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Car Forum / Mazda / Mazda Miata / February 2008Need tire/wheel advice, quick!
I have an 04 MSM with 17" Racing Hart wheels. About 6 months ago the city scraped the road I take to work and the next morning I whacked both right rims on a manhole which was sticking up probably 2" from the roadway. Nose to tail traffic, I didn't even see it. Both right tires have been leaking air ever since, about 10 lbs/week. Today I got a (non-repairable) flat on one of the left side tires. The tire shop checked out the tires and found the right front is noticeably out of round, the right rear slightly less so. They thought possibly the rims could be repaired but didn't know of any local shops that did it. Some options, keeping in mind the car has 30k miles and I need new tires anyway: 1. Buy new 205/17/40 tires and get the rims repaired. How expensive is this? In general, how repairable are tires like these? I'm worried that being aluminum alloy (I think) they have been weakened and will be more susceptible to damage in the future. I'm in Central Florida. 2. Get new 16" wheels and 205/16/45 tires. The current 17" wheels are 17 lbs each and I will not be considering anything heavier. I'm considering: OZ Crono HT's, 15.5 lbs, 42mm offset, $203. Sport Edition D4's, 17 lbs, 38mm offset, $75 (closeout). The OZ wheels look much nicer, very close to my current Racing Harts. I had pretty much decided to get those until I scrolled to the bottom of the page and saw how much cheaper the Sport Editions were. Which wheel is likely to be stronger? Otherwise, does anyone know of a strong, light, cheap 16" wheel? Tires. I'm not too which is the best deal price performance-wise. Throwing cost out the window, it'd be OZ Crono's and Goodyear Eagle F1 GS- D3's. What do all you experts think? (Quickly -- I'm driving on two bent rims and a space-saver spare!) > I have an 04 MSM with 17" Racing Hart wheels. About 6 months ago the city > scraped the road I take to work and the next morning I whacked both right [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > being aluminum alloy (I think) they have been weakened and will be more > susceptible to damage in the future. I'm in Central Florida. You are correct about them being made from aluminum alloy. I know several people that are rolling on at least one repaired wheel without any problems. The cost is fairly reasonable, should be less than replacing a performance tire on a wheel that size. > 2. Get new 16" wheels and 205/16/45 tires. The current 17" wheels are 17 > lbs each and I will not be considering anything heavier. I'm considering: [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > likely to be stronger? Otherwise, does anyone know of a strong, light, > cheap 16" wheel? Can't say which would be stronger. Chris D. has a set of 16 inch wheels that look nice, do not weigh too much, and are reasonably priced, but I can never remember what brand and model they are. > Tires. I'm not too which is the best deal price performance-wise. > Throwing cost out the window, it'd be OZ Crono's and Goodyear Eagle F1 GS- > D3's. > > What do all you experts think? (Quickly -- I'm driving on two bent rims > and a space-saver spare!) Experts, ha! I would check out the price to have the wheels repaired. If there is some problem with repairing them or if you would rather get new wheels anyway, one thing to consider is that there is another person out there who is in the same position as you. The undamaged Racing Hart wheels you have should fetch a good amount of money from someone who has damaged one or two of their MSM wheels and is determined to stay with the stock set-up. I have found that selling the wheels individually gets a lot more money than selling them as a set. Pat > I would check out the price to have the wheels repaired. If there is > some problem with repairing them or if you would rather get new wheels [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > I have found that selling the wheels individually gets a lot more money > than selling them as a set. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the 16" wheels and tires. Repairing the 17's would be cheaper but I don't want to be driving around worrying that the next pothole is going to knock them out of round again. Also, I don't have a lot of experience with alloy car rims, but on my bicycles anyway once you whack a wheel they just don't want to stay round any more. > > I would check out the price to have the wheels repaired. If there is > > some problem with repairing them or if you would rather get new wheels [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > have a lot of experience with alloy car rims, but on my bicycles anyway > once you whack a wheel they just don't want to stay round any more. I have a 2000 Miata MX5, and not sure what is on there, without going out and looking, but me personally would not go with anything other than what comes stock. All this fancy 17" or even larger crapola is just asking for problems IMO. While my Wife and I were on the central Calif. coast last fall, there was this couple in the room next to us, with a brand new car (Can't recall the make or model), and he already had a damaged bumper and messed up wheel or two, saying that he had also hit some high bump and telling me how much that