15" wheels - looking for opinion and photos

[matt uk]

sassthathoopie said:

The full name is Racing Sparco NS-II. Manufactured in Japan by Crimson Inc. They were on the car when it was imported.

A google search reveals:

www.tegiwaimports.com

alternatively keep an eye on ebay or the various MX5 forums.

My sources tell me that this wheel weighs 34lbs inc tyre

Edited by sassthathoopie on Monday 6th April 13:53

I make that 15.5kgs - anyone know how much an inflated tyre weighs?

[sassthathoopie]

The 17x7 rim weighs 22lbs according to various wheel weight pages

[matt uk]

Could anyone post a link to that wheels-weights table.
I've seen it before and obviously not saved it to my favourites..

[MX-5 Lazza]

I wouldn't put quite so much enthasis on the weight of the wheels. Sure you don't want heavy but there is more to a good wheel than lightness. It's most important to get the right spec i.e. correct offset for the width matched to correct alignment. Even the construction is important as some wheels Re stiffer than others and this too can affect ride & handling.
For example, I currently have 2 sets of wheels. 15" Rota Circuit 10 which are around 5kg and 17" OZ SuperTurissmo which are... somewhat heavier. Most people will tell you that the 15s should ride & handle better but in fact they just feel "different". The 15s obviously allow faster acceleration and turn in a bit sharper but across rougher roads the extra weight of the 17s makes the tyres react more and the suspension react less allowing a more comfortable and smoother but slightly less sporty ride.
The difference isn't great though and most people wouldn't be able to tell which wheels were fitted without some serious back to back testing.

When I had a Mk1 Berkeley I replaced the heavy stock 15" ET45 wheels with some 15" ET38 OZ Superlegerra which were MUCH lighter. The tyres were swapped from the old wheels to the new ones so there it's a direct wheel comparison.
The OZs again allowed better acceleration and crisper turn-in but at the expense of a much firmer ride and a lot of tramlining. Before I sold the car I refitted the old wheels and the tramlining disapeared and the ride returned.

[Risotto]

If you can find any, I'd recommend some Desmond Regamaster Evos. The advantage of them is the saving on unsprung weight - I think they were a bit less than 4kg each.



They're hard to come by in this country but there are some for sale now and again and they were available in 15" with the right offset (ET45) and stud pattern (4x100).

They came in a few colours including white.

Edited by Risotto on Tuesday 7th April 15:06

[matt uk]

Lazza, you make some good points - I guess it's not that clear cut between the perception of what makes 'a good set of wheels'

Food for thought.

Cheers,
Matt

[sassthathoopie]

matt uk said:

Could anyone post a link to that wheels-weights table.
I've seen it before and obviously not saved it to my favourites..

http://www.wheelspecs.com/ Lots of useful info

http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp offset calculator

http://www.alloywheels.com/tyrecalc.asp tyre calculator

http://autolounge.net/misc/wheelspecs.html wheel weights

www.rimtuck.com US rim tuck gallery

http://www.wheelweights.net/ more wheel weights

[maz8062]

I totally disagree with Lazza's comments above - in a nice way of course.

I have tried well over 10 different sets of wheels on my NA from 17's to BBS 14's. For the NA lightweight wheels make a very big difference.

Suffice it to say, I have 2 sets of wheels;

- Regamaster EVO 15x6.5 ~ 8.6lbs
- Sprint Hart CP-F 15x6.5 ~ 10lbs

I think the NB handles bigger wheels better than the NA, but I've no experience so cant make a definitive comment on them.

[MX-5 Lazza]

I certainly wouldn't reccomend 17" OZ Superturissmo for a Mk1, they would be too heavy. However, what I said about the Mk1 I had is a fact. The ride was better with the heavier wheels. The explaination I was given for this by an Alignment place in Bagshot is that the heavy wheels are quite soft so bend & flex easily whereas the OZ Superlegerra are very stiff. Whether this is the reason I don't know but it does kind of make sense.

[sassthathoopie]

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/982839.htm

Have you seen these?

[hornetrider]

sassthathoopie said:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/982839.htm

Have you seen these?

Good find. Get em bought! The BBS centre caps are 30 quid each on their own if any are missing.

[sassthathoopie]

http://www.wheel-wes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=...
These are nice too

No I haven't been looking for your wheels all day - I've been looking for some for my NSX! and keep spotting wheels to suit your car instead

Maybe you can find me a staggered set of 17" BBS wheels

Just noticed the swear filter has ruined the link. Site address is a brothel for 'working girls' who like wheels.

[sassthathoopie]

http://www.wheel-wes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=...

Taking the piss now!

[Red Firecracker]

http://tinyurl.com/d529eu

There you go, swear filter friendly!

[matt uk]

sassthathoopie said:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/982839.htm

Have you seen these?

Thanks for finding these. Still not sure if I'm comfortable with gold though if I'm honest..

[matt uk]

Red Firecracker said:

http://tinyurl.com/d529eu

There you go, swear filter friendly!

I'm starting to like the idea of origianl BBS wheels more and more. These are a bit of a trek for me though.

Gavin, I'll start looking for some NSX wheels for you

[lord summerisle]

Wilburo said:

I really like the Caterham wheels - dunno if they'd fit though?

https://www.caterhamparts.co.uk/product_info.php?c...

unfortunatly they wont fit. (i tried when round at a mates house - the Caterham's bolt holes are further out than the MX5's)