by "for Michigan" (formichigan)
Published 04/23/2017 at 13:00
by "for Michigan" (formichigan)
Published 04/23/2017 at 13:00
Tags: wheels
; oppopinions
STARS: 0
I’ve wanted new wheels for my Mazda3 since I bought it nearly a year and a half ago, but other concerns had higher priority than dropping several hundred dollars on a mostly-cosmetic upgrade. Now it’s time to replace both my summer and winter tires and I’m hoping to demote the stock wheels to winter duty and finally upgrade to something else for summer duty.
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Design : There are much more offensive wheels out there, but I have no love for the look of the stock wheels.
Color : Silver car, silver wheels. No bueno. Plus, they’re not even the same silver! The silver paint on the wheels is marginally warmer than the silver paint on the body and the mismatch bugs me.
Condition : The finish on the stock wheels is shot. There’s flaking around center cap, fading on the sides of the spokes, and nasty stains inside the wheels. They need to be stripped and re-coated or replaced.
Weight : Depending on the source, the stock, 17x6.5" wheels weigh 19-22 lbs each. Given the aftermarket options out there, that’s not terrible, but I wouldn’t mind dropping to 15-18 lbs per wheel.
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17" diameter : The stock wheel size seems to be the best ride/handling compromise for this car. The difference in ride comfort between the 17" stock alloys and the 16" winter steelies is substantial enough that I have no interest in anything larger. The 16" wheels muddle the handling so much that I’m switching to 17" winters.
7-7.5" wide
: The car doesn’t really lack lateral grip and I’m only putting down 160 hp / 150 lb-ft, so I don’t feel the need to stuff fatter tires under it. In fact, I’d like to stick with the stock tire size (205/50R17) to keep my speedometer/odometer accurate.
Around +50 offset : I’d like to stay as close to stock offset (+52.5) as possible to preserve the stock clearances and scrub radius.
Black, gunmetal, or dark grey gloss : The color needs to provide a contrast with the silver paint. However, I don’t want crazy colors (I’m looking at you, Sparco), satin or matte finishes, or multi-color wheels.
5-spoke-based design : The lug pattern is 5x114.3 and I want a matching number of spokes. 5, 10, 15, and 20 are good. 7, 9, 14, and 18 could be acceptable on the right wheel. 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 16 are my last choice.
15-18 lbs : Like I said before, I wouldn’t mind dropping a little weight.
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These are the options I’m currently weighing.
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Pros: Good fitment, beautiful design, best color.
Cons: Heavy, probably difficult to clean, BMW wannabes.
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Pros: Great fitment, very light.
Cons: Kind of ugly, not dark enough, questionable durability.
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Pros:
Better looking than the K5Rs, lighter than the EKM3s, good color.
Cons: Not as pretty as the EKM3s.
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I really want the EKM3s, but I’m not sure I want to give up the weight savings for a prettier wheel. Then again, the difference between those and the Sparcos (the Koseis are just a little too homely to make the final cut) is only 10 lbs total, which is negligible. Maybe I should just lose 10 lbs and buy the Enkeis.
What would you do, fellow Opponaughts?
"daender" (daender)
04/23/2017 at 13:14, STARS: 1
NC Miata wheels?
Pro: affordable, easy to source, decently-durable (see Cons), near-factory fitment (17x7 with 55mm offset), and easy to clean style that goes well with the factory look.
Cons: Not the lightest (17 lbs) and most of them came in silver (there are black-painted ones out there that came on the Club-spec model). The ‘06-’08 wheels have a tendency to crack at the spokes if they’ve been abused on track/potholes.
Here’s a ‘06-’08 wheel that the local shop sheared at Roebling Road. After that they went through all the NC1 wheels in their shop and found 4 more that were showing signs of failure.
"Eric @ opposite-lock.com" (theyrerolling)
04/23/2017 at 13:19, STARS: 0
How about the other stock wheels?
They need to be refinished in a darker grey, mind you. They’re one of my favorite stock wheel designs and my favorite wheel on the first gen Mazda 3 Hatch... The hard part might be finding a set.
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
04/23/2017 at 13:21, STARS: 0
Get the lightest wheels in your price range
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/23/2017 at 13:37, STARS: 1
I don’t love flat black wheels in general and especially not on silver. Just too plain. If you’re looking for something to stand out they’re not the way to go.
Food for thought: Discount Tire has their own brand of knockoff JDM-style wheels, called Drag. They’re actually pretty high quality and some are reasonably light. I had a set of 18x7.5 or maybe 18x8 (can’t remember) Drag DR-38 (Enkei GTC01 knockoffs) on my old MS6.
Here are some ideas for you.
