Postby Adam_NAclubman » Sun Aug 26, 2007 1:29 pm
14's are on the whole lighter than 15+. Light = Good, less rotational inertia, less revs needed to move off the line, less clutch slip needed to get off the line.
Taller sidewalls and crap tyres will let you feel when the tyres are getting near the edge of their grip, rather than the good good good gone that stickier tyres give. The MX5 is all about feel, and I've found with mine that while shoddy tyres don't have the same outright grip as stickier ones, theyre more fun and enjoyable to drive on. Plus the tail hangs out more :p
My widest offset wheels with decent tyres introduced a weird feeling in the steering where at about half lock on hairpins there was a point where the tyres felt like they went from sitting flat on the road with grip to sitting on an edge with far less grip, then back to sitting flat with grip again as you put just a bit more lock on, and in this second grippy bit it kind of pulled more lock on itself. Strangely enough my current 14's which sit just about as far out in the guards, but are half an inch narrower, have RE88 185's rather than A539 195's, don't give this feeling, so I don't know whats going on. Maybe its a combination of slightly changed steering geometry and tyres that have a prediliction to tramline.
The wider track will wear the bearing faster, but at least it won't look like a S13 whioe doing it :p