Am currently looking for options that other people has used with a good fit or slight modifications. I need to achieve a light weight 15" rim application that will work with a 205/50 tire. Any thoughts?

 

Diamond racing. they make custom wheels.
Click me

 

They are not really that light. The 15 x 7 versions weigh between 14 point something and about 17 lbs if I remember correctly. I have been looking for something in this size that is as light as possible without luck. You can get some RPF1s in 4x 100 that are less than 10 lbs, why is there nothing in the 4 x 114.3 lighter than 14 0r 15 lbs? Frustrating!

 

Bring cash! American made light weight racing wheels are spendy

Real Racing wheel - 10-12lbs https://www.realwheel.net/index.php
Spin Werks 11.2lbs Spin Werkes Racing Wheels - Vision Speedworks

I have seen both used in SCCA club racing. The real wheels are 3 piece and can be repaired/made wider with new halves.

I used 13" Panasports on my race car in the past. Not as light as the Real wheels or the Spin Werks but they are super tough wheels. I am now using 15x8 VarrStoen wheels that weigh 14lbs.

What lug pattern are you looking for?

Diamonds are ok for rain tires in my opinion. They are not not hub centric and tend to flex under loads.

 

I am using 15x7 Panasports they are definitely lighter than Dimond racing and they are a tough wheel, I have the same set for auto-x / track days for 10 years.

 

Do you need 15" wheels because you are running Chump/LeMons? 13" wheels and tires are lighter for other racing and you can get good DOT tires from Toyo, Hoosier and Hankook. If you need 15" look at aluminum bolt-on spacer/adapters. With those on a first gen hub, you can use a wide variety of Miata wheels. You just have to get the right width. I am sure lots of people will say they aren't safe. I don't agree, but YMMV.

 

I am running autocross and was told my weak link is my tires/wheels at this point of my build I was told to go witha 15x7 and my bolt pattern is first gen 4x110 so I was also told that konig rewinds with an off set of +20 will work with no rubing

 

If I was still autocrossing and wanting to be competitive I'd run Hoosier A6 in 225 45 13.

 

I agree. If autocrossing go with the 13x7" wheels. Hoosier A6 or Hankook z214 (c71 compound). Both come in 225x45x13. The 13" is lighter and smaller diameter. The common (but no longer available new) American Racing wheels are 12lb-2oz. Panasports are 11lb-6oz. The 13" tires are 1-2 lbs lighter than the 15's and about 2" smaller diameter. I just looked and the Hoosier A6 is 2 lbs lighter than the Hankook, but costs $85 more per tire (208 vs 123).

There is a set of Panasports listed in the classifieds and I have some American Racing wheels that I am planning on selling. 10 actually that I would like to get rid of as a set, which probably would not work out for you as an autocrosser. I am not trying to make a sale here. Just making a recommendation. I run 13x7 panasports on my ITA rx7 and have considered switching to 15x7 so I can use the same wheels on my Spec Miata, but decided not to, because of the weight and cost issues. You also might have trouble fitting a 225x45x15 into the wheel wheel, because of the larger diameter. 205x60x15 will fit. Fenders will need to be rolled.

 

I auto cross and do track days and have to go with the 15s (4 x 114.3) because of big brakes. The wheels I have now are about 15 lbs. and would love something lighter so I will check into the spinwerks.

 

You don't need big brakes for autocrossing. The stock brakes will work fine and are lower rotating mass with the smaller rotors. Big brakes come in handy for road racing with lots of heavy (repeated) braking zones as there is more rotor mass to absorb and dissipate the heat. But from your sig, it looks like you do fine with what you've got.

 

I just weighed one of the Rota RB's i got in 2012 and it was 13 lbs with the weights on it...

 

The track days are why I went with the big brakes, ( that and alot of mountain driving) ,


I checked into the real racing wheels and the 15 x 7 in 4 x 114.3 are almost 400 apiece.

wow. That is spendy. I guess if you want to play you've got to pay.

I will have to call to check on the weight

 

And for what it's worth, back when I was autocrossing, the best advice I ever got was 'the best way to pick up time is just to drive better, and don't brake so much." It worked.

 

I might end up going with two of my ARE rims they are around 11lbs

 

Running modied stock in autocross the sprinto cars were only 11 sec ahead on me on the corse. I will put up a YouTube link of my first run.

