Miata Wheels on Terc

[sdoan]

Here's a pic of the bagel car with the Miata wheels I got recently. Wheels are 6"x14". They are the first aluminum wheels I've ever put on one of my cars and I'm strangely happy with them.

[ARCHINSTL]

These look good! How much were they?
Tom M.

[sdoan]

A guy on CL had them for $100 and they looked nearly new. They take the same acorn lug nuts as the Tercel steel wheels. They have the same size center bore as the stock Tercel wheels and have the high offset typical of FWD specific wheels (and required by the Tercel).

[ARCHINSTL]

Are these yours? 4wdchico has them. The link has a closer pix.
https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php? ... isy#p28280
Tom M.

[dcn]

They look nice! Is your car as good as it looks in that photo sdoan? Wow!

[sdoan]

Tom, these are not the "Daisy" wheels, I think these are from a newer generation Miata. I've put 2" black plastic caps in the center holes of the wheels.

Here's a larger picture of mine:




The Daisy wheel:



DCN, thanks for the compliments, but the bagel car is not really a such a good looker - terrible flaking respray, failing bodywork on the back hatch, and a crappy (But shiny!) repair to the right front fender. It is driving very well though. If I could only fix the rear window defrogger...

[ARCHINSTL]

I like yours better on our cars. More tech looking.
Tom M.

[danzo]

Good choice - Miata wheels are amoung the lightest factory alloys made, plus I think they look appropriate on a T4wd. The '94 through '97 wheels on your car weigh around 11lbs depending on what type of spokes they have. Just go to www.miata.net for more details if you're curious. Oddly the earlier "Daisy" wheels are actually heavier despite being a half inch narrower.

It's good to know Miata wheels have the same center bore as our Tercs. I am planning to get my 3rd Miata sometime soon (to augment my Tercel) and the fact that the wheels are interchangeable is a plus. Gotta always have a car to autocross: http://www.pbase.com/autoxmax/tms_11_15_09&page=all Scroll down about halfway to see my Terc last Sunday. I came in last but had fun, next Sunday I will dial in much more front negative camber. The wheels are 14 x 6 inch "basketweaves" from an '80's BMW 325is, also fairly light at about 14lbs. The offset is 30mm which pushes them quite a bit outward from stock.

BTW, does anyone what the stock T4wd wheel offset is?

[ARCHINSTL]

Out of curiosity - how much do our