Looking For My Wheels...
 

So I really like this style for some reason. Price is reasonable and I think I can get a 23.5 inch all season tire for them. They have +42mm offset.

Anybody have experience with this brand?


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Mike

I like these as well.

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With these all season tires, this looks like a wicked good deal as well.

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When i get the chance I'm going this route for my track wheels and downgrading my first gen 15x8 6UL's to street duty:

Jongbloed Racing Aero 500, BLACK, 36mm offset, 4x100, Flow Formed for Miata, 15x9

-Jason

Wow, what a great price for a good looking wheel.


V8MiataMike,

I don't have experience w/ either wheel. Although, I have used Motegi wheels w/ the same specs & they fit just fine. As you move forward, will likely experiment w/ wheel & tire combos. So, go w/ what you like best now. Other than that, try to get as much rubber patch to the pavement as possible.

I have had a set of Drag wheels and they are about like any other cheap cast wheels. Heavy with poor plating and easy to bend. The +42 offset will need 5mm shims to make them work and 10mm shims to make them look good IMO.

Just a heads up on many spoke wheels like what. Everywhere a spoke meets the rim there is a corner that collects brake dust that you have to get in and clean. Those drags have 20 spokes and 40 corners that need a good wipe with every wash. Add to that the spokes are so close together you can only get a finger or 2 in them and it is a big PITA.

I had a set of 10 spoke Z06 wheels and cleaning between those narrow spokes where they meet the rim was awful. And the rivets... awful x2!
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And that is why I have huge open 5 spokes now! So for me I would never buy either of those wheels just because of the cleaning issues. +1 to Jasons suggestion.

Back to the drawing board for me... Weight of wheel seems to be critical on the Miata. I think I'm OK rolling the fenders but kinda hoping to leave them alone altogether. Not much tire patch to be had with a 195/xx/xx tire for sure.

I've been sorting wheel options on that Good Win site for hours now...

IMO wheel weight is grossly over emphasized in Miata world. If it matters at all it's in the last 10th of a second in lap time you can squeeze out of the car on the track. I went from 37 lbs per wheel and tire to 49 lbs and the only difference I could feel is the car rides better.

The way to consider wheel weight is in the total percentage of unsprung weight to sprung weight. Your brakes, control arms, wheel bearings, spindles, etc weigh far more than your wheels and few spend guys a bus load of money to lighten them.

So if you consider wheel weight as a percentage of sprung weight you might see a slight difference from a 10 lb wheel to a 20 lb wheel, probably in the feel of the steering wheel going over bumps, but a 14 to 18 pound wheel you never will notice the difference. With 300+ ft pounds of torque from a V8 slinging them around I would bet you triple your current wheel weight before there was a measurable difference in performance.

That's just my opinion and what I have experienced with a couple of different cars and a lot of guys will not agree with it. I love my big heavy monster truck wheels and would never go back to sensible ones. But then again I don't care about that last 10th of a second or the 5 full ones before it either...
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I feel your pain on choosing wheels and tires. If I had a nickel for all the hours I put into that....

Really, don't be overly concerned about your selection. The largest number of mods we've made over the years were suspension related, of which includes wheels/tires. As an enthusiast you will too, most likely. So, do what works for you now & don't worry about making the perfect choice the first time around.

Still looking... picky picky picky.

I'll admit that some of the fun is the research involved. offset, diameter limitations, etc.

On the bright side I finally learned what that JWL logo is and now the meaning of the VIA logo too. Looks like having both on the wheel is a good thing