Need new wheels

[kimbowill]

After a failed atempt at wheel balencing I found out I have 2 bent wheels that is causing an annoying 43mph vibration. I need to find 2 OEM 17" wheels or go with a aftermarket. Anyone out there have the 10 spoke OEM's sitting in there garage? Or, if you've bought aftermarket wheels please show them off. I saw the post about Mustang wheels but I'm thinking they might be too heavy. Thoughts? I'll definitly consider the OEM 16" for the right price as well. My thinking being the hight profile tire the last chance of me getting into this situation again .

[skeeler]

I have various general points to make on this topic. Please ignore or accept them, as you wish:

• There's a thread on Miata.net, in the NC forum, where people are posting their aftermarket wheels. I'd suggest looking there if you are in need of inspiration.
• You are correct that Mustang wheels will likely be too heavy. I'd steer clear of those. But that's my opinion. YMMV.
• Keep in mind that the Miata is very sensitive to unsprung weight, and most cars are sensitive to offset, so be careful with your choice.

Now for a semi-specific recommendation.

• Brian Goodwin carries a wide selection of wheels for the NC. If you are looking for the best performance/cost ratio, the RP-F1 is the way to go, but there are other good choices, too. The RP-F1 comes in a 17x7 size (the same as your stock wheels) that's over 2 lbs lighter than the stock ones. http://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda-Pe ... heels.html

[kimbowill]

Michael,

Thanks for your reply. After I posted this I found the same OEM wheels for a lot less then the dealer price.

http://www.wheelsandcaps.com/w_selectio ... _MODEL=MX5

I do like the wheels you suggested, in fact I got those for may NA when trying to fix a vibration on that car. I did want something light and the 15" rims were 9.5 lbs compared to the 18 lbs wheels that were on there before.

I do like the OEM wheels too and since I only need to buy 2 wheels will be a lot less expensive. I'm going to go that way.

Regardless of my decision, If anyone has pictures to post of after markets on there NC, please feel free!

[kimbowill]

I ordered the wheels and now I'm a bit nervous about my purchase. When I ordered them, Wheels and Caps stated them as In Stock. I got a confirmation that my order was take and now the status is "Looking For Product". The price is still very good and I'm willing to wait a few weeks, however, I just want to let everyone know that Wheelsandcaps.com might be one to avoid. I'll keep you updated. I'm going to call them tomorrow to see if I can get a better status over the phone. I suspect not, but we'll see.

[kimbowill]

Michael,

Well the Wheels and Caps place could not find the wheels I needed. I called some other places and they are out of stock as well. Maybe it's just as well as I later found the wheels I was going to get we remanufactured and who knows, might not have matched up perfectly. That said, I went for the RP-F1's. I went for the 17X7.5 48mm offset. These will work with my current tires (205's) and I can get 215's when I get new tires if I want in the future. It costs a hell of a lot more but you only live once and I hate the vibration I'm getting now.

BTW, Anyone out there need 2 OEM 10 spoke wheels from a 2007? 2 were bent but the other 2 are fine. When I get the new wheels, I'll put them up for sale.

Thanks all,

Will

[skeeler]

Will,

When you do put them up, you should market them as '06-'08 wheels, since they were the same for all 3 years. You can probably find a taker at miata.net, though you may only be able to sell one at a time.

[NicholasJay]

BTW, Anyone out there need 2 OEM 10 spoke wheels from a 2007? 2 were bent but the other 2 are fine. When I get the new wheels, I'll put them up for sale.

If they were the 16" style, I'd take them off your hands. When you do put them up for sale, put a thread in the 'For Sale' section on this site. Hopefully you would be able to help a club member out. The classifieds at miata.net charge for the service, but then you also would have to ship the wheels (most likely).

[kimbowill]

Will,

When you do put them up, you should market them as '06-'08 wheels, since they were the same for all 3 years. You can probably find a taker at miata.net, though you may only be able to sell one at a time.

Thanks!

[kimbowill]

BTW, Anyone out there need 2 OEM 10 spoke wheels from a 2007? 2 were bent but the other 2 are fine. When I get the new wheels, I'll put them up for sale.

