sure you have seen this already. its mine but they are still just 18's. sorry i just thought you might want to see another option of style.

 

Good calculations, Wigggles. I must note that this has been debated extensively over at www.miata.net , where some people really do obsess over unsprung weight. With similar calculations, the analysis shows that it depends on how you model the weight distribution - best case is as you calculated (1.5:1), worst case is with all the weight at the wheel and that comes out at around 2:1. Apologies if the 4:1 number doesn't match - it wasn't just speculation or pulled out of the air, I recalled it from other discussions at miata.net. I was just reading another thread on this last night, which revisited the modelling and had the 1.5:1 and 2:1 numbers. However, without comparing those analyses I can't say if the 4:1 is without basis or if that was based on other factors. I'm too lazy to go searching through the Tires and Wheels section at miata.net right now (sad, since I'm a moderator there - maybe I've just read too much of this stuff!)

However - those numbers relate the impact of unsprung weight on overall acceleration (and deceleration), but don't translate to impact of unsprung weight on suspension loads and effects on shock/spring response and tuning. Again, a browse of www.miata.net wheels and tires forum will find a surprising number of owners posting that they went to 16, 17, or 18" wheels a while ago (for style reasons, usually! ) and are now looking to move back to smaller, lighter wheels because of the negative aspects of the heavier wheels on a day-to-day basis.

I'm not meaning to harp on this or criticise anyone's decision, I just wanted to make the point that there are consequences to moving to larger wheels that need to be considered. Landon, I'm not picking on you! Enjoy your wheels and your 8!

Regards,
Gordon

 

Your analysis is very helpful, Gord. It was good for me to hear from a performance extremist aspect (maybe too harsh of a term, but used due to a lack of articulation on my part). I have the tendency to take a stronger "style" stance, but it's good for me to hear other perspectives. Thanks for the helpful info, Gord!

--Landon <---handles getting picked on, constructively, well.

 

I like the black on yellow, JHOUSE, very good looking setup. Complements the vents well.

--Landon

 

Those 20's are awesome man, how much did they run you for all 4 including tires?

 

I picked up the Roma's from a friend in CA. I was able to get the wheels for 1045.00 shipped (if you're interested I can give you his contact info). Tires are pretty pricey, though, when you're talkin' 20in. My little bro. runs a firestone service center, so I was able to get the 750's at close to cost, which saved me some $$.

Lexani is one of the few brands (when talkin' 20's) that offers the offset necessary on the 8's (I have +45, there has been more in-depth discussion in other threads about the offset). There are a few other brands, but I wanted to show off the disc & calipers, and this style worked well. As stated by someone earlier, it does make the brakes look smaller than I would have liked, but oh well...Now I just need to paint the calipers.

Thanks everyone for the compliments.

--L