Undersized tyres for a MX5 NC 1.8

Technical Area Wheels, Tyres & Brakes
2

Apologies if this question has been asked before but I could not find anything by searching

I am an ex-pat Brit based now in rural Ireland and suffering from the very poor roads with my newly acquired 2009 MX5 1.8

Thinking of switching tyres/rims from the current 205/50r16’s on OEM 6.5J ET55 rims to 195/60r16’s with 6J ET52 rims to soften the ride

I am not concerned about the impact on my insurance as things are much more lax over here than in the UK

Has anyone tried this before ?   I appreciate any advice

3

Hi, I have both summer and winter wheels and tyres. The summer ones are 205/45/17 and the winter ones 205/55/16. The winter tyres are so much more comfortable compared with the summer ones.

Cheers

Derek

4

An MX-5 for comfort? Driving experience surely :slight_smile:

5

I won’t get much driving experience if it shakes itself to bits

You cannot believe how bad the Irish backroads are, they are just thin layers of tar and chip laid over old cart tracks

6

If you are changing rims, would going down to 15" ones fit over your brakes?

I think they fit over standard brakes, but possibly not the larger sport ones.

7

I wasn’t planning on changing the rim diameter - either using the existing 16" 6.5J rims or using a narrower 6J rim

 

8

I think you would need to change the suspension to make significant difference. Adjustable coilovers would give you a range of firmness settings.