it was going to cost to replace the wheel and tire. Absolutely insane. Now if you have the money to just burn fine. But if one did, you probably would own a fancier roadster than a Miata, maybe a BMW or Porche. My Wife says that I go over board with my Miata, saying that I treat it like it is a Porche or something. I told her that it is the closest that I am ever going to come to one>>LOL LOL :-). > I have a 2000 Miata MX5, and not sure what is on there, without going > out and looking, 15 inch alloys with 195/50/15 tires. > but me personally would not go with anything other > than what comes stock. All this fancy 17" or even larger crapola is > just asking for problems IMO. In this case, his Miata came stock with 17 inch wheels, what Mazda used on the Mazdaspeed. He is looking at going with 16 inch wheels, which is probably the smallest that I would go for on a Mazdaspeed, but it is also what I would do. I think that 17 and especially 18 inch wheels are a little too big for the car, just my opinion. > While my Wife and I were on the central > Calif. coast last fall, there was this couple in the room next to us, > with a brand new car (Can't recall the make or model), and he already > had a damaged bumper and messed up wheel or two, saying that he had > also hit some high bump and telling me how much that it was going to > cost to replace the wheel and tire. Absolutely insane. You can order a used replacement wheel from planetmiata for $75.00, and people are always dumping off OEM alloys for a reasonable price, often after the car has been sold. Makes it handy when you hit that curb or sharp pothole. All of the Miata special edition wheels are very expensive to replace at factory prices. > Now if you have > the money to just burn fine. But if one did, you probably would own a > fancier roadster than a Miata, maybe a BMW or Porche. My Wife says > that I go over board with my Miata, saying that I treat it like it is > a Porche or something. I told her that it is the closest that I am > ever going to come to one>>LOL LOL :-). My roadster would still be a Miata, or at least one of them would be. With true money to burn, it is hard to even imagine what vehicles I would end up buying. Kinda scary, really.... :-) Pat > 2. Get new 16" wheels and 205/16/45 tires. The current 17" wheels are 17 > lbs each and I will not be considering anything heavier. 16-inchers will be lighter and cause many fewer problems. Check out these Rota wheels: http://machiii.net/Rota_wheels.html Most 16" Rotas are in the 13-14 pound range, but call if the weight isn't listed. They're strong, and the price is right. Mach III apparently doesn't sell Goodyear, but their Toyo TiRs are very similar; buy wheels and tires together and get free balancing and shipping. I'm a satisfied wheel package customer.  SignatureLanny Chambers St. Louis, MO '94C >> 2. Get new 16" wheels and 205/16/45 tires. The current 17" wheels are >> 17 lbs each and I will not be considering anything heavier. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > buy wheels and tires together and get free balancing and shipping. I'm a > satisfied wheel package customer. Lanny, thank you very much for this link. I like the slipstreams and the circuit 8's, and the price is right on both. I'm glad I posted here first. I notice the slipstreams are available in 16x8 for the same price as the 16x7's. I'm leaning toward the 16x7 but am wondering if there is any significant advantage to the wider tire. I'm going to sleep on it, but I'm probably going just to get these wheels and tires and be done with it. I could do a lot worse and nearly did. Thanks again. > I notice the slipstreams are available in 16x8 for the same price as the > 16x7's. I'm leaning toward the 16x7 but am wondering if there is any > significant advantage to the wider tire. The 16x7 will be a pound or so lighter. I don't know if a 16x8 will fit--offset might be critical for clearance. Perhaps someone here knows. SignatureLanny Chambers St. Louis, MO '94C >> I notice the slipstreams are available in 16x8 for the same price as >> the 16x7's. I'm leaning toward the 16x7 but am wondering if there is >> any significant advantage to the wider tire. > > The 16x7 will be a pound or so lighter. I don't know if a 16x8 will > fit--offset might be critical for clearance. Perhaps someone here knows. Ordered the wheels/tires from MachIII. 16x7 slipstreams, silver, 4x100 +40. Toyo Proxes 205/45/16 tires. $927 all in. I vacillated a long time between these and the TiR's. And between the slipstreams and the circuit 8's. And also between silver and steel grey. Lots of choices out there. I would have saved a couple of hundred repairing the current rims and getting new 17" tires. But it's hard to enjoy driving when you're worried about every single bump in the road. Better to just get it over with. Thanks again for your help. > Ordered the wheels/tires from MachIII. 