MkII Standard Whhels?
Discussion
My daughter has finally bought her dream, a nice MkII MX5, black,1800, 44K on the clock.
Drives great but has some aftermarket wheels and tyres that I have never heard of, and it is very loose in the wet.
It wont be long till I buy her some real tyres that grip, but the wheels are 14's.
Anyone with a pic of the right Mazda wheels please as I might try to ebay some stock wheels and fit fresh tyres.
15's are tempting though...
Drives great but has some aftermarket wheels and tyres that I have never heard of, and it is very loose in the wet.
It wont be long till I buy her some real tyres that grip, but the wheels are 14's.
Anyone with a pic of the right Mazda wheels please as I might try to ebay some stock wheels and fit fresh tyres.
15's are tempting though...
You'll be much better off with 15s - much better choice of tyres, often at a better price too.
First things first though. When you say loose in the wet, do you just mean there isn't a lot of grip or do you mean it gets a bit too oversteery? Chances are it could do with a full geometry check. These cars are very sensitive to geometry and getting it sorted totally transforms the handling.
First things first though. When you say loose in the wet, do you just mean there isn't a lot of grip or do you mean it gets a bit too oversteery? Chances are it could do with a full geometry check. These cars are very sensitive to geometry and getting it sorted totally transforms the handling.
Thanks for the reply.
Agree about the 15's, just it will be me buying them in the end! (what dad's are for).
On the test drive in the wet, busy traffic lights turning left I pulled away and oh so gently eased the throttle in second and the rear came round a good 30-45 degs, totally unexpected and at a slow speed too.
As if deisel was on the corner.
Other bends/oslands and all was fine in the same conditions.
Tyres are all the same and good tread, but no idea on pressures.
Agree about the 15's, just it will be me buying them in the end! (what dad's are for).
On the test drive in the wet, busy traffic lights turning left I pulled away and oh so gently eased the throttle in second and the rear came round a good 30-45 degs, totally unexpected and at a slow speed too.
As if deisel was on the corner.
Other bends/oslands and all was fine in the same conditions.
Tyres are all the same and good tread, but no idea on pressures.
Pretty sure Mk2 1.8 came with 14s - might have even been steelies as standard. Only the 1.8S and some special editions came with 15s.
OP - probably worth getting the geo checked - a check with no adjustment is usually free. It could be that the tyres are just poor but it could also be that the geo is out. Ideally these cars should be checked annually though bi-annually is ok if kerbs & potholes are avoided. If the geo is far out then it should be corrected otherwise it'll handle badly whatever tyres it has.
OP - probably worth getting the geo checked - a check with no adjustment is usually free. It could be that the tyres are just poor but it could also be that the geo is out. Ideally these cars should be checked annually though bi-annually is ok if kerbs & potholes are avoided. If the geo is far out then it should be corrected otherwise it'll handle badly whatever tyres it has.
911hillclimber said:
Anyone with a pic of the right Mazda wheels please as I might try to ebay some stock wheels and fit fresh tyres.
Stock MK2 14" wheels.
The stock 15" wheels don't look much different to my eyes so if you can find some are definitely the way forward.
Edited by Munter on Wednesday 25th November 11:32
And on E-Bay a set of 15" in need of good tyres:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OEM-ORIGINAL-MAZDA-MX5-15-AL...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OEM-ORIGINAL-MAZDA-MX5-15-AL...
Interesting, and thanks for the continued feed-back.
I am quite sure they are 14's. I am very used to modified cars and can 'spot' these sizes, and they look 'small' to one of my cars on 15's.
Stock wheels look bland, but the insurance side is important. Those on ebay look/sound good, just the tyres are poor, but if the auction stops at a good price, the tyres can come along soon after.
Anyone with 'good' set-up angles please?
I am quite sure they are 14's. I am very used to modified cars and can 'spot' these sizes, and they look 'small' to one of my cars on 15's.
Stock wheels look bland, but the insurance side is important. Those on ebay look/sound good, just the tyres are poor, but if the auction stops at a good price, the tyres can come along soon after.
Anyone with 'good' set-up angles please?
911hillclimber said:
Anyone with 'good' set-up angles please?
Take a look here http://www.miata.net/garage/align.htmlAlso Tony at Wheels In Motion (Although that's in Bucks), really knows his springs (Spring Onions...geddit?
)Having had Gaz coilovers fitted to mine http://www.topgearautomotive.co.uk/ (Wolverhampton) did a great job with the setup.
Before that however I used to wheel it into http://www.chemix-autocentres.co.uk/ who have the full Laser set up stuff.
hmm those e30 BBS do look goood - are they ok on weight? i have to sell a set of 14" bbs as they won't fit over my sport brakes but they are really light little wheels, i was quite amazed (even with toyo R888's which i think may be heavier than normal tyres). would love a set in 15... 
Interesting BMW wheels!
I live in Wolverhampton, so those specialists are easy to reach.
