Hi all
I have recently joined the 5 club with the purchase of a mk 2 1.8 in Grace Green. She’s a 2000 W plate and I very soon ‘got’ the mx5 thing after driving it. It came with 14" TSW Stealth wheels which I believe were a dealer/mazda option. Anyway the wheels are not the best and I’ve always liked steel wheels so I bought a set of the above as I like the design (similar to e30 BMW wheels). The wheels are 4x100 with 45mm offset and 56mm centre bore and a 5.5j rim. Now my existing wheels are 38mm offset and I think the std centre bore is 54.1 (please correct me if wrong - I’m new!). I was thinking of a 185-55-15 to achieve a similar rolling radius but then my question is should I get a 5mm hub spacer to make up (most of) the offset difference? Has anyone else done similar and would there be enough stud length to allow this? And is this small difference in centre bore an issue?
Sorry for rambling - any comments or advice would be most appreciated.
Cheers
Chris
The bore difference could well cause you problems and I’d recommend looking for a set of spigot rings that bring the bore down to 54.1.
They aren’t expensive and lots on Ebay. I bought a set for some 15" alloys recently for about £7 the set.
If you don’t use the spigot ring you are relying totally on the studs to locate the wheel on the hub, not just as clamps but also to hold it central and that might not always work. The vibrations from a not-perfectly centrally located wheel can be dramatic and create a lot of component fatigue.
Thanks for that. I have tried but can’t find spigot rings to make up the small gap between 54.1 and 56. I take on board the comment about lack of centring… maybe I need to move these wheels on and look at a different option. I don’t want to stress anything by not having the wheels properly centred.
Hmm, I think you are right - I’ve had a look and can’t find such a ring either.
It’s pot luck really as the wheel may well be perfectly ok without the ring, especially if the wheel nuts are the usual modern style and both have matching taper. It’s only when you are using a rim that has a quite large stud hole that the need for a ring becomes more necessary to help it sit properly in line with the hub.
Thanks again…
I bought the wheels as an almost new set complete with trims and tyres. I moved the trims on and then tried one of the wheels on the mazda with the mini tyre on, knowing that it was way too big in terms of rolling tyre radius. It went on fine but the offset difference was noticeable. I take your point about the snugness but can’t properly remember. I don’t recall it being noticeable, and the Mazda nut profile seemed to mate quite nicely into the mini wheel… I need to try them again now. I’ve sold the tyres but will have to do it on a stand or something… the other thing is getting a centre cap to fit right as it looked a bit bare/scruffy with the centre of the hub showing. I’ve sent a query to these people to see what they think…
http://www.wheelfittingsolutions.co.uk/
195/50 will give the correct radius
But the wheels are 5.5" wide, same as the original 1990 wheels. Mazda fitted 185/55 15 tyres to the 15" Panasports on the M2-1002.
I’ve been through the tyre combos and decided 185-55-15 would be best, a 50 profile would be ok too but seem to be less available. I thought that possibly the suggested 195 combo might be ok but really it needs a 6" wide wheel, so really 185 would be as wide as I could go, so this is why i thought of a small hub spacer to make up at least some of the offset difference.