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after one thing or another (one of the used wheels was bent - got fixed), bolts length too narrow (bought right ones), all jazzed up today to install, only to found I lost the freaking wheel lock key.
The bolt has 13 teeth, would anyone know what code it is? I swear I will toss the freaking lock bolts away once I get this figured out.!
If you plan on getting rid of the "security" bolts, get some cheap sockets to sacrifice to the wheel gods.
Love the wheels! Minor vibration > 70 mph... Trouble checked all bolts were torqued down to 103 lb-ft Probably due to wheels not balancing correctly? One more trip to mechanic to get them corrected.
look great! Love the dark silver vs white silver contrast!
Oh YEAH!!! Looks fantastic! Need to go get some better pictures out in the wild.
100 ft-lbs torque sounds high. I set my torque wrench to 90 ft-lbs. When I mount my wheels to the car, I use my 1/2" ratchet and spin the lugs in just enough (criss cross pattern) to seat the wheel, then torque once the car is on the ground. Its "possible" the tires didn't balance correctly, but it could be from a wheel being mounted slightly off.
I have done exactly the same thing as you suggested, criss-crossed hand tightened, then torqued criss-cross pattern, likely wheels are not balanced, I think, will see what they say next week.
As for lug torqued, I researched the living daylight out of the spec and see the same thing from manual.
I have done exactly the same thing as you suggested, criss-crossed hand tightened, then torqued criss-cross pattern, likely wheels are not balanced, I think, will see what they say next week.
As for lug torqued, I researched the living daylight out of the spec and see the same thing from manual.
Maybe I'm under-torqueing mine... They do look amazing on your car I like the JCW decals, too
How are those Budweg calipers treating those who have them installed? I have seen people say that they are remanufactured genuine MINI calipers, but I have seen pages on the internet call these 'exact copies'. They do not appear to have 'Brembo' cast into the aluminum of the rear caliper body.
How have they been? I think some folks in here have put them on an R53 - how did the brake pedal feel with the stock master cylinder? Did you source separate brackets or buy a package with R53-specific brackets?
How are those Budweg calipers treating those who have them installed? I have seen people say that they are remanufactured genuine MINI calipers, but I have seen pages on the internet call these 'exact copies'. They do not appear to have 'Brembo' cast into the aluminum of the rear caliper body.
How have they been? I think some folks in here have put them on an R53 - how did the brake pedal feel with the stock master cylinder? Did you source separate brackets or buy a package with R53-specific brackets?
Please advise - thinking about these.
Hi there!
Mine have been amazing since installing over a year ago now - no issues at all! you are correct in that they do not have 'MINI' or 'Brembo' in the casting, so I suspect that they copied or purchased tooling to manufacture these - I also didn't notice any signs of them being remanufactured. Only thing I will say is skip the kit that includes pads and rotors. The pads are not very good and were very loud and I ended up getting a new set of pads/rotors pretty quickly (EBC reds and SP slotted.)
I am in an R56, but didn't replace the master cylinder or anything and they feel fine. I did notice a change in the pedal feel but that was to be expected.
As far as fitting them on an R53, you shouldn't need an adapter or different bracket!
Thanks for the info! Yeah - I don't like the look of the rotors in the kit, and no-name pads are definitely a no-go for me. If I eventually add these, I'll source those separately. Good info - thanks!
Time to revive this thread! Still running the same wheels from a few years ago. Recently installed Bilstein B14 coilovers and have also switched to 215/45R17 Michelin PS4S, from the awful Potenza S001's that came on those wheels. Absolutely love this setup, been doing some autocross as well and it tears it up!
People are still so surprised that these are Miata wheels. Most people don't notice unless I mention it - they fit so well on these cars!
Time to revive this thread! Still running the same wheels from a few years ago. Recently installed Bilstein B14 coilovers and have also switched to 215/45R17 Michelin PS4S, from the awful Potenza S001's that came on those wheels. Absolutely love this setup, been doing some autocross as well and it tears it up!
People are still so surprised that these are Miata wheels. Most people don't notice unless I mention it - they fit so well on these cars!
The car and Stig pix look awesome. Think PS4S will be my next set up.
Time to revive this thread! Still running the same wheels from a few years ago. Recently installed Bilstein B14 coilovers and have also switched to 215/45R17 Michelin PS4S, from the awful Potenza S001's that came on those wheels. Absolutely love this setup, been doing some autocross as well and it tears it up!
People are still so surprised that these are Miata wheels. Most people don't notice unless I mention it - they fit so well on these cars!
I agree, car looks great! Also, your car made me select and install the B14 kit too
I agree, car looks great! Also, your car made me select and install the B14 kit too
Nice! How are you liking them? My only complaint is that height adjustment is via spring pretension only, and I wish I had the dampening adjustment, but otherwise I really really enjoy them!
Nice! How are you liking them? My only complaint is that height adjustment is via spring pretension only, and I wish I had the dampening adjustment, but otherwise I really really enjoy them!
