Miata Wheel Questions

What year Miatas will take 13 inch rims? I come from a MK1 and MK2 GTI background and want a Miata for lapping days. I have a pile of 13 inch tires including hand built, bolted ice racing tires and would like to use them. Do 4x100 VW rims fit the Miata hubs? 

Also, what bolt in roll bar is most suitable and safest? I tried to figure this out on my own and got nowhere. Thanks!

90-93 Miatas have the smallest brakes and will fit 13" wheels.  

Old tires are usually sketchy and we recommend getting newer rubber .   But for ice racing, who knows.

Most people get roll bars from the big name brands.  I went with Hard Dog double diagonal.

I used wheels from this company over a decade ago on my 95.  http://www.diamondracingwheels.com/

You need to know the dimensions you want, and I'm sorry, I no longer have them.  

The VW wheels work with Miata hubs, they just won't be hubcentric..

This is a bar that's sold by the Miata race shop where I've had my car. 
 

https://www.bsiracing.com/products/
 

The picture doesn't really convey what a good design they have for the roll bar (on the lower right). I've seen them in person and I would make it my first choice for a street driven car, as it's designed to make it less likely to cause injury when you're not wearing your helmet. 

THANKS all!

I have a set of 13x10 wheels that fit over VW 10.1" brakes.  No doubt they would fit the 1.8 engined cars' brakes.

Any Na/NB Miata without the sport brakes can fit 13" wheels.  If you don't need to keep stock brakes then any nb can easily swap to non sport brakes also.  
 

moxnix said:

Any Na/NB Miata without the sport brakes can fit 13" wheels.  If you don't need to keep stock brakes then any nb can easily swap to non sport brakes also.  
 

This. I've run 13x8 wheels on all sorts of miata, no problem. They're currently over the Flyin' Miata LBBK and looking extra cool.

Worth noting, depending on your rear-gear 13" wheels will have you shifting A LOT. My exocet that I run 13's on has a 3.63 rear end (very rare in the US). 

https://www.flyinmiata.com/tech/gearing.php

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

I didn't realize that they make/sell their own bar. Thanks for the tip. 

All NA/NB Miata roll bars have the same geometry constraint - they have to fit under the top. This means that the taller they are, the further forward they have to be. Or the further back you make them, the shorter they have to be. Unless the designer has screwed up, any bar with a height of X will be Y distance from the seat. The kink in the BSI diagonal probably lets the seat sit further back, but you're still going to have the main hoop just as close to your head. The diagonal is usually behind the seat so it's not a head strike danger.

By the way, I can talk about Miata wheels whenever. It's one of my favorite topics. 

And I'm sure we'll get Keith back to confirm, but if going with 15x8s on an NA Miata with stock fenders, you want 35mm offset, right? What if you roll the fenders? Then what's the reality of then using 25mm offset ? 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

https://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda-Performance-Part/61-1391.html

These are +25 and have a good breakdown in the body of what needs done to make them fit:

Tire Size breakdown:
-205/50 fits NB Miata fenders with 1.2 negative camber or better, NA Miata needs that camber and slightly rolled fenders.
-225/45/15 needs fender roll for all years at this offset.

David S. Wallens said:

And I'm sure we'll get Keith back to confirm, but if going with 15x8s on an NA Miata with stock fenders, you want 35mm offset, right? What if you roll the fenders? Then what's the reality of then using 25mm offset ? 

Depends on the tire. If you run a 225/45-15 with a +36 15x8 on an NA, it will just barely fit. Add a 3mm spacer and you'll have to roll the fenders. BTDT.

But if you run a 205/50-15, you can probably get away with a +25. Basically, you've got roughly 20mm less carcass width so you can afford to push the wheel out 10mm. 

I am assuming a performance alignment. And of course, if your tires are Rivals, you may need even more clearance :) This is why the FM-designed 15x8s run a +36, because it fits well with that tire and it's overall safe. It's fun to try to get as close as possible for aesthetics, but it's no fun to try to support customers who don't want to touch pristine fenders and have ended up with 1mm less clearance than they really need for some reason.

Once you start to roll and pull fenders, things get very different. I have 245s on a +36 15x9 under a stock-looking NA body.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

15x10 +25 Konig Dekagrams with 245 rt-660's on them. More than a little rolling required - I hit my fender with a hammer ... a lot. Still fighting light rubbing in the back - it need pulled even more.




 

Here's your "before" - +25 15x10 with a 245/40-15 under fenders that will fit the aforementioned 15x9 setup. You had some work to do!