I have stock 18's, and as much as i would love to get some rims, i have expensive taste for my budget and wouldnt want to put something cheap on my car. I really want to lower my car a little, but most of the pictures of people's drops are with 19's. I was thinking about it and if im thinking of it correctly, it would seem like I would need to drop my car an extra half inch to get the same drop that others with 19's are getting. If the wheels are an inch larger, thats half an inch below the axel and half an inch above the axel to make the diameter an inch larger. Am i thinking of this right or is there some variable that im not thinking of?

 

Aren't you forgetting about the tires? If you put on larger diameter wheels (like 19's), you'll put on lower profile tires to compensate. The total diameter of wheel/tire shouldn't change, so there should be no "real" difference in the fender gap.

Of course, the 19" rims will give the "illusion" of a smaller gap since they're more noticeable than black rubber.

 

20's and H Tech's! Check Moog's car.

 

yeah...the diameter is the same regardless of 16, 17 , 18 , 19 , 20..
the larger the rim, the smaller the tire.

 

i didnt even think about that... the wheel is so much more noticeable than the tire though that i think i may just go a little lower to make it look like the drop on a car with 19's

 

rule of thumb for dressup...

wheel gap should be 1/2 width of the tire sidewall.

 

o no... i was thinking maybe about a negative wheel gap

 

oh... that's too low. lol

 

if you want tucked then go with coilovers and lower it all the way. Here is a pic of HKS RS coilovers at their lowest point. It looks good but goodluck cruising around..

 

Figure out how low a profile tire you want to go with. With 19s, the ride may be a bit harsh for some, since the profile needs to be "low" to keep the same overall diameter wheel/tire as stock. I have noticed many members 19'' wheels/tires are a little bit larger in dia. than the stock 17s (sedans). Use http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html and play with different combos. Personally I'm going with 18s as a compromise of appearance and performance. While 18s don't look as cool, they will have a bit more comfort than 19s at the sacrifice of some tire flex (more tire wall). But depending on tire size, 18s may actually help some performance aspects vs. 19s (less unsprung weight and better accel. if total dia. is less), and 18" wheels and tires are definitely cheaper. Still, those 19" coupe wheels.....

03 Stock sedan
215/55R17
Sidewall 4.7''
Dia. 26.3"
Revs/mi 767

Typical 19 combo
245/40R19
Sidewall 3.9"
Dia. 26.7"
Revs/mi 755

 

you can dial out the harshness from the tires by the suspension.

im riding on 35 profile S03's. not even close to being harsh.