I'm OK with the height adjustment. Front is super easy, rear is a pain in the @55 because the control arms are all in the way. The rears are still sitting at "out of the box" height, and fronts were raised 1/4". Still pretty low, but rides well enough.
Gotta go B16s if you want damping adjustment.
Overall, I am very satisfied. Firm, but not harsh. Much more suspension control compared to the Megan Racing coil overs I had previously.
So I didn't do my research beforehand, and now I know that I need spacers. But I'm trying to understand exactly what I need. Do I just need 8mm spacers with a 56.1 mm bore? Does that mean the the Miata wheels aren't lined up by the hub center?
So I didn't do my research beforehand, and now I know that I need spacers. But I'm trying to understand exactly what I need. Do I just need 8mm spacers with a 56.1 mm bore? Does that mean the the Miata wheels aren't lined up by the hub center?
Looks like you got the 16” wheels? Those will feel great on the car. So light weight!
I assume the 16’s are built the same as the 17” version. The wheel bore should have a slight radius at the interface. You’ll only need 8mm Mini wheel spacers. The spacers should be designed for Mini hubs. The hub will still have a slight amount of pole through the spacer to help with centering the wheel. The wheel bore should taper out just enough to center on that slight amount of hub poke through the spacer. The lug bolts will then take up and hold the wheel in place to the face.
Looks like you got the 16” wheels? Those will feel great on the car. So light weight!
I assume the 16’s are built the same as the 17” version. The wheel bore should have a slight radius at the interface. You’ll only need 8mm Mini wheel spacers. The spacers should be designed for Mini hubs. The hub will still have a slight amount of pole through the spacer to help with centering the wheel. The wheel bore should taper out just enough to center on that slight amount of hub poke through the spacer. The lug bolts will then take up and hold the wheel in place to the face.
Jwzimm, you make a great point about the hub-spigot being taller ... I think the Miata wheels are great options... and threads like this let people know more about them rather than just 'writing the off' as not viable.... so, thank you for the tread and all the great info.... Just supplementing a bit with my experience also, I hope that is OK for you.
With the OE-Mazda wheel already 3mm outward (on the Mazda-Factory Miata ET45 wheels).... I'd want to keep any spacer thickness as minimum as possible too.
I also bought a set of the spoked Miata wheels.... all personal preference, had them cut and found the same interference issue as you did with the JCW brake setup.... then I ran across the forged OE-Miata Club BBS wheels that I liked (great price)... With the hub center cut those bolted right on (I made a template this time BEFORE cut )
I currently have a very open set of 18" Advan RS2's on the car.... and am shifting the look.... cross Spokes .... and something else... I like the Rotiform NUE's... even more closed off
The BBS would be more for a winter set...but maybe for summer if I like them .... not sure yet. They are getting re-painted at the local body shop with a warmed up titanium bronze-silver to compliment warmer tones of the Pepper White on the car. I have a set of the Borbet-MINI-Challenge (R112 style) wheels here... still heavy at over 20lbs. The Mazda wheels (spoked or BBS) are a slam dunk in terms of quality upgrade for low money... and side by side... they are noticeably more open than the 112's.... though, at first glance, you would think, "same".
When you go 8mm thick on the R56 hub with a 'plain spacer' (the non lipped/flanged type).... and the wheels themselves have a more than a 2mm deep chamfer on them.... there really is no 'hub centering' going on with Mazda wheels from my checks... it didn't seat deep enough into the hub with the extra 5/16" thickness of the spacer there and the 6mm spacers still didn't give enough clearance for brakes. 'Scratching' off the 1mm-radius on the chamfer bore really didn't change that.
I've used US wheel spacers (USWS) with great luck on different vehicles... https://www.uswheeladapters.com/shop/4-lug-slip-on/
I called and owner of USWS he said that he can do the 10mm thickness in flanged/lipped, but that would be the minimum thickness for hub spigot.
I measured the hub spigot height, with rotor mounted, at a hair under 9mm on my car...but there very well could be variations in part dimensions from year to year... vendor to vendor (even within OEM).... I'd have zero issue machining the factory spigot shorter bit in order to keep the spacer as thin as possible.... (shorter... but I wouldn't machine the diameter). I'd do that with an on-car brake-lathe... but could also get good results with a careful use of a grinder with a helper in the car, running the fronts axles that were jacked up with wheels removed (bolt down the rotors tho) .... I't would come out nearly as clean. With this, it would be possible to run an 8mm thick lipped/flanged spacer... If I bend a wheel and need to replace a wheel... this is what I'll do... go with a set of 8mm spacers, with 3@ 56.1/56.1 and one 56.1/54.1 to keep them all the same spacing and not need to machine the replacement wheel center bore while still retaining hub centering.. which is my personal preference, though many use lug-centered setups with great luck!s
Pic of the BBS Wheels on Miata... very open with thin-spokes... for a 'CrossSpoke' wheel, IMO.
The lightweight and that they are forged made a difference as you pointed out.
The Advans on my R56.... though the ND Spoked are even a bit more open. (moving on from these though)
Looks fantastic! Need to go get some better pictures out in the wild.
I like the JCW decals, too
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