Latest news with #Miatas
Hamilton Spectator
18-05-2025
- Automotive
- Hamilton Spectator
Why choosing wheels and tire sizes can make a big difference to you
There are few easier ways to change the look of your car or truck than putting on a different set of wheels. There are a surprising number of factors that need to be considered, even at the simplest level of 'will they bolt on?' The changes can change how your vehicle steers, rides, or handles, appreciably — for better or for worse. This is the case if you deviate from what the manufacturer equipped your model with. Generally, the larger the wheel, the shorter the sidewall, the firmer the ride. Some vehicle models — this applies to pickup trucks, in particular — are available with a wide variety of wheel and tire sizes, and typically, any of the larger sizes will bolt directly onto and have sufficient clearances on models not originally equipped with them. Take, for example, Ford's F-150: base models come with 17-inch wheels and tires. Some models are available with 18-inch wheels, many come with 20-inch wheels, and the top trims offer 22-inch wheels. The wheels themselves would interchange, although there are minor differences in the outside diameter of the original tire sizes used. Not everyone wants to use a factory wheel for their upgrade. If an appreciable number of examples of that model already wear them, what's the point? What to do? The aftermarket provides a greater selection of options, but this search requires diligence. Most aftermarket wheels are designed to fit many vehicles and often come in a range of widths and offsets — the offset is how far in or out the wheel/tire sits relative to the body and suspension — to suit buyers' preferences — which don't always line up with factory choices. Beyond offsets, the width of the tires and wheels has an important role to play. Shopping for a 15-inch wheel for the recently acquired 1991 Mazda Miata of my wife, Barb, revealed factory-original and aftermarket choices. Some early MX-5/Miatas did come with 15-inch wheels that would directly fit. None offered the look Barb desired, and a clean used set were comparable in price to some new aftermarket sets, so aftermarket won. Often, when moving up a wheel diameter — known as 'plus-one' sizing — you'd increase the tread width of the tire, and in the Miata's original sizes, this is the case: from a 185 (14-inch) to a 195 (15-inch) section width. (This is not exactly tread width, but it is the industry's chosen measurement standard.) In the Miata's optional 195/50R15 size, tire choices seemed to be either race compound tires with a fruit-fly lifespan and aquaphobia, or tires best suited for an aging minivan — just what we'd wanted to avoid. Moving to a 205/50R15 resulted in a livable 1.8-per-cent increase in overall diameter, for a speedometer error of just 2 km/h at 100 km/h, and opened up far more options. Based on positive reviews, we settled on the still very performance-skewed Falken Azenis RT615K+. Falken's specs showed an approved rim width range of 5.5-7.5 inches. ('Rim' is the part of the wheel where the tire mounts.) Research, coupled with our desire to stay close to stock in order to avoid clearance issues in the Miata's apparently cosy wheel wells, prescribed a maximum seven-inch width. Fortunately, some 15x7-inch wheels with the correct bolt pattern, in a close-to-original offset, were available; Konig's lightweight 'Heliogram' wheels got the nod. So what would happen if we'd found a 5.5-inch or 7.5-inch wide wheel? Clearance aside, would it make a difference? Yes. The Azenis's 'measured rim width' is 6.5 inches. That's the ideal rim width, the one where the tire's section width matches its specs. Per an industry rule-of-thumb, each half-inch in rim width changes the section width by two 10ths of an inch — approximately five mm. With our 205 example, on a 5.5-inch wheel, it'd decrease to 190 mm; on a 7.5-inch wheel, increase to 215 mm, with corresponding changes to actual tread width at the pavement. So what? Well, not only does this difference change the size and shape of the contact patch, the hand-sized area where your tire actually touches the road surface, and where all traction occurs, it also changes the relationship between the tire sidewalls and wheels. While on your average pickup or crossover these differences would have a lesser impact, a 2022 test by tire retailer Tire Rack of nine wheel/tire width combinations on identical Subaru BRZs showed that choosing the proper wheel width can be the difference between clumsy handling and slow-reacting steering, and crisp, precise responses plus higher limits. It can also influence the quality of the ride, as tires that are stretched to fit a wider wheel may have less sidewall compliance to absorb minor bumps. Substantial changes in tire diameter — that is those that fall outside of the auto-industry's accepted recommendation of a limit of three per cent, can create issues with gearing, and be detrimental to performance, driveability, mileage, even braking. Those wishing to 'go big or go home' need to understand that other mechanical changes, may be required — from updating engine management software to replacing differential gear sets and suspension components. In changing tires and wheels, it may be wise to seek the advice of a professional, so you can enjoy the final result. Ask a Mechanic is written by Brian Early, a Red Seal-certified Automotive Service Technician. You can send your questions to wheels@ . These answers are for informational purposes only. Please consult a certified mechanic before having any work done to your vehicle.