16x7 slipstreams, silver, 4x100 > +40. Toyo Proxes 205/45/16 tires. $927 all in. I vacillated a long time [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Thanks again for your help. Well, I thought I ordered them. Just now I got an email saying the rims are not in stock and there is a 3-4 month lead time. However, they would be happy to sell me black, bronze, gunmetal and some other colors I do not want. I called and they did not have any silver 4x100 16x7 rims in any model. I cancelled the order and now I'm back at square one. If anyone knows of a good wheel/tire dealer (who lists their inventory on their webpage) I'm all ears. Went out to check my 2000 MX5, they're 14", tires are 185/60/14s, second set of tires. But that is also what the label on the door says. So original size also. > Went out to check my 2000 MX5, they're 14", tires are 185/60/14s, second > set of tires. But that is also what the label on the door says. So > original size also. P.S. This is Jazz. S K is the nic I use when I am on my Webtv unit, checking out their firewalled discussion grps. once per weekday, anymore. And for sure that is the stock size on my MX5 185/60/14, and I am guessing that those are polished gray painted wheels, hopefully undestructable, except to those female drivers that like bouncing off sidewalk or island curbs>>LOL LOL :-). > However, they would > be happy to sell me black, bronze, gunmetal and some other colors I do > not want. I called and they did not have any silver 4x100 16x7 rims in > any model. Gunmetal or steel gray with polished rims would look terrific, IMHO. That's what I would have bought instead of silver, but 15" Slipstreams weren't available with polished rims back then. SignatureLanny Chambers St. Louis, MO '94C Man, that stinks when you go round and round and finally make a decision you're happy with and then you get that out of stock deal! Ouch. Since you're back in limbo, I'll throw in my 2 cents FWIW. I spent big money on the Goodyear DS G3 F1 ....... however, I've re-convinced myself that for the street, you're better off (unless money is no object) to save money and go with a tire that has a high DOT wear rating. Good breakaway characteristics are more important since the cars limits are so high anyway. Pat mentioned my wheels, apparently he likes them almost as much as I do! I went with 16" OZ Racing "Ultraleggra's". They weigh in at about 14.5 lbs and I felt like that was quite good for the cost which I just went and double checked (I didn't remember having paid this much, hmmmm) and I paid $219 / wheel. While looking at the receipt I saw how much I paid for the Goodyears also ($128 ea for 205/45/16). That package (from Tire Rack) was $1500 total. At the time I had done a 'side job' to get the money so I was not my usual (tight a_s ) self. They do look great and I really feel that the 16's are the best trade off of price / looks / handling / durability. But again, all this is only worth 2 cents :-) Chris 99BBB > Pat mentioned my wheels, apparently he likes them almost as much as I do! I > went with 16" OZ Racing "Ultraleggra's". They weigh in at about 14.5 lbs and [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Chris > 99BBB I do like OZ wheels, and the weight is only about a pound heavier than the OEM 15 inch alloys, which is nice. I do really like my 16X7 SSR Comps, it still surprises me how little they weigh when I take one off, but they are extremely pricey to replace if damaged. I also seem to remember a lower price on the Ultraleggras, but that is about what I would expect them to cost. Pat > Man, that stinks when you go round and round and finally make a decision > you're happy with and then you get that out of stock deal! Ouch. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > and I really feel that the 16's are the best trade off of price / looks > / handling / durability. But again, all this is only worth 2 cents :-) OZ wheels are beautiful. There's no other way to put it. The OZ Chrono is very similar to the Racing Harts in my MSM. I totally would have bought a set if it wasn't for Lanny's tip to check out Rota wheels. $125 and 13.5 lbs is a pretty compelling argument... machiii.com does free shipping if you order the tire/wheel package. I went with Toyo Proxes 4 tires. The price was decent and they're similar to the stock tires I have now. I really thought about T1Rs. I'd like to try a set of really sticky tires. Of course, I'd probably also decide they were overkill in normal driving... >> However, they would >> be happy to sell me black, bronze, gunmetal and some other colors I do [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > That's what I would have bought instead of silver, but 15" Slipstreams > weren't available with polished rims back then. I spent last night looking around and I found that good-win-racing.com has Konig Heliums for about the same price once you include shipping, caps and rings. While still light at 15.5 pounds they're two pounds heavier than the Rota Slipstreams I was looking at. This morning I called MachIII back and ordered the wheels in polished steel grey. I wanted silver because I know what it looks like and because it's so hard to visualize how these different shades of grey (grey, steel grey, steel grey with polished lip, polished steel grey, etc.) are going to look on my titanium grey msm. But they'll probably be fine. I hope so anyway--I'm going to have them for a long time. One thing I forgot to ask them was the ship time. How long did your set take to arrive, Lanny? > One thing I forgot to ask them was the ship time. How long did your set > take to arrive, Lanny? I don't remember exactly, maybe four days? SignatureLanny Chambers St. Louis, MO '94C |
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