Maybe I'll have better luck in here.

Anybody run/ran 15" wheels at all? From some general researching on the forums it looks like some 15" wheels will fit over the front brakes. It looks like the preferred size for competition on the S are 17s but I actually prefer the looks and driving characteristics of fatty tires and those Miatas seem to run just fine on 15s. 16s look great IMO but tire AND wheel selection in 15s are much better than 16's. 15" wheel AND tire packages are generally lighter than 17 packages.

So anybody have recommendations on a 15" wheel that will fit?

 

Your falling outside the normal range of tire/wheel sizes people acquire for this car, so not likely going to get a lot of feedback, because they will be a detriment to the cars performance. Its like getting recommendations on a good Hellflush set up, its not going to happen unless you find other hellflushers to talk to or you figure it out on your own on what you like and make it work. But again there is no way you will get better performance out of a 15" on this car with tire widths and compounds being even more limited, and the sidewall height having too much flex to compliment/work with the sharp handling of the s2k. It will run like shit to be frank. 17's are in fact the sweet spot. 315/35/17 aside, 18's are viable if you want more available tire options in the 285-335 section widths. There is practical reasons to pick a particular wheel size. Weight is certainly one of them, but not at the expense of everything else.

 

Funnily enough I was watching a YouTube clip the other night featuring the Spoon S2000 from about 2000-2001, and it was running on 15s, but I think it was also on slicks so normal rules don't apply. Have a look through the old Best Motoring clips and see what you can find there if you're still keen.

 

Don't cheap out on tires or breaks. Consider 17s and don't look at the expense as a bad thing, instead have some fun with it. Rims will totally transform a car. I prefer more rubber myself and if you prefer that ride, just don't go low profile.

 

I'm aware of the performance differences lost and gained by going with 15's vs 17's. Honestly, this car will see more street miles than track laps and for the streets 15s ride much better.

Sure you give up ultimate grip by not having access to those super wide sizes but I don't want to be rolling my fenders either. Turn in is not as sharp but I've found the at-the-edge limits tends to be more forgiving with a softer, taller sidewall vs stiff low-profile tires (observations from when I ran 16s vs 14s on my AE86s years and years ago). As well, the practicality of large volume tires provides a nicer ride and better protects the wheels while cruising our pothole-ridden roads.

Another advantage a smaller footprint wheel/tire has on the streets is that they get to optimum temperature quicker.

While 15s do tend to be cheaper (for wheels and tires) cost is a distant third or fourth consideration here and really isn't that much of a factor.

16s would be ideal but unfortunately not much selection (good luck finding a non-OEM 16x7.5 in our crazy offset let alone 16x8). Perhaps it is as Junky says, I just needs to do it myself!

 

You're not taking tire height into account at all.

Miatas most commonly run on 195/50/15, 205/50/15, 225/45/15 or 245/40/15. Those are between 22.7 and 23.1" in height.

OEM AP1 16's (205/55/16 and 225/50/16) are 24.9" in height.

That will look terrible, your sidewall will be shorter than OEM and your speedo will be way off.

Now let us assume you have thought about tire height as a potential issue. You could run:

205/60/15 = Standard all-seasons that people would put on something like a base model 2012 VW Jetta.
225/55/15 = Nothing.
245/50/15 = Hoosier R7

The S2000 isn't an AE86, they ran similar tire heights to NA/NB Miatas, 185/60/14 if I recall correctly? Running 16's on that you're probably forced into something like a 205/40/16, which yeah has a minimal sidewall. I run 215/45/17 up front, 245/40/17 (OEM AP2 sizing, but on aftermarket wheels) and I have significantly more sidewall than you would have had running 17's on an AE86.

 

Hey, just some thoughts. Did you look at Tire Rack? Just entered an ap1 and 56 results popped up for 16” wheels.

IMO, your safety is the most important issue.

 

Ahh, yes. It's been 20 or so years since I've thought about this sort of stuff and totally forgot the second number is a ratio and not necessarily a measure of the height.

 

+1 for the importance of safety forsure.


Naturally, you don't need em untill you need em.


You need them.


Any update?