16" or 17" Alloys

Technical Area Wheels, Tyres & Brakes
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Hi it is my my first post, so please be gentle with me ;-)

I have a 1999 MK2 MX5 with 14" wheels on it and fancy some larger wheels as I need to change my tyres anyway. Would 17" wheels be too big? I don’t fancy cutting out my arches or anything like that. Just swap 'm over and drive. Or should I go for 16" wheels (15" are a bit small for my liking) Only, I don’t want to mess up the handling on it or make it look like a tractor :slight_smile:

Thanks,

James

3

Hello and welcome…

17 will fit, but in my opinion will compromise the ride by quite a bit… I run on 14s, 15s, or 16s depending on which wheels are on which of the 5s.  Changing from 16s down to 15s on my MK2.5 changed the ride dramatically.  It still handles well but it makes the ride far better, smooths out the bumps,… For chucking a 5 about and having the most fun however then its 14s for me…

16s will be fine but a 5 on 15s still looks good,

look at tyre prices as well, 195 50 15s are cheap, the 205 45 16s my 2.5 needs are expensive. !

 

4

Thanks for the reply. That has made things easier for me for sure :wink: