Tire & Wheel Recommendation

I am thinking about changing out my original equipment 14" rims on my
'90 Miata and looking at 15s. Any recommendations on tire/wheel
combinations are welcome. The car has stock shocks and original
springs, so what is the best fit in the stock wheel well? Thanks,
Wileyman

A quick guess might be 195/50/15

"Wileyman" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> I am thinking about changing out my original equipment 14" rims on my
> '90 Miata and looking at 15s. Any recommendations on tire/wheel
> combinations are welcome. The car has stock shocks and original
> springs, so what is the best fit in the stock wheel well? Thanks,
> Wileyman
>

There are probably infinite combinations of tires and wheels. 195/50/15 is
the equivalent tire size when moving from the stock 14" to the 15" in order
to keep a similar diameter and not screw up your speedometer reading. A
good wheel will be a lightweight alloy in roughly a 15" x 6.5" variety.
There's alot of debate about changing the unsprung wheel weight and its
effect on handling.

Depending on what kind of look you want (retro, spoke, BBS, etc.) you can
find wheels from online distributors like Tire Rack or Goodwin Racing
(good-win-racing.com) or you can find them at retailers like Discount Tire.
You could probably even find used wheels without road rash if you look hard
enough. I personally went with the Konig "Hurry" style wheel because it is
very light (13.6 lbs.) and looks like the SSR Competition wheel without the
SSR price. You can see it on my website at
http://mysite.verizon.net/rogers.d/miata.html

Tires are a combination of budget, driving use, and personal preference.
There are great tires that will fit by Toyo, Bridgestone, Kumho, Falken, and
Goodyear. I can't tell you about any of them except the Goodyear F1 GS-D3
tire. The Goodyear's are pretty expensive and wear out really fast, but
they give you awesome grip and they look great. Probably not a good bet for
commuter driving and they are probably too expensive to beat up on the
track. They work well for weekend spirited driving which is what I use them
for. Whatever tire you go with, make sure you get a shop that knows how to
balance well.

Post a link to pictures when you get the new wheels! Good luck.

David


"Wileyman" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I am thinking about changing out my original equipment 14" rims on my
> '90 Miata and looking at 15s. Any recommendations on tire/wheel
> combinations are welcome. The car has stock shocks and original
> springs, so what is the best fit in the stock wheel well? Thanks,
> Wileyman
>


*** Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com ***

something to consider... do you want all-seasons or are you are going the
route of separate summer/winter sets. your old rims would be great
candidates to become your winter set. the combination of the wider tires
(wider than 185 stock) and this light car make it undriveable in the winter
with some all-season tires with even the lightest snow. with the 205 width
all-seasons that came with my car i would even skid when braking hard in the
rain in the summertime...

this calculator shows that the stock 185/60/14 translate to 195/50/15.
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

also, i also think that tirerack.com is pretty amazing, but
discounttiredirect.com offers some alternative tire and rim choices for
about the same price. the tirerack price includes the necessary mounting
hardware (lug nuts, wrench, etc) but not shipping in their price.
discounttiredirect includes free shipping in their price but not some of the
necessary mounting hardware like but not lug nuts and wrench or valves for
that matter which are offered to be added to your order... for performance
stuff good-win-racing has really good values. for some reason
discounttiredirect.com suggests a 205 width for 15" rims on the miata, but
if you call them you can order whatever you want.

"Wileyman" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I am thinking about changing out my original equipment 14" rims on my
> '90 Miata and looking at 15s. Any recommendations on tire/wheel
> combinations are welcome. The car has stock shocks and original
> springs, so what is the best fit in the stock wheel well? Thanks,
> Wileyman
>

In article . com>,
"Wileyman" > wrote:

> I am thinking about changing out my original equipment 14" rims on my
> '90 Miata and looking at 15s. Any recommendations on tire/wheel
> combinations are welcome. The car has stock shocks and original
> springs, so what is the best fit in the stock wheel well?

David offered good advice. I would add that Rota makes a wide selection
of 15x6.5 wheels that are pretty light at 12 pounds. There's no debate:
unsprung weight is important to both handling and ride, and lighter is
always better. If you're shopping online, look at tire/wheel packages
that include shipping, mounting, balancing, lugnuts, center caps,
valvestems, and hubcentric rings--when comparing prices, don't forget to
add the cost of anything not included in the package.

We can't advise you about tires until we know what you plan to do with
them, and in what kinds of weather.

BTW, if those are your original shocks, they've been dead for over 10
years and should be replaced.

--
Lanny Chambers
'94C, St. Louis
http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html

we run 15x7 with 205's on the spec miata's, seems like the best way to go.


"Wileyman" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I am thinking about changing out my original equipment 14" rims on my
> '90 Miata and looking at 15s. Any recommendations on tire/wheel
> combinations are welcome. The car has stock shocks and original
> springs, so what is the best fit in the stock wheel well? Thanks,
> Wileyman
>

Thanks to all who gave me their advice... I think I'll go with the
195/50/15s as Chuck and David suggested. I like what I see looking at
the specs of the Goodyear F1 GS D3s. Two of the wheels I have narrowed
it down to are the (13.2 lbs.) Kazera KZ-Ms painted white to match the
car or the (13.5 lb.) Kasei K-1 Racing wheels which are painted silver.
Both are available thru the Tire Rack which has a great website.
I just need a high performace tire year around here in Florida for some
fun street driving and the F1s look strong. Thanks Christopher for the
link to the Tire Size Calculator and your helpful advice. Lanny, I am
sure the shocks are not OE as she rides really nice. I might do a
shock/spring/bar swap in the near future.
I'll try to get the most complete package as possible online. Again,
appreciate all of your help.

Wileyman

I believe the kosei K1 are only available in 15x7. so if you do that you
should get the 205's

"Wileyman" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Thanks to all who gave me their advice... I think I'll go with the
> 195/50/15s as Chuck and David suggested. I like what I see looking at
> the specs of the Goodyear F1 GS D3s. Two of the wheels I have narrowed
> it down to are the (13.2 lbs.) Kazera KZ-Ms painted white to match the
> car or the (13.5 lb.) Kasei K-1 Racing wheels which are painted silver.
> Both are available thru the Tire Rack which has a great website.
> I just need a high performace tire year around here in Florida for some
> fun street driving and the F1s look strong. Thanks Christopher for the
> link to the Tire Size Calculator and your helpful advice. Lanny, I am
> sure the shocks are not OE as she rides really nice. I might do a
> shock/spring/bar swap in the near future.
> I'll try to get the most complete package as possible online. Again,
> appreciate all of your help.
>
> Wileyman
>