Miata - 195/65/15?: Grassroots Motorsports forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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Feb. 2, 2012 9:32 p.m. thestig99 Reader

My Subaru winter beater is on its last legs. I didn't know suspension could be this bad, brakes are metal on metal, rust is spreading fast... it's going downhill quickly.

Thus it is well inside the realm of possibility that I'll have to finish the winter in my Miata... which would be the first time its ever seen winter... sigh

Anyway. The Miata has bald all seasons. Will I be able to use the 195/95/15 studded Hakkapellita's that are on the Subie now? I'm sure they'll look pretty ridiculous on the 15x8 6UL's I'm picking up Sunday, but oh well...
Feb. 2, 2012 10:01 p.m. neon4891 SuperDork

Most 195/65/15 are rated for 5.5-7". It if fits, it will have the hella flush look.
Feb. 2, 2012 10:16 p.m. Keith SuperDork

That's a 25" tire, a stock Miata tire is 23". You may have to do some surgery to keep them from rubbing pretty much everywhere.
Feb. 3, 2012 10:23 a.m. pilotbraden Dork

I ran 185/75 r14 coopers on my Miata. The front tires rub the fender liners when the suspension is compressed and grabbed the fender lip when approaching full steering lock. The rears were not as much of a problem.
Feb. 3, 2012 10:32 a.m. jrw1621 SuperDork

Keith wrote:

That's a 25" tire, a stock Miata tire is 23". You may have to do some surgery to keep them from rubbing pretty much everywhere.

Add into that tightness the accumulation of snow packing in the wheel well area and it will be tight.
Feb. 3, 2012 10:35 a.m. jrw1621 SuperDork

thestig99 wrote:

My Subaru winter beater is on its last legs. I didn't know suspension could be this bad, brakes are metal on metal, rust is spreading fast... it's going downhill quickly.

Brakes that are metal on metal could likely be cured for $100-$150 so I do not see that as too much of a barrier but maybe the other problems are really bad.
I would try to keep the Subaru going through the worst of the weather/salt season and pull the Miata out after a couple of good spring rain showers have washed all the salt off the roads.
Feb. 3, 2012 11:06 a.m. DaveEstey Dork

I have a set of Miata daisys with nearly new all-seasons that I'll sell you for $100. I don't remember what brand off-hand but they're good tires and were load-balanced so no 65 mph vibration. I don't need them (have three other sets of rims/tires) so they're just hanging out right now.

You can sell the Subaru setup and come out ahead I think.
Feb. 3, 2012 11:10 a.m. EvanB SuperDork

I ran 185/70/14 on my first Miata which was lowered on Racing Beat springs (1.75-2"?) with no problems. It was a bit close and I had some rubbing on the fender liners in the front but nothing too bad.

You can get a vague idea of how they fit in this picture.
Feb. 3, 2012 5:17 p.m. thestig99 Reader

Oh believe me the brakes are the least of my worries. The thing is a death trap. If I thought otherwise I wouldn't even start to consider letting the Miata learn what salt is. I'm still hoping to avoid that, but it's going downhill quickly so I want to try to ease the transition should the need arise.

The consensus is that my tires are too big (unhappy enough about having to do this without running the risk of damaging the car with the tires).
Feb. 3, 2012 5:27 p.m. Keith SuperDork

I've made 25" tires fit, but I had to do some modifications. It's quite likely that the fact that they were 245mm wide probably didn't help. Pilotbraden's experience is pretty close to what you could expect.