16 Inch wheels on MK1. Good or bad idea/will they fit without modification?

I’m buying a 1992 V special that’s coming with 15 inch mk2 wheels, I wanted to know if I could fit 16 inch wheels and what the affects could be/what up/downsides there will be?

Also open to recommendations for wheels, thank you.

As long as the offset is correct, you can fit them. The major downside is the increase in unsprung weight.

Mk1s on Mk2 Sport 16" wheels.



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Downside will be the price of the tyres

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Hi, 16" wheels will also have a less of a wall profile. This will make the ride a bit harder. I agree with all the above comments as well.

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Thank you, would some form of suspension help decrease unsprung weight or that just something i am going to have to deal with? and will there be much difference on the speedometer from 15 to 16 inch?

No, you will have to spend big bucks finding lightweight 16" wheels.

Given that 16" wheels were fitted to Mk2s, as long as you fit the same spec of tyre, I don’t see that really affecting the speedo.

As you go to the wider tyre, what you might find is they are grippy in the dry, but a bit of a handful in the wet.

The heavier wheel combination will also, in principle, lead to extra wear and tear on suspension parts, That might be moot on a 30 year old car, as everything is worn out anyhow. But as an example, in 2000, I brought a Mk1 that had been fitted with 17" wheels and PI lowering springs on standard shocks. I was never going to keep the wheels. Nominally, the PI springs should have lead to a 30-35mm drop. In practice, the actual drop was about 50mm. The car was riding on the bump stops most of the time, which gave a terrible ride quality. The 235mm width Avon ZZ1s were scarey in the wet. The wheels were changed for 14" mag alloy Watanabes, instant improvement in steering, rde quality. The springs were scrap.



I would stick with 15". Some people go to larger wheels because they want to reduce the gap between the tyre and the wheelarch. With the correct sized tyre, it doesn’t make any difference. The only way to reduce that gap is lowering the car. Or you can go to a different design that gives an optical illusion, ie a less dished wheel in a light colour such as silver.

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Thank you very much i will try and stick to 15 or 14 inches, any recommendations for wheels I can find in bronze/copper? i feel copper/bronze coloured wheels would fit the tan interior and black paint would go well with it.

Rota wheels are a popular choice, with various styles:

But it comes down to budget and preferences. 14" wheels are difficult to find, and tend to be expensive. 15" is a common size.

14" rubber also reduces the available choices…by quite a lot.
Nor are they that cheap.
15" expands choices by a considerable margin.

I’d keep clear of increasing the unsprung weight…it can adversely affect ride and handling appreciably. As has been said 15" is probably the optimum size.
From memory the offset on Mk1 wheels (45mm?) is different to the offset on MK2 wheels (40mm?)…so for the best handling your V spec might be best on Mk1 wheels…or after market 15" wheels with offset 45mm.

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Thank you very much :slight_smile:

14" wheels on Mk2s are 45mm (same as Mk1), all others are 40mm.

I think there used to be a saying in relation to the NA that when it came to wheels it was 14 for go, 15 for show.

There is a positive air about 15s above. I’m genuinely curious are 15s regarded as fine these days?

I’ve only ever had 14s on mine and have never driven one with 15s so I have nothing to compare 14s too.

Wasn’t that paraphrasing someone on Pistonheads/MX5Nutz?

In 1991, Mazda fitted 15" Panasports to their clubman special edition , the M2-1001. These were relatively hefty (15lbs). I ran a set of M2-spec Panasports on my 96 car for a while. Slightly heavier steering compared to the 15" factory BBS wheels I normally had.

In 1995, Mazda fitted 15" BBS wheels to the R-Limited and RS-Limited in Japan, as well as M-Edition Miatas in the US.

The original 14" “Daisy” was 12.3lbs
The factory 14" BBS was 10.6lbs
The 14" Enkei fitted to 1.8s was 11.5lbs (solid spokes)
The factory 15" BBS was 12lbs
The 15" Enkei fitted to run-out Mk1s (eg VR Limited) was 14.5lbs.

The question as to whether “are 15s regarded as fine these days” was probably answered in 1995.

When I fitted 14s to a Mk1, on a track, I thought I could feel the sidewall roll more than on a 15" wheel. Certainly, over in Northern Ireland, we had a club member, a retired RUC driver, who made the mistake of fitting tubular anti-roll bars on his factory standard UK 1.8 with 14s. On a spirited drive on a road near his home, the tyre seperated off the rim, and the car was stuffed into a ditch.

Tyres are probably a more important consideration than ounces on a wheel. Given there are barely any tyres available in the 185/60 14 size compared to 195/50 15, there is the answer, if the question is about handling prowess. If the question which is better for a cruiser, its a different answer. Mazda recognised that difference in the M2-1002, the super luxury special edition, which had the same 15" Panasports as the M2-1001, but instead of 195/50 15 tyres, they fitted these cars with 185/55 15s

M2-1001


M2-1002

But 16s cross a threshold of more than 15lbs, and more often 17-18lbs. The 16" wheels fitted to Mk2s are unusually light, hence they are in (or were) high demand. Penchant for cracking though; they suffered badly from corrosion, and led to botched (cheap) powder coating refinishes, fatally weakening the wheel. I’d never touch these if they have been refurbished.

Interesting article:

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Very interesting. As I say I have never tried one with 15s so have nothing to compare it to. I certainly don’t have your level of history.

I may well have been quoting something I read on MX5 nutz some years ago.

Gives me something to think about as my car likely came with the 7 spoke 6j 14s as its a 96/7 car but it lost them some time in the past at the hand of a former owner and I know the last owner put daisies on it which is what it has on now. They either need a refurb or I need something new.

Thank you for your advice, I’m thinking of getting 15x7 +38mm wheels with 205/50R15 tires, this sound good?

sounds fine

thank you i appreciate it

I have the standard 15’s that we’re fitted on my 92 SE - they seem to strike a good balance of size, grip, comfort, etc - a lot more comfortable than the 19’s I had on the previous Boxster!

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Love those Minilite lookalikes.

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