Toronto Star
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- Toronto Star
Why choosing wheels and tire sizes can make a big difference to you
There are few easier ways to change the look of your car or truck than putting on a different set of wheels. There are a surprising number of factors that need to be considered, even at the simplest level of 'will they bolt on?' The changes can change how your vehicle steers, rides, or handles, appreciably — for better or for worse. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW This is the case if you deviate from what the manufacturer equipped your model with. Generally, the larger the wheel, the shorter the sidewall, the firmer the ride. Some vehicle models — this applies to pickup trucks, in particular — are available with a wide variety of wheel and tire sizes, and typically, any of the larger sizes will bolt directly onto and have sufficient clearances on models not originally equipped with them. Take, for example, Ford's F-150: base models come with 17-inch wheels and tires. Some models are available with 18-inch wheels, many come with 20-inch wheels, and the top trims offer 22-inch wheels. The wheels themselves would interchange, although there are minor differences in the outside diameter of the original tire sizes used. Not everyone wants to use a factory wheel for their upgrade. If an appreciable number of examples of that model already wear them, what's the point? What to do? The aftermarket provides a greater selection of options, but this search requires diligence. Most aftermarket wheels are designed to fit many vehicles and often come in a range of widths and offsets — the offset is how far in or out the wheel/tire sits relative to the body and suspension — to suit buyers' preferences — which don't always line up with factory choices. Beyond offsets, the width of the tires and wheels has an important role to play. Shopping for a 15-inch wheel for the recently acquired 1991 Mazda Miata of my wife, Barb, revealed factory-original and aftermarket choices. Some early MX-5/Miatas did come with 15-inch wheels that would directly fit. None offered the look Barb desired, and a clean used set were comparable in price to some new aftermarket sets, so aftermarket won. Often, when moving up a wheel diameter — known as 'plus-one' sizing — you'd increase the tread width of the tire, and in the Miata's original sizes, this is the case: from a 185 (14-inch) to a 195 (15-inch) section width. (This is not exactly tread width, but it is the industry's chosen measurement standard.) ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW In the Miata's optional 195/50R15 size, tire choices seemed to be either race compound tires with a fruit-fly lifespan and aquaphobia, or tires best suited for an aging minivan — just what we'd wanted to avoid. Moving to a 205/50R15 resulted in a livable 1.8-per-cent increase in overall diameter, for a speedometer error of just 2 km/h at 100 km/h, and opened up far more options. Based on positive reviews, we settled on the still very performance-skewed Falken Azenis RT615K+. Falken's specs showed an approved rim width range of 5.5-7.5 inches. ('Rim' is the part of the wheel where the tire mounts.) Research, coupled with our desire to stay close to stock in order to avoid clearance issues in the Miata's apparently cosy wheel wells, prescribed a maximum seven-inch width. Fortunately, some 15x7-inch wheels with the correct bolt pattern, in a close-to-original offset, were available; Konig's lightweight 'Heliogram' wheels got the nod. So what would happen if we'd found a 5.5-inch or 7.5-inch wide wheel? Clearance aside, would it make a difference? Yes. The Azenis's 'measured rim width' is 6.5 inches. That's the ideal rim width, the one where the tire's section width matches its specs. Per an industry rule-of-thumb, each half-inch in rim width changes the section width by two 10ths of an inch — approximately five mm. With our 205 example, on a 5.5-inch wheel, it'd decrease to 190 mm; on a 7.5-inch wheel, increase to 215 mm, with corresponding changes to actual tread width at the pavement. So what? Well, not only does this difference change the size and shape of the contact patch, the hand-sized area where your tire actually touches the road surface, and where all traction occurs, it also changes the relationship between the tire sidewalls and wheels. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW While on your average pickup or crossover these differences would have a lesser impact, a 2022 test by tire retailer Tire Rack of nine wheel/tire width combinations on identical Subaru BRZs showed that choosing the proper wheel width can be the difference between clumsy handling and slow-reacting steering, and crisp, precise responses plus higher limits. It can also influence the quality of the ride, as tires that are stretched to fit a wider wheel may have less sidewall compliance to absorb minor bumps. Substantial changes in tire diameter — that is those that fall outside of the auto-industry's accepted recommendation of a limit of three per cent, can create issues with gearing, and be detrimental to performance, driveability, mileage, even braking. Those wishing to 'go big or go home' need to understand that other mechanical changes, may be required — from updating engine management software to replacing differential gear sets and suspension components. In changing tires and wheels, it may be wise to seek the advice of a professional, so you can enjoy the final result. Ask a Mechanic is written by Brian Early, a Red Seal-certified Automotive Service Technician. You can send your questions to wheels@ These answers are for informational purposes only. Please consult a certified mechanic before having any work done to your vehicle.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
This Lifted NA Is One Of My New Favorite Miatas
Mazda Miatas are very good for a lot of things. They're great daily drivers, great track cars, even great for drifting if you really know your way around that short wheelbase. But, like anything that does well in competition, a meta emerges — you need these coilovers, this suspension setup, this weight reduction, this limited-slip rear end. The paths laid out before a Miata owner are well-trodden, and require little creativity to follow. Luckily for those of us with joy left in our hearts, not every Miata has to be so serious. Some owners care not what the greater car community has decided are appropriate use cases for the MX-5, and instead build their Mazda as they see fit. There are still Miata owners out there willing to jack an NA up on off-road tires, slap a turbo on the intake and feed it with a snorkel, and clamp a roof rack to the ever-so-sought-after OEM hardtop, and for that we should all be thankful. Read more: These Are The Dumbest Looking Cars Of All Time, According To You This Miata is built to be something different. It looks at all the things that forumgoers say Miatas are supposed to be, all the "correct" ways to build an NA, and chooses a different route. Look at that massive front bumper, with its winch and yellow fogs. This is a bad track car. It's a bad drift car. It's almost certainly a worse daily driver than a stock NA. But it's something interesting, it's what its owner wanted without concern for what's "right" or "wrong." I love that. More car owners should do this. No matter how specific your car's intent is, either from the factory or from the aftermarket following it builds, you can always do whatever you want with it forever. Build your Miata to be an off-roader, a drag car, an exoskeleton on long-travel suspension set up to jump dunes. Never forget that it's your car, no matter what the forums say. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
These Are Best Reliable Used Sports Cars For Under $25,000, According To Consumer Reports
Sports cars may be awesome, but they do have a few downsides. After all, they don't exactly offer room for five friends to join you like the second-coolest type of vehicle — the minivan — does. They can also be unreliable and cost a lot of money to keep on the road. Plus, they're typically just more expensive to buy in general. If you don't have $100,000 to spend on a sports car or the patience to put up with something unreliable, that doesn't mean you're out of options. In fact, our friends at Consumer Reports recently put together a list of sports cars that you should be able to find for $25,000 or less that are also reliable. That isn't quite free, but it sure is a whole lot less than the base price of a new Porsche 911. Especially with used cars, prices also vary depending on where you live and what's available at the time, so it's possible you'll end up paying a little more if you aren't willing to travel, but at the very least, it's a good general guide. Sadly, the list isn't as long as we would like, but let's see what made the cut. Read more: These New Cars Just Aren't Worth The Money If you want to spend less than $15,000 on any vehicle, much less a sports car, your options are kind of limited these days. That said, you really can't go wrong with the current-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata that first went on sale back in 2016. You'll probably end up paying at least $10,000, but you should be able to find them for less than $15,000. They weren't all that expensive for a new car to begin with, while also offering more driver enjoyment than you can shake a stick at. Speaking of sticks, only get the automatic transmission if you have a specific reason to. The Miata just isn't the same without a manual transmission. These are small cars, and it's entirely possible you may not fit, so definitely try before