If they were the 16" style, I'd take them off your hands. When you do put them up for sale, put a thread in the 'For Sale' section on this site. Hopefully you would be able to help a club member out. The classifieds at miata.net charge for the service, but then you also would have to ship the wheels (most likely).

Thank you too! I've yet to get the hardtop..With the wheel problem it's getting expensive. Hopefully I'll get one for next winter.

[kimbowill]

So the new wheels are on but I have to admit, I don't love them. I'll probably get used to how the look but I really did like the stock wheels. One thing I do notice is it's less likely to peel out now. I think the bent wheel made it easy to get loose. I'm happy with that and of couse it rides a lot smoother and it's quieter. By the looks of the bent wheel, it's surprising how little it was bent and how much it caused.

[kimbowill]

How do I post a classified ad? I know this sounds dumb but when I go to the classified section I don't see a post ad button anywhere. Do I need to be a paying member?

[skeeler]

kimbowill,

Please bring the car and the new wheels to the next club event. I'm planning to get some 17x9 RFP1s for my new NC, and I'd like to see them in a 17-inch size in person. I assume you got the silver color. Is that correct?

If you decide you don't like the look after a few months, I can likely take them off your hands for a fair price. I'll be looking for street wheels at some point. Shoot, maybe we can do an even swap. How do you feel about the OEM 17s on the 2009+ cars?

http://www.miata.net/gallery/images/10silver.jpg

[skeeler]

Just click on "New Topic" and post it like any other new thread. Easy.

[ChristianL]

Do I need to be a paying member?

Yep.

[NicholasJay]

Do I need to be a paying member?

Yep.

On miata.net for the 'For Sale and Trade' forum section, yes. Otherwise, there is the 'classified section', here, http://www.miata.net/isclassifieds/ , that anyone can post to, but it still costs something to post there..

[NicholasJay]

So the new wheels are on but I have to admit, I don't love them.

Pics? I'd like to see them on your car. I'm toying with the idea of getting RPF1's in either 225 or 215 width tires.

[skeeler]

Nick,

I'm guessing this isn't your style, but I think your car would look great with Black RFP1s.

[NicholasJay]

Nick,

I'm guessing this isn't your style, but I think your car would look great with Black RFP1s.

Of course you would think that. I haven't found any good pictures of the black versions on an NC to judge from. But I do like the way they look in silver on my gray.

I have a thread over on miata.net asking about wheel widths and tire widths. I'm wondering if I could get away with a 225/45 on a 17x8 (in a 45mm offset) wheel without having any rubbing issues. Otherwise, I'd probably go with a 215/40 on a 17x7.5 (48 offset) wheel. But seems awfully expensive to buy extra wheels for an extra 10mm of width.

I know you're thinking of 17"x9"s. 235/40's?

I have found a couple of people on Goodwin's site that say they've done 225's on the 17x8's.

[NicholasJay]

this guy has 225/45/17's on the 17x7.5 wheel.He says that he's on the same suspension I'm on.

[skeeler]

Nick,

Yep, the silver does look nice with the Galaxy Gray. GG is a beautiful color that works with many others. I bet it would even look good with the gold RFP1s, given the gold overtones that color has. It might be too flashy for me, though.

Goodwin's site is the best source for parts for the NC, as I'm sure you've realized. His forum is often a good source of info. I'd suggest taking a look at that 17-or-whatever-page thread on the RFP1 thread, but it sounds like you've already done that. Let me know what you find.

Keep in mind that, since you are at near-stock power, you may not want to go too much wider on your tires; you'll just increase your rolling resistance unnecessarily. I think 215 might be a good size for a stock-ish-power NC that's only street-driven, but YMMV.

That blue car looks higher than yours. At least the wheel gap is larger. If those are really 225/45s, there's no way he's at your ride height.

I'm thinking of going with 245/35-17 or 245/40-17. I'll need a good fender-lip roll for that The maximum tire width allowed for STR is 255, but there may be some rubbing even with a thorough roll, so I'm going to go conservative on width. I'll be putting those tires on 17x9+45 RFP1s, probably. The 949 6ULR looks to have a near-perfect offset of +48, but they aren't arrive until April and are a half pound heavier and probably 50 dollars more expensive. I also eventually want to get some lightweight 17x7.5 or 17x8 wheels to run 215-ish street tires on. Then I'd run winter tires on the stock wheels.

