15 v 16 the age old question

[Jared]

So thinking of a new set of rims
I have a FL car so looking at the back wheel it just fits the arch nicer than the front so I'm guessing the 16's all round would just look better but people go on about lower weight in 15's.
Am I really going to notice it on a road car plus if I go 7" wide on both would a  205 45 16 tyre weigh less than a 205 55 15 tyre and balance things out a little bit.

[Iain]

You wont notice much at all. Had both sizes on the rears, done plenty of track days with 16s on the back and now race with 15s on, dont recall ever feeling any difference.

Just try and keep some stagger front to rear, 205 fronts 225 rears would work.

[Gaz mr-s]

There are historical posts on here about a lack of feel with a 205 front. Plus extra weight & 7J rim.
I have a set of 16's but didn't have much use of them & the suspension wasn't optimised. (195/50 front) It didn't feel better at the time though.   To get a wheel as light/lighter than stock costs money unfortunately.

[Petrus]

Am I really going to notice it on a road car

The MR2 is a light mid engined car with a balanced set up and it reacts in a notable way to changes in wheels/tyres whether size/weight etc.
In short; Yes you will notice.

The standard PFL set up is the most responsive.
The standard FL is slighly more understeered.
Making the fronst heavier/wider will slow the steering down.

As to lóóks, the front and rear wheel arches are different and the FL set up the most befitting that.

[fawtytoo]

Getting tyres can be an issue for 15" rims. Some brands don't do sizes for the rears, e.g. Bridgestone, Continental.

[The Other Stu]

One of my colleagues had a facelift and tried a number of things on trackdays.
I'll be honest, he's rather a mad driver too.

His preference ON A FACELIFT CAR were 15s/16s.
Bear in mind FL cars have a slightly different setup, so saying 15s all round is always best may not be the best thing for everyone.

He said 15s all round with staggered tyres weren't that much worse. 16s all round he said were absolutely horrendous.

I guess it depends on your usage though and how hard you're looking to drive your car.

Personally, on my FL, I have staggered 15/16 rotas, but I don't track it or anything.

[Jared]

Good info, not looking to track the car just a fast road car. If I could get 16s all round with a lower weight than stock then I see that as a win

[Carolyn]

Good info, not looking to track the car just a fast road car. If I could get 16s all round with a lower weight than stock then I see that as a win

15's on the front are the best.  I know of quite a few who have gone bigger.  They liked the looks but not the affect on he handling.

[Beachbum957]

We are using 16X7 Enkei wheels all around, with 195/45-16 front and 205/45-16 rear. Turn in is very nice and handling very predictable.  But, in the US tire options are very limited in 16" sizes if you want any stagger at all.  Tire options in 15" are better, but also slowly becoming limited. 

The common suggestion in the US  is to pick the tires that seem to fit the desired requirements (summer only, A/S, etc) then see if reasonable sizes are available, then maybe worry about wheel size.  

Tire options vary in every market, so what is available in one country may not be an option in another.  

[The Other Stu]

15's on the front are the best.  I know of quite a few who have gone bigger.  They liked the looks but not the affect on he handling.

Funny enough, that reminds me of a former member, who'll remain nameless, but a friend of @jvanzyl and I who rocked up to my house with 17s all round.

It turned out, he'd travelled around 30 miles across mostly B roads.
When he arrived I said "I bet that was an absolute hoot! Those roads from mine to yours are great"
He wasn't particularly impressed and said his car didn't handle that well.

I'll be honest though, it looked absolutely amazing with 17s all round.

[Ardent]

Good info, not looking to track the car just a fast road car. If I could get 16s all round with a lower weight than stock then I see that as a win

Good luck with that.

[jvanzyl]

Funny enough, that reminds me of a former member, who'll remain nameless, but a friend of @jvanzyl and I who rocked up to my house with 17s all round.

It turned out, he'd travelled around 30 miles across mostly B roads.
When he arrived I said "I bet that was an absolute hoot! Those roads from mine to yours are great"
He wasn't particularly impressed and said his car didn't handle that well.

I'll be honest though, it looked absolutely amazing with 17s all round.

Was that the time you guys hade me benching the engine/gearbox from under your car in an effort to change the clutch? ...  Fun times !

