Hi all,
I’m looking for ideas and advice on rims and tyres. I would like to see some of your fabulous combos. Not sure whether to go 17 inch or 18 inch. We have the stock 16 inchers from factory.
Personally, I wouldn’t go to 18s not enough rubber to protect the rims.
I went down from 17s due to constant damage from potholes on our dire roads to 16" RX7 FD wheels as pictured.
The ride has been transformed in my opinion.
As yours currently, powder coated gun metal.
However I’d love a set of Desmond Regamaster or Rota ‘Slip’
Who wouldn’t? 
I’d go for some Desmond Regamasters
Import from Japan mate , save a fortune … 
Stay with your current wheels and buy the best rubber available and save a fortune.
I got my wheels from a Mazda 3 {Calibre Panik’s) and had them resprayed with new Mazda centre caps. The MX-5 wheels have an offset of 55mm and are 7" wide I think. My new wheels are the same width but the offset is only 40mm, equivalent to adding a 15mm spacer to the original wheels. Don’t forget that the centre bore will also need to be the same (67.1mm?)
But very pleased with the new look
These came with the car, and I have no idea what they actually are. Centre caps say Rodney Jane Racing which seem to be an Aussie brand, and apparently a rebrand of Rota.
They look like OZ Superturismo GT reps, and they’ve had a custom blue/purple flake powder coat (which the previous owner has curb-rashed on all 4 wheels) but other than that they’re mystery rims.
Some nice lookers in the thread but I’m sticking to 16”. Cheap 17” will probably add some extra unsprung weight?
I got a spare set of standard 16” for fifty quid. Plenty of spare cash for a refurb and some ‘no expense spared’ tyres👍
I changed from 16" to 17" and although I prefer the look of the wheels I do feel more of the bumps in the road surface so if I could find some nice 16" wheels I would change back
Depends what your budget is, but it can be difficult to match OEM Mazda weights with aftermarket wheels, without spending a decent amount.
The Prolines I had achieved a good compromise there, but retail at over £1k a set before tyres. Thankfully I found a set available for less than that at the time.
A decent set of 17s, on 215/45/17 rubber and with a good compliant suspension setup was still comfortable. My Tein Flex Z suspension settings definitely helped here. I kept my original 16" wheels for use ‘off season’ with winter tyres and the overall ride comfort was similar.
Yes I’m sure it’s possible with 17” but you do need a wind that’s in your favour; it’s not an easy off the shelf solution.
Sadly I didn’t take a pic of my car after fitting the adjustable coilovers but the fronts were up under the wings and looked supercool! Unfortunately, the local speed bumps were a problem as was getting the car on the ramps to change the oil! Mister Sensible has prevailed and I’ve jacked up the front today. It did look cool though😀
17” do look better, that’s a given. They are more symmetrical with the bodywork. But, I do think with time and bad glasses and a more comfortable ride the 16” could make a comeback.
Just looking at the OP’s original pic. The car needs lowering springs before worrying about wheel size. Oddly I saw an nc2 today in a car park that looked like it was on NC1 giraffe springs, the front especially. Don’t know what was going on there.
I weighed mine and against the standard 17s the wider wheels and bigger tyres came in at less than 300g more each. It’s a trade off isn’t it, better looks and potentially more grip and a slightly wider track against a little more unsprung weight.
