feel it, but it’s probably worth a couple tenths 0-60. 3 lbs of flywheel at each corner is a lot on a small and marginally-powered car.
Where are you?
I have a set of 15X7 inch aftermarket wheels that I would almost give away if you want them?
They came off a Miata, that is I bought them from a Miata owner for the new DOT race tires that were mounted on them.
Their not pretty but they're the Spec Miata size wheel.
We haven't broken any of the 15x6.5 Konig Heliums while rallycrossing. Can't argue with $90ish for 11 lbs. I'm about to get a fourth set for autocross purposes.
Technically they violate your cheap Chinese wheel rule, but the only way you can do better is if you're going with 6ULs or something heavier.
I really, really, really noticed about ten pounds a corner on my road race car. Where I noticed it, though, was over curbs and on rough spots. It was like I had replaced the Konis with magic shocks.
A lot of wheels come out of China, don't discount it as a manufacturing source. All the new flow formed stuff is from there, although I think some is also coming out of Vietnam. 15" Miata-size wheels are pretty cheap new, and if you buy tires at the same time from Tire Rack you get a free mount and balance.
If you take a 15" and a 16" wheel of the same weight, you'll get more flywheel effect out of the 16" due to the increased moment of inertia. FYI.
jimbbski said:Where are you?
I have a set of 15X7 inch aftermarket wheels that I would almost give away if you want them?
They came off a Miata, that is I bought them from a Miata owner for the new DOT race tires that were mounted on them.
Their not pretty but they're the Spec Miata size wheel.
Oregon. 97701
The place you will notice the most difference is on a rough road. All other things being equal the heavier wheel will be slower on track, but other things will not be equal, and you won't really feel it, only measure it. Washboards at speed on the street you may feel, and want more shock absorber to compensate.
A good magazine did a comparison of performance data with different weight wheels and, iirc, didn’t find much of a difference
Last time I increased rotational weight I noticed a definite difference in acceleration snappiness, bump impact, and faster mileage.
Of course, I added 20lbs per tire with ATs on a full size truck. Not a good reference.
I remember slightly feeling the weight increase going to wider wheels and tires on the Mustang but it wasnt bad. I think that was about 5lbs per corner. But the increase in grip was well worth it.
Arent the NB Miata 15" wheels like 13lbs? Throw some sticky 195/50R15s on them and they are a solid and cheap choice. Craigspace and Facelist both have a ton of listing for them.
Or go with the 15x7, 15x8 Miata aftermarket wheels(usually around $130/wheel), drop weight down to 9-12lbs per wheel and go with a 205/50R15(they have 1,000,000 choices). A friend just went to a 15x7 Advanti Storm on his NA Miata with a 205/50R15 Toyo R888 for autocross and loves the setup. Think he even paid less than $130 a wheel and they were flow formed.
And all this coming from a guy who is running nearly impossible to find lightweight 15x7's in 4x108 / +40mm wheels on a Fiesta ST.
I needed some ES legal 15 inch wheels, so I posted a WTB ad in the parts for sale section of this forum.
I got a set of the light weight stock wheels with a set of RE71 195-50-15 tires for cheap. It's been a while, but I think it was $200.
In reply to _ :
Gonna be a tough sell to you out there. I have 15" konig heliums with winter tires that I used on my Fit.
I didn't notice a difference when I went from 10lb 15x5.5 Mini Imola wheels to 13lb 15x8 Jongbloed Aero 500s from the weight. I did notice the massive increase in grip from the 185-width Falken Ziexes on the Imolas vs the 205-width ZII Star Specs on the Jongbloeds though.
You'll feel it if that 3lbs is all in one place on the lip of each wheel...
So perhaps this is naive on my part; while I know tire selection in 14" diameter isn't great it is possible to get a plain old street tire 185/60-14 (Vredestien and others) or autocross/track tire 205/55-14 & 225/50-14 (Hankook, Toyo & Hoosiers).
So back to the original question; if you are on this site the answer is yes you will notice. Mostly from a standing start and acceleration off 2nd gear corners. On an autocross course the extra weight would likely only add a tenth or two.
On the street, my opinion the larger wheels & tires takes away the Miata-ness of a Miata. Pretty much in the same way they put skinny tires on the BRZ/FRS to make it more fun.
Tom1200 said:So perhaps this is naive on my part; while I know tire selection in 14" diameter isn't great it is possible to get a plain old street tire 185/60-14 (Vredestien and others) or autocross/track tire 205/55-14 & 225/50-14 (Hankook, Toyo & Hoosiers).
So back to the original question; if you are on this site the answer is yes you will notice. Mostly from a standing start and acceleration off 2nd gear corners. On an autocross course the extra weight would likely only add a tenth or two.
On the street, my opinion the larger wheels & tires takes away the Miata-ness of a Miata. Pretty much in the same way they put skinny tires on the BRZ/FRS to make it more fun.
Mazda hasn't made Miatas with 14" wheels for two decades now 
15" is the acknowledged ideal size for the NA/NB chassis.
3lbs per wheel is gonna be pretty hard to notice. Get yourself some 15s so you have decent tires to choose from, the selection in 14s or 16s is awful in comparison. Unless you're trying to impress some automotive fashionistas, there are plenty of cheaper, often Chinese-manufactured brands that make perfectly good wheels: Konig, Avanti, Kosei, 949. I'm planning to put 15x8 Avanti Storm S1s (or maybe S2s) on my Corolla.
For all the love of Advanti Storms - they're out of production. If you want some and they're still available in your size, grab them ASAP.
I went from 37 lbs per tire/wheel combo to a 31 lb combo on my 2004 MSM. It came stock with the 17" wheels. Miata's own literature says this size choice was for "styling" reasons, no mention of performance reasons.
The ride with the 17's was just horrible, they weighted about 17.5 lbs each, crashed over each tiny bump, and tire selection was not that great and the ones that were on it roared all the time. I switched to some 12 lb - 15 x 8 Advanti's with 205/50-15 Continental Extreme Contacts. Its a different car. A pleasure to drive on rougher roads and always a smoother and quieter ride.
I had a similar experience with a 1990 Miata when I switched from the stock 17 lb (wheel only), 14" steelies to some 12 lb 14" wheels from a later model.
Many people seem to agree that 15" wheels are the way to go for Miata's and the larger diameter ones just get too heavy.
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https://www.miata.net/faq/wheel_weights.html