[Petrus]

Good info, not looking to track the car just a fast road car. If I could get 16s all round with a lower weight than stock then I see that as a win

I have a lightened pfl on 15" Enkei RPF1 with AD08RS and cannot think of anything better. The Sportivo kit has it some 10mm lower at the front and that sorts the look too for me.

[Jared]

Good luck with that.

I'm not sure its that hard TBH even with spending not too much £££. From what I have found (unless someone can tell me different)

fronts weigh 14.6 lbs each (29.2)
15" Rears 15.2 lbs each (30.4)
16" Rears 18 to 19 lbs each so at least (36)

So a FL car is 65.2 lbs  all round

16x7 Rota slipstreams (not to expensive good looking JDM wheel)  13.5 lbs each so 54 lbs all round so a loss of 11.2 lbs and then 16" all round

Even the cheapest 15x7 wheels I could find new (look like Bola BR2) are £382 and weigh 12.1 lbs each so that's a saving of 16.8 lbs

[Jared]

I have a lightened pfl on 15" Enkei RPF1 with AD08RS and cannot think of anything better. The Sportivo kit has it some 10mm lower at the front and that sorts the look too for me.

Very nice indeed but I'm worried the wife would knife me in my sleep if I spent that much on wheels LOL

[Petrus]

Very nice indeed but I'm worried the wife would knife me in my sleep if I spent that much on wheels LOL

Then stick with FL stock rims and buy the best tyres for your purpose. The stock wheels are very good quality and relatively light. Nothing ´cheap´  aftermarket comes close.

All else máy look beter in your eyes but not drive better. You decide what weighs heavier for you.

Me, I am awaiting a set of lighweight OZ Racings for my daily as it makes súch a difference in everything. Stock size, same tyres.

[Gaz mr-s]

I'm not sure its that hard TBH even with spending not too much £££. From what I have found (unless someone can tell me different)

fronts weigh 14.6 lbs each (29.2)
15" Rears 15.2 lbs each (30.4)
16" Rears 18 to 19 lbs each so at least (36)

So a FL car is 65.2 lbs  all round

16x7 Rota slipstreams (not to expensive good looking JDM wheel)  13.5 lbs each so 54 lbs all round so a loss of 11.2 lbs and then 16" all round

I'm really surprised at the light weight of the Slipstream. I've never considered choosing them.  I've had other Rota which are a fair bit heavier, & Japan Racing that are in-between stock & the Rota I've had.

I wonder if the Slipstream are constructed differently?

[Beachbum957]

Some Enkei wheels are pretty light

Enkei RPF1 16x7  13.7 lbs
Enkei PF01 16x7    14.0 lbs

We are running Yokohama Fleva tires that are also pretty light, so we ended with about 31 lbs for each tire and wheel assembly. 

We calculated what OEM wheels with typical tires would weight as a comparison. So on a FL, we saved about 18 lbs total.  Of course, the wallet was lighter as well

[Jared]

I'm really surprised at the light weight of the Slipstream. I've never considered choosing them.  I've had other Rota which are a fair bit heavier, & Japan Racing that are in-between stock & the Rota I've had.

I wonder if the Slipstream are constructed differently?

They also do a copy of the Rpf1 its called TFS3 and it weighs around the same weight as the Enkei in 16x7 form

[Ardent]

I'm not sure its that hard TBH even with spending not too much £££. From what I have found (unless someone can tell me different)

fronts weigh 14.6 lbs each (29.2)
15" Rears 15.2 lbs each (30.4)
16" Rears 18 to 19 lbs each so at least (36)

So a FL car is 65.2 lbs  all round

16x7 Rota slipstreams (not to expensive good looking JDM wheel)  13.5 lbs each so 54 lbs all round so a loss of 11.2 lbs and then 16" all round

Even the cheapest 15x7 wheels I could find new (look like Bola BR2) are £382 and weigh 12.1 lbs each so that's a saving of 16.8 lbs

Fair enough. The bit I missed/forgot/overlooked, you are looking at 7s. I was thinking in terms of stock width.
Apologies.

[Gaz mr-s]

Fair enough. The bit I missed/forgot/overlooked, you are looking at 7s. I was thinking in terms of stock width.
Apologies.

I thought exactly the same, wheels wise at least.  Impossible to tell tyre-wise.

[The Other Stu]

Was that the time you guys hade me benching the engine/gearbox from under your car in an effort to change the clutch? ...  Fun times !

Of course! An experience we'll never forget.