First I will check the pressures and see what happens, then see what is available in 14's and 15's.
I used to race my Impreza (400 bhp etc) with Marangoni's which were great (the Italian AVON if you will)so might go in that direction. About £40/corner.
BMTR are the agents who i know well from hillclimbing, and they can trak it all too.
I will then know she is well planted in this great little car.
I live in Wolverhampton, so those specialists are easy to reach.
First I will check the pressures and see what happens, then see what is available in 14's and 15's.
I used to race my Impreza (400 bhp etc) with Marangoni's which were great (the Italian AVON if you will)so might go in that direction. About £40/corner.
BMTR are the agents who i know well from hillclimbing, and they can trak it all too.
I will then know she is well planted in this great little car.
Stock wheels on a Mk2 UK supplied 1.8i were steel. Alloys were an option - I have the brochure to prove it. None of the 14" alloys available on the Mk2 in the UK looked like the pictures previously posted. the 14" shown were standard on some Mk2 Japanese market editions. The 15" were standard on Mk2 UK 1.8iS. If insurance is important, you will need to either buy steelies or declare optional alloys and then you can get whatever you want.
As for the handling - I experienced the same issue with my second MX-5 (A Mk2 import) - either there actually was diesel on the road or the rubber is just rubbish. Given it handled fine on some other locations, it might actually be diesel on the road? However, the rubber is also probably rubbish and I'd change to something like Toyo T1-R or Goodyear Eagle F1. The Toyos are available in a size to fit 14" wheels (195/55/14) but if you go to 15", my choice would be Eagle F1 in 195/50/15.
I've also raced my MX-5 on Marangonis - they are very grippy and well suited to hillclimbing but not a patch on the Eagle F1s for road use. This is what happens to a Marangni when it gets too hot and you abuse it
Cheers,
Kev
As for the handling - I experienced the same issue with my second MX-5 (A Mk2 import) - either there actually was diesel on the road or the rubber is just rubbish. Given it handled fine on some other locations, it might actually be diesel on the road? However, the rubber is also probably rubbish and I'd change to something like Toyo T1-R or Goodyear Eagle F1. The Toyos are available in a size to fit 14" wheels (195/55/14) but if you go to 15", my choice would be Eagle F1 in 195/50/15.
I've also raced my MX-5 on Marangonis - they are very grippy and well suited to hillclimbing but not a patch on the Eagle F1s for road use. This is what happens to a Marangni when it gets too hot and you abuse it
Cheers,
Kev
Edited by kevham on Wednesday 25th November 20:17
Edited by kevham on Wednesday 25th November 20:24
skinny said:
hmm those e30 BBS do look goood - are they ok on weight? i have to sell a set of 14" bbs as they won't fit over my sport brakes but they are really light little wheels, i was quite amazed (even with toyo R888's which i think may be heavier than normal tyres). would love a set in 15...
I should be getting my set on the 12th December, I'll measure them (each, tyreless) and report back. I think they look amazingly good. Kev: Thanks for the insight.
I found the Marangoni's were truely great in the wet and easily as good as the SO2's of old.
I have been on toyo's too on the hot Impreza.
I seem to have been on lots of tyres over the years!
I think Toyo = Marangoni on cost?
After the test drive semi-spin I later drove the same bend after returning the MX in my moderm A4 and that was slippy too! The Audi is as sure footed a road car there is.
A biker would be off in the instant I'm sure.
I don't like cheap wierd brand tyres on any car, so a Xmas pressie for my daughter and her MX coming up.
She just can't wait till Saturday!
Incidentally, on a hillclimb I never shreaded my Marangoni's on the Impreza, but they are soft (hence quite good)and a track day would see them off very quickly imho.
I found the Marangoni's were truely great in the wet and easily as good as the SO2's of old.
I have been on toyo's too on the hot Impreza.
I seem to have been on lots of tyres over the years!
I think Toyo = Marangoni on cost?
After the test drive semi-spin I later drove the same bend after returning the MX in my moderm A4 and that was slippy too! The Audi is as sure footed a road car there is.
A biker would be off in the instant I'm sure.
I don't like cheap wierd brand tyres on any car, so a Xmas pressie for my daughter and her MX coming up.
She just can't wait till Saturday!
Incidentally, on a hillclimb I never shreaded my Marangoni's on the Impreza, but they are soft (hence quite good)and a track day would see them off very quickly imho.
The toyo's in 195/50R15 are 28quid a corner from Camskill. 
There is also a chance you'll see a red mk2 sport on the hills/sprints next year in the midlands (or atleast the midland speed championship!) - Probably unlikely to go that quickly, but our usual competition car(/dads daily driver) will be mid-body-off rebuild!
There is also a chance you'll see a red mk2 sport on the hills/sprints next year in the midlands (or atleast the midland speed championship!) - Probably unlikely to go that quickly, but our usual competition car(/dads daily driver) will be mid-body-off rebuild!
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