Unless kimbowill wants to trade, that is.

In other news, I've signed up for the group buy on Fat Cat Motorsports' single-adjustable coilover for the NC. It won't get here until about April 1. If there's an April tech day, I'll certainly have a project for it.

[NicholasJay]

I went for the RP-F1's. I went for the 17X7.5 48mm offset. These will work with my current tires (205's) and I can get 215's when I get new tires if I want in the future. It costs a hell of a lot more but you only live once and I hate the vibration I'm getting now.

Will,

I'm not sure where you live, but I was wondering if I could stop by sometime in the next couple of weeks to take a look at your car with its new wheels? Right now, I'm struggling between 17"x7.5" and the 17"x8" RPF-1's and I'm curious to see how the 7.5" wheels sit on your car.

I can come by on a weekend or after work one day ( or during the day if that's better for you). It should only take about a 1/2 hour at most.

Thanks,
Nick

[NicholasJay]

I'm cross posting this from Miata.net:

After all the discussion, I've made my final decision. I ordered 17x7.5 RPF1's with 215/45/17 Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs. I ordered them from Tire Rack, and not 17 hours later they were at my door! Talk about quick shipping.

Today I did a quick test fit of two of the wheels to get an idea on how they fit. Verdict: Everything fits fine. I can't see how they would have any clearance issues (no surprise though).

As far as other observations go: The new tires look (and are) a decent bit bigger than my OEM tires. The tires sit flush with the wheels, maybe with a tiny bit of bulging outward.

I weighed the combinations on my bathroom scale. The new wheels/tires came out to be 38.2 lbs and the OEM 16" wheels/tires (with 5/32nds tread left on them) were 35 lbs. The scale reads to the nearest 0.2lbs, bu I admit it isn't super accurate.

One thing extra to note: Tire Rack sends the wheels with the proper hubcentric rings and lug nuts. The lug nuts are the same style as the stock ones, but longer. The lug nuts work fine, but you have to be careful of the socket with which you use to put them on the car. My 21mm impact socket was too thick, and it would touch the outside edge of the hub area (barely) while it was on a nut (see picture below). So I hand tightened them for my testing. I'd be afraid of marring that part of the wheel when R&R'ing the wheels. After I had the wheels off the car again, I remembered that I had a 21 mm 12pt regular socket, so I tested that off the car. It was a lot better than the impact socket as far as clearance, but I don't really know for sure since I didn't test it on the car. I'm probably going to be ordering the McGard spline drive lugs from Goodwin so I don't have any issues. Any suggestions?

Below are some (poor) pictures of the wheels test fitted on my car. Remember that the springs/shocks haven't compressed much yet from being in the air, so the wheel gap is a bit more than normal.

[skeeler]

The wheels look good. Why did you settle on the 17x7.5s? Clearance?

I have 2 sets of the spline-drive lug nuts and like them. The splines resist stripping and act as wheel locks, while the rotating base prevents marring. They aren't light, however.

[NicholasJay]

The wheels look good. Why did you settle on the 17x7.5s? Clearance?

I have 2 sets of the spline-drive lug nuts and like them. The splines resist stripping and act as wheel locks, while the rotating base prevents marring. They aren't light, however.

There were a few factors. Clearance might have been the biggest one. Other factors included weight, the fact that I was stressing over a lousy 12mm extra width -which I would probably never notice, and ordering from Tire Rack (the 8" wheels were out of stock, unless I wanted to spend extra money to ship them from farther away.

[91BRG]

They look really nice!

Just got an email for anyone pondering wheels - Emilio is taking orders now for 17x9 and 17x10 6ULR wheels... 4 colors... I just want 15x9 in matte bronze.

[skeeler]

BRG,

Here you go. The ones you want are in stock:

http://949racing.com/15x96ulmattebronze.aspx

Unless you mean the 6ULR instead of the 6UL. I don't think he plans to offer the 6ULR in 15-inch sizes.

By the way, for those considering the 6ULR, the 17x10 is meant as an S2000 fitment; the offset isn't right for the NC. And be careful when ordering the 17x9; only one of those (the +48) is intended for the NC.