Next: Project Non-Spec Miata - New Wheels & Tires
Since our Miata had already seen track use and was properly set up as is we chose to upgrade the tires and wheels. Existing tire combo was a 15x7 wheel with 205/50/15.
Wheels - Although there are a lot of wheel option on the market there is one that consistently rises to the top. We chose to go with the 949Racing 6UL wheel. They are not only a very nice looking wheel but super light. Since we were going with a 225 section width tire we wanted an 8" wide wheel. The 949Racing 15x8 " wheels comes in at a svelte 12.7 lbs. Very nice. With a 36mm offset they also require minimal work to make them fit under the stock Miata wheel wells.
We ordered our wheel from Goodwin Racing since they were one of the only one's that had them in Silver left in stock. Goodwin shipped them promptly and we had them at our doorstep within 3 days.
Upon opening the box we were greeted with a very nice wheel indeed. The quality in workmanship is excellent. It's amazing how light a 15" wheel can be.
Tires - No question there are a lot of tire choice on the market. For the time being we want a tire that will perform equally well on a daily commute while being an excellent track tire. Upon research and talking to customers we found that the Toyo Proxes R888 R compound tire was getting rave reviews. We chose to go with the 225/45/15 size to stay within the OEM tire circumference for street gearing reasons. We didn't want any higher revs at freeway speeds than we had with stock tire and gearing combo. We ordered ours through our favorite loca tire dealer Los Gatos Goodyear. The local distributor had the tires in stock so we had them in 2 days.
We brought in the rims and had our tires and wheels mounted and balanced at Los Gatos Goodyear. We had them back in our hands in a couple of hours. We mounted them up and they seemed to clear the fenders right off the bat. After a quick test drive over some bumpy roads we found no rubbing except in the front upon full lock. Not really a big issue as that only happens in a parking lot.
Real World - The 80 mile daily commute is pretty much unchanged after installing these tires. They are a bit noisier compared to the Falkens but not uncomfortably so. You notice it mostly when the hard top is on and you are listening to your favorite tunes. Winter is almost over so the top is coming off soon. A major concern was tire wear given the soft 100 compound. So far we have put over 5k miles on the tires without a noticeable amount of wear. That does include a winter track day. As we get into spring we will be doing more track days and so we expect the wear to increase.
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