Full set of miata steel wheels $65....but will they fit ?

[Perle]

I need help confirming what year of mazda miata wheels will fit the aspire converted festy.

A local is selling a set of miata wheels, these are the 14x5.5 steelies not the cast aluminum's.

Just want to be sure they will fit before I commit to purchasing.

What tires does everyone suggest

[mattswabb]

I have the aluminum miata wheels 14x4.5 with 165/65/14's. I had 185/60/14's and they rubbed the rear spring perches and the front fender lips. I'm running the FMS springs with the KYB struts also and the aspire swap.

Here is my thread on my wheels:

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=868

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=609

If my car wasn't lowered I could have used the tires with a thin spacer on the rear.

[Perle]

I knew I had seen that somewhere. Thanks Matt.

$65 for the whole set..........seems a good deal.

Now, what do the "festy sages" suggest for tires ???

[Safety Guy]

Well-fitting, available, affordable fourteen inch tyres?

Aye, there's the rub!

Tire Rack has the Potenza RE92 in 165/65-14 for $55 each:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp?width=165%2F&ratio=65&diameter=14&startIndex=0&search=true&pagelen=20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1&RunFlat=All&x=81&y=7

Is that what you have Matt? If so, how do you like them?

I considered buying the 165/65-13 RE92s for my Aspire alloys, but there were so many negative reviews about them. I just ordered some Hercules G2000 Metric H tyres in 165/70-13 instead. No reviews on them, but they were cheaper and will go well if I install an Aspire ATX.


Perle, I'd be careful about any of the 195 mm wide tyres, since at least one site I was at indicated they were a tad too wide for 5.5" rims.

One good size would be 175/60-14, but good luck in finding them.

Okay, try this export company:

http://www.mmdtires.com/index.asp

Their tyres are used, however. They do indicate they have 175/60-14s, though. Cheap, plus unknown shipping from, I guess, Florida? Might be worth a try.

Karl

[Safety Guy]

Ah, here's ya some new 175/60 Nexens for around $65 each:

http://www.megaperformance.com/nexentires.html

I don't believe I've ever heard of Nexen.

Karl

[mattswabb]

Tire Rack has the Potenza RE92 in 165/65-14 for $55 each:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp?width=165%2F&ratio=65&diameter=14&startIndex=0&search=true&pagelen=20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1&RunFlat=All&x=81&y=7

Is that what you have Matt? If so, how do you like them?

Karl

Thats what I have. I like them but have nothing to really compare them to. They are better than the 12's.

[25Horseplay]

I bought my tires at onlinetires.com they are Toyo proxes. They don't have the same ones I bought but do have these.

http://ec-securehost.com/OnlineTires.com/Toyo_PROXES_T1-R.html

I am running 195/45/14. They are alittle more money though.

[Perle]

I already have the aspire steelies ready to go on the car.
The tires are Falken Eurowinters HS404 175 / 70 - 13.
I got the wheels and tires mounted and balanced for $40 + a case Milwaukies worst ice beer.

Then I spotted the Miata 14's for a good price on craigslist, but it sounds like maybe I should just stay with aspire steelies for cost effective tires.

This car is still going to be a daily driver with weekend road rally dreams.
I plan on getting involved with the local Rally club and doing some road rally's. Pavement and gravel roads mixed....some auto-x.

Whats performance gains might there be going with the 14's over the 13's?
What about mixing, 13's on the front and 14's on the rear, or the other way around?
Any thoughts?

[Safety Guy]

The larger the wheel diameter, the lower the aspect ratio can go, assuming the same outside (rolling) diameter. This should give you sharper tire response for more precise handling.

Unfortunately, unless you go to the 195/45-14s, or some 195/45-15s, there probably isn't much advantage to them, since the sidewall is getting taller rather than shorter, and your acceleration may suffer with the inferior mechanical advantage. Speedo dial error increases as well.

Matt's 165/65-14s seem reasonable, but compare them to the following 13s:

-165/65-13 (fits Aspire rims very well and gives stock ride height; these Potenzas are available from Tire Rack)

-175/60-13 (fits Aspire rims seemingly with no problems and gives stock ride height--would be better on a 5" rim)

-185/60-13 (fits perfectly on a 5.5" rim--for example the Konigs--and is only 6mm taller)

The last two sizes are more easily obtained (Falken, Sumitomo, Hercules, some others) and don't cost too much; usually well under $50 each.

I'm planning on sticking with 13" wheels for right now. I think I'll buy some Konig Theories for summer use with 185/60 Falkens on Luxstiva. I can switch back to the skinny Aspire setup for winter or for a long trip (for better fuel economy).

In case you didn't know it, Theories are dual bolt mounting capable: both Aspire and Festiva stock hubs.

I'm not sure what I'll do with my 13 X 5.5" VW alloys on the Mutt. I'm not sure one or two of them hold air well. Plus, at 15 pounds each, they're kinda heavy. (Matt's 14 X 5.5" Miata wheels are about 13 pounds each.)

Matt's Miata wheels look great on his car though, and his 165/65 tire size should not penalize him any.