 

Here is the YouTube link.

 

For RWatson. There are lots of miata wheels that are 11lbs or less (and not very expensive). With a set of bolt-on spacers/adapters, you can convert your bolt pattern to 4x100. You will probably need a 1-1/4" spacer if you get et40 (offset) wheels. The weight of the adapter is concentrated at the center of the wheel, so not such a big effect on acceleration as if the weight is out at the rim. We just did this on a 1st gen to get T2 BBS wheels to fit on a big brake kit purchased from KansasCity REPU (on this site). This is for ChumpCar endurance racing. Just used the setup this weekend and it was the first time we did not have a cracked rotor during the weekend. 14hours of racing with relatively little pad or rotor wear. Really happy with the spacer/adapter.

 

PS Adaptitusa.com and others sell bolt-on adapters. Eibach and HR (I'm sure among others) sell bolt-on spacers (and maybe adapters too).

 

That is a very interesting idea. I will have to do some figuring however as I am running SE struts and axles, so that would change the thickness of the adapters I could use. I am running +40 wheels now with a thin (5MM I think) spacer on the front to push them out away from the struts, If I could get an adapter that is not too thick it would be the way to go. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

On second thought it wont work. I am running aluminum hubs from KC Raceware with fairly long ARP lug studs. They would not be compatible with the adapters. Too much trouble to switch lug studs everytime I wanted to switch from race wheels to street wheels. Thanks anyway

 

On my race car I am running 15x8s with stock fenders. For tires I am going to use Hoosier SM7s - 205/50x15 or Hankook/Toyo 225/45x15s. Hoosier 225/45x15s are a no go without flares.

I have a 4 lug Re Speed big brake kit, front and rear with custom made Moser GSL axles that have a 4x114.3 pattern in the back. Wheel offsets are a little flakey with this setup. With 15x8 wheels I need 0mm offset front wheels (4.5" of back spacing) and a 15mm offset in the rear (5.1" of back spacing). I am using +15mm wheels all the way around so I have 15mm spacers on the front.

Because the wheels I am using do not have steel lug nut seats I had aluminum hub centric spacers made for the front and the rear. I have found this to be necessary in club racing because the wheels will move around and the aluminum lug nut seats will start to gall. We saw evidence if this on the back sides of a number of wheels after several race sessions. The lug nuts didn't keep the wheels centered.

If you can find a 13-14lb wheel that allows you to use a regular lug nut you'll be fine. The super light weight wheels are really nice but they are expensive and can be delicate. A tire servicer that doesn't know what he is doing can bend the **** out of a Spin Werks wheel.

My last recommendation would be to get wheels that are easy to clean and are painted/plated a light color. Cracks are easier to spot on silver/white wheels and wheels that don't have allot of nooks and crannies can be cleaned with windex and a little water after a session.

 

We ran a set of the Diamond wheels on our ChumpCar, it was the worst decision we ever made. The wheels are unbelievably heavy and shake like crazy. The first problem is that the center hole is just stamped and not located closely to the rim, they weld up a bunch of wheels in different diameters and offsets and then drill the stud pattern later which is located to the rim. We eventually made an adapter which bolted to the wheels and had a machined hole to mount to the balancer but they were still a nightmare, you could see the runout with a naked eye on the balancer no dial indicator required. With that said if anyone wants a deal on a set of 6 I have them but shipping will cost a fortune.

The only low cost option around these days for a first gen is the Rewind, but they need spacers in the front to work with a 225-45-15 tire. Since we did a second gen big brake conversion to our car and the rotors fit over the modified first gen hubs they act as the spacer and we have no problem with the tires hitting the struts. We ran the rears without spacers and they cleared fine, we would have ran ½ inch spacers in the rear but Chump hits you with a $5 value add for each corner with a wheel spacer, stupid but those are the rules.

 

Here is my latest idea. These weigh 9.8 lbs.

Enkei RPF1 15x7" Racing Wheel Wheels 4x100 ET35 41 F1 Silver | eBay

I found a company that will weld the bolt holes and redrill them in the 4 x 114.3 I need. Pricy yes , but they are the perfect offset for me and I havent read of them being super flimsy. What do you guys think?

 

I mostly think If I was in a position to spend the money, why not? You've got those nice brakes to show off!