Here is what good-win-racing.com has to say about it:
"Weight. The Mazda Miata is incredibly sensitive to what is called
unsprung weight (which can best be understood as what hangs off the
Miata suspension rather than what sits on it). I was surprised when I
bought my first Miata in the early 90s when I ended up not enjoying
the very first set of very nice wheels I picked for that Miata because
the ride quality became poor. Most Miata owners can feel a
deterioration of ride quality from a gain of as little as 2 to 3
pounds per corner in unsprung weight. We therefore strongly recommend
that you use only light weight wheels for your Miata like those we
sell here."
I think I read somewhere that my stock 16" wheels are about 15.5
pounds, whereas one wheel Good-Win-Racing seems to like, the Konig
Helium, weighs only 11.4 pounds (for 15"). Now, that's a big
difference, and I wouldn't think the slightly taller tires I'd be
running on the smaller rims would really change that.
So my question is, is Good-Win-Racing right? Will 4 pounds per wheel
make a big difference in ride quality (among other things)? When the
roads are good, I don't have any complaints with what I have, but on
the occasional bad patch of interstate or the like, well, it's not so
good. I've just gritted my teeth and sorta assumed that was one of
the tradeoffs of a s****ty car with an 89-inch wheelbase.
The other question is if there's a downside to light wheels (other
than maybe cost). Otherwise why would stock Miata wheels often be in
the 15-16 pound range?
(On that site you can get a set of the Heliums with Toyo T1Rs for
about $750. Not sure if I'd run right out and replace what I have now
since my tires are basically new, but I would at least make a note of
it.)
Eric
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