you buy, but as long as you do, the Miata is about as much fun per dollar as it gets unless you're willing to get your motorcycle license and try something on two wheels. You get more power in newer Miatas, which makes them more desirable, but that just means the 2016s and 2017s are even better deals. If you can afford to spend up to $20,000, you have a few more options. You could, of course, always get a newer, more expensive Miata. That's a little obvious, but it's also partly your fault for looking for buying advice on a site with "Miata is always the answer" as its mantra. Also, post-refresh Miatas make about 25 more horsepower than the earlier ones, and in a car that started with only 155 hp, you'll be able to feel it. But that kind of budget also opens the door to a 2017 Ford Mustang. You'll probably have to go older if you want the V8, but you may be surprised just how much you enjoy the turbocharged four-cylinder that has since replaced the V6 in the Mustang lineup. Heck, if you've only driven older Mustangs, you may just be confused by how something wearing a Mustang badge can be that good in the corners. Alternatively, if you're looking for something a little nicer inside, you could also pick up a 2018 BMW 4 Series coupe or convertible. That may sound terrifying if you've heard horror stories about old, out-of-warranty German luxury cars, but the results of Consumer Reports' latest owner survey show these cars are actually pretty reliable. The six-cylinder engine is probably out of reach at this price point, at least in a car you'd actually want to buy, but the four-cylinder isn't a bad consolation prize. At the $25,000 price point, you're probably still best served by picking up an almost-new, gently used Miata. They really are outstanding as long as you aren't too tall, too wide or in need of a back seat. Even if the specs don't look as impressive as you were hoping they would, if you've never driven one, we promise you'll have more fun than you ever expected. That said, not everybody wants a Miata, and that's OK. (It actually isn't, but we're working on being more accepting around here.) If that's the case, you should be able to get the six-cylinder BMW 4 Series, but you also have two other options that Consumer Reports recommends. The first is a 2019 Audi A5, which falls a little more on the luxury side of things versus the BMW. That will turn some people off, but not everyone wants a coupe that corners as fast as physically possible. Sometimes you just want a comfortable, stylish coupe that's still pretty fun to drive. If that's you, you'll definitely want to give the A5 a look. Alternatively, look at a 2022 Mini Cooper. Like the Miata, its engine isn't the most powerful, but these cars are just so darn fun to drive, it's hard to imagine you'll care. Plus, you get a back seat and more practicality than the Miata thanks to the Mini's hatchback design. And while older Minis aren't exactly cheap to keep on the road, newer Minis are actually pretty reliable. Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Used Panoz Esperante Could Be Your New Racecar
Read the full story on Backfire News If you've been looking for a racecar, whether for serious competition or just some fun track days, this used 2003 Panoz Esperante could be the ticket. A lot of people either have never heard of Panoz or have forgotten about its existence, so when we ran across the listing for this car, we thought it was interesting enough to put out in front of everyone for their all, when you show up for track day you'll stick out among all the Corvettes, BMWs, Miatas, and such. Plus, you get a legitimate performance vehicle, not just something that looks fast but is a turtle. The seller says this Esperante has a 351 Windsor V8 built by Tristar Engines, which has only about four hours of use so far. Even better, the Tremec 6-speed transmission rebuilt by Walter Motorsports has only been broken in, that's it. The shocks are even fresher, with zero time on them since being rebuilt by Penske. Underneath that properly sporty body draped with red paint and decals is a tube frame chassis. This car was built for track duty, after all. Lest any of you who aren't familiar with Panoz think overwise, the company isn't Italian but instead is American. It launched as a boutique sports car brand in 1989 but has invested heavily in motorsports, including constructing racecars like this one. Sure, it's not a Ferrari or a Porsche, but this Esperante is being sold for $28,500 so take that into consideration. What other legit racecars are you going to be looking at in that price range? According to the listing, the seller is including spare wheels and tires. But is this the racecar you're needing at the moment? If so, you might want to act fast before it's gone. See this car's listing here. Images via Casey Carden/Facebook Marketplace