Karl

[Safety Guy]

Mixing wheel and tyre sizes on a Festiva or Aspire?

I don't see why not but I'm no suspension and handling expert.

The old Citroen FWDs used smaller tyres on the rear than the fronts.

Right now I'm running 165/70-12s on the front and 155/80-12s on the back on my Festiva stock alloys (12 X 4.5").

On our cars, you can use more traction for the fronts than the rear, as we're generally prone to understeer. In opposition is the fact that Festivas have tighter fitment issues for the rear tyres. (Going to an Aspire rear strut gives you another 1/2" or so to work with on the inner side due to the higher spring perch.)

I'd try to stick with keeping all tyres and wheels the same size though, unless you really know what you're doing.

One important matter is the problem of your spare. For short distances, your temporary spare is fine. But what if you have an unrepairable flat in the middle of a long trip? What if your usual tyre size is WEIRD and no one stocks it?

If you run a weird tyre size and go on long trips, have a full size spare. If you also run different tyre sizes front and back, make sure you put the same height tyre on the front if you have a front flat, so the differential doesn't work too hard. At least I think that's important. I could be wrong.

Karl

[Andrew]

One important matter is the problem of your spare. For short distances, your temporary spare is fine. But what if you have an unrepairable flat in the middle of a long trip? What if your usual tyre size is WEIRD and no one stocks it?

This scares me because my tires are directional i have a spare, it's a stock 13" wheel with a 175/70/13 so the size difference is minimal but still... i drive a few hundred miles a week these days.

[Safety Guy]

What's your tire size Andrew? If you have 195/50-15s your overall diameter is around 22.7," same as a 175/70-13. You should be fine.

If you have a flat on the front and a lot of miles to go, I'd switch the spare to one of the rears, though.

If you really wanted to be picky-safe, buy one Konig 13 X 5.5" wheel and put on a 195/60-13 tyre. Overall diameter would be 22.3 inches and your tread width would be the same. Comfy! (Also a bit expensive.)

Actually, a matching 15" wheel with a nondirectional tyre would be nicer.

Karl

[Perle]

Thanks for all the great info!

I purchased the Miata wheels......The seller sold them to me for $50.
Couldnt pass it up, they are in absolutely perfect condition. He pulled them off the car with less than 100 miles and have been stored every since. I went for ride in his "tuned" Miata.....spanking fast !!

The Festy has always poor handling due to being abused prior to me picking it up and I have always suspected at least one bad strut at each end of the car. It has bad walllows whenever I pushed it hard on long corners like full throttle runs onto freeway onramps, etc

Here is my plan since one of my rear struts is known to bad and after further inspection I am fairly confident a front strut is shiite as well.

I am going to go ahead get a set of the KYB GR2's, I wanted to do these anyways.
Then I will find the lowest profile 14" rubber I can for the Miata wheels and run them for auto-x or summer or whatever.

So that means I need to setup my suspension to be "13/14 dual tire" capable. Meaning all 13's or 14's at once not half and half.
Since I plan to do a bit of rallying I am not worried about lowering the car. I know this means a compromise between pure street and auto-x performance vs. Bumpy gravel roads and urban combat driving.

Springs ??? Stay with the festy springs or pickup a set from an Aspire?
I was thinking a newer set from an Aspire would be a better solution especially with the prior questionable history of the car.

Any suggestions or comments are very welcomed! :idea:

[fastivaca]

Ah, here's ya some new 175/60 Nexens for around $65 each:

http://www.megaperformance.com/nexentires.html

I don't believe I've ever heard of Nexen.

Karl

I'm running Nexen N2000 175-60-13's on the front of my car for the past 12 months. I like them better than the Falken Ziex and they perform particluarly well in the wet. Here's the link

http://www.nexentire.co.kr/english/product_tec/sub2.asp?idx=11&name=N2000&expend=1

[Andrew]

What's your tire size Andrew? If you have 195/50-15s your overall diameter is around 22.7," same as a 175/70-13. You should be fine.

If you have a flat on the front and a lot of miles to go, I'd switch the spare to one of the rears, though.

If you really wanted to be picky-safe, buy one Konig 13 X 5.5" wheel and put on a 195/60-13 tyre. Overall diameter would be 22.3 inches and your tread width would be the same. Comfy! (Also a bit expensive.)

Actually, a matching 15" wheel with a nondirectional tyre would be nicer.

Karl

Yeh, they're 195/50/15. I looked at some tire size calc and was quite pleased to see that it was so close to my 175.

Once I get money again I'll get another Rota rim and new tires so I can have a proper 5 wheel setup and I'll just buy myself some center ring spacers (unfortunately wheels are just held on by the lugs right now, probably why everyting's kinda shakey) and an impact wrench so I can just rotate the stupid things myself. No shop ever seems to want to rotate in a fullsize spare. I didn't actually know that the tires I was getting were directional until after they were on, I wanted some cheaper but seemingly nicer firestone ones but the shop I go to didn't have them. I'll have a proper tire shop do my tires next time.