Drag DR-62 Gunmetal 17x7.5 +45 - $112 - 20.9 lbs
Drag DR-34 Charcoal Gray 17x7.5 +45 - $115 - 21.5 lbs
Drag DR-34 Gloss Black Machined Lip 17x7.5 +45 - $115 - 21.5 lbs
Drag DR-34 Gunmetal Machined Lip 17x7.5 +45 - $115 - 21.5 lbs
Drag DR-35 Gloss Black Machined Lip 17x7.5 +45 - $115 - 21.3 lbs
Drag DR-31 Charcoal Gray 17x7 +40 - $115 - 19 lbs
Drag DR-38 Charcoal Gray 17x7 +40 - $115 - 17.6 lbs
Drag DR-9 Gloss Black Machined Lip 17x7 +40 - $115 - 18.4 lbs
And then these aren’t Drags, they’re Konigs, but also light weight.
Konig Runlite Matte Gray 17x7.5 +45 - $125 - 18.9 lbs
As you can see, the Drag DR-38 like I had are the lightest weight of this bunch.
"boxrocket" (boxrocket)
04/23/2017 at 13:42, STARS: 1
Of the 3, the Kosei.
"for Michigan" (formichigan)
04/23/2017 at 13:57, STARS: 0
I like the way those look, but the shearing is a little concerning.
"for Michigan" (formichigan)
04/23/2017 at 13:59, STARS: 0
I’m not a fan of those. I’d actually rather stick with the stock wheels.
"for Michigan" (formichigan)
04/23/2017 at 14:02, STARS: 0
Wow, that’s a lot of suggestions to sift through... Thanks for those.
I agree that flat black looks awful, which is why I said no matte or satin finish wheels. A big plus for the Enkeis is the gloss gunmetal finish.
"daender" (daender)
04/23/2017 at 14:02, STARS: 0
I wouldn’t fret too much about it. Most NC1s lived an easy life and, from what I gathered about that type of NC1 wheel shearing, those failures came from road-racing and track day-dedicated cars rather than road cars. Panic Motorsport’s car (the pictured example of the wheel failuire) has been racing for at least 2-3 years and that’s after living a full life as a street car!
"for Michigan" (formichigan)
04/23/2017 at 14:03, STARS: 0
That would be the Koseis, which don’t have the best reputation for durability.
"for Michigan" (formichigan)
04/23/2017 at 14:04, STARS: 0
Okay, I’ll have to look into those. Thanks for the info!
"daender" (daender)
04/23/2017 at 14:09, STARS: 0
No problemo! Don’t forget to check your local CLs and the various Miata forums for owners selling their stock wheels!
(CO) 17x7 Club OE Wheels For Sale or Trade NC2/3 Sport 16" Wheels
"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
04/23/2017 at 14:57, STARS: 1
I would get those black Sparco Assetto wheels since they’ll still look good on the car if you get lazy about cleaning them.
"Captain of the Enterprise" (justanotherdayinparadise)
04/23/2017 at 15:26, STARS: 0
What about getting your stock wheels powder coated or painted instead?
"for Michigan" (formichigan)
04/23/2017 at 15:49, STARS: 0
I’m planning on repainting them over the summer for winter duty.
"for Michigan" (formichigan)
04/23/2017 at 15:55, STARS: 0
The Enkeis are pretty dark too, so they shouldn’t look bad when dirty. I also have Akebono low-dust brake pads and I wash my car regularly, so I’m not super concerned about buildup.
"for Michigan" (formichigan)
04/23/2017 at 16:02, STARS: 0
Those Club wheels are nice, but $600 + $150 shipping is way too much for used wheels when the new Enkeis are $580 delivered.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/23/2017 at 16:24, STARS: 0
If I were better at editing myself I probably would’ve shortened the list to the last 3.
I’ve had wheels with various glossy finishes over the years and it just makes you want low dust brake pads more haha.
"for Michigan" (formichigan)
04/23/2017 at 17:51, STARS: 0
Well I do have low-dust brake pads, so there’s that. lol
"merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc" (merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc)
04/23/2017 at 21:55, STARS: 0
Sparcos. The darker color will help with keeping them looking clean. I’ve been a big fan of the black, gunmetal colors for a while. Great for lazy car care. And the spoke pattern is nice and classy looking.
"Audistein" (Audistein)
04/24/2017 at 03:34, STARS: 0
I have a friend shopping for wheels with the same bolt pattern.
They’re looking at the Konig Oversteer right now. Comes in gray or black and they’re pretty light. Konig is supposed to be a reputable brand.
If you want to spend more the OZ Legerra HLT is very light, supposed to be very strong, and looks great.