will 18\" wheels fit a 2001 nb8b mx5???

[KIJIMA]

The racing hart SE wheels klook fantastic IMO but as boags suggested, they are a little fragile.

[ducktape69]

18\" should definately fit fine. i have 17\" and lowered a frew inches and never scraped...

as long as the offset isnt too low...ull be fine

[Ajay]

i know i have an NA and im only a kid..

but i love 17\" wheels.. as previously stated they do fit the wheel arches alot better.. i put 17\" wheels on my car because i like the look of them, i know my car isnt fast so wouldnt be good on the track so i just keep my a$$ of it..

but id say go with 17\" over 18\".. entirely your desision in the end.. but my cousin has 18's on a 93 NA.. and they just look HUGE!.. great for the bling factor though

ajay

[CT]

Why would you bother going up to 18s when decent tyres are going to cost multiples of anything in 16 and even 17s. I must be getting old but 18s on an NB is not particularly sensible. I have an XR8 which has 18s on it in a 40 series tyre and they are enormous compared to the 16s on the NB. A set of decent tyres 18in tyres (the bit that actually provides the grip) cost well over $2k or double what the 16in MX5 tyres cost me. You may think they look good......but there are people who also think Hummers look good......

[RG.net]

i have some 17's on my nb, i dont think they are much heavier then the stockies imo
\"dont quote me\" they are RS work rims

anywhos, when i get my nb back (i have been barred from it by my parents ) i will be looking at some 5 spoke 18's

i dont really care for performace as much, unless i took it to the track, which i wont be doing for some time, so if your not making a track warrior then get some 18's, and keep the stockies for the track! there that should make everyone happy

[CT]

You might not care about the weight of big wheels......but your wheel bearings might.......

[dab]

Just an interisting thing i read in the new Autosalon mag about the mx5 mania car at Circuit battle.

\"They(mx5 mania) were comfident that on 17-inch rims they could muster a quicker time(compared to 16\"). In fact it was so quick it was again dropping jaws as it sliced half a second off its personal best, reeling off a 1:05.633.\"

Some food for thought. MX5 Mania car ended up second to Mark and Russell's R32 GTR which I have seen up close and personal and is an apsalute weapon. The NB seemed to go ok with 17\" rims.

[Andy Wana]

Maybe it's more to do with the thinner sidewalls on the tires due to the size of the rims?
For cornering purposes and the amount of rubber griping the tarmac. I am just guessing here.

[Hellmun]

The HUGE underlying factor people stick to 15\" tyres for is price. If you had two light-weight rims, same tyre tread pattern and the only difference was the weight(light weight 17\"s with same spoke are always going to be heavier than 15\") and the sidewall. I doubt the difference would be huge. The reason everyone disregards massive rims is there's always something that's going to get you more performance per dollar than that slightly smaller sidewall. The mania car is already seriously developed, they're chasing tiny differences. I'd say for you the difference in prices you'll pay per tyres...could get you something significantly more valuable in a performance sense.

If you just want something that looks cool though...well each to their own. My car came with 17\"s from BSA which are quite heavy...I've got a set of 15\" advanti racing wheels I got for $150 which I'd rather be using but I still need to buy rubber.

If you could find an 18\" tyre around 195-205 with a seriously low profile(think 25-30) it should physically fit...but your going to pay for it. Your in a small Nieche where many manufacturers aren't interested in...there's no money in it. For the record with standard suspension I've got 215/40/17's on the car atm....no clearance issues.

[Okibi]

How funny does that black NA look with 20's ! Miata SUV

[Boyracer]

NBs can look OK with 15s...


Thanks to Andrew for the great photo.

The 17s on the mania car are more about getting the right tyre size/compound...I had a look at the tyres they used for the timed run at wakefield for Autosalon and they were the super Soft compound,was not much tread left and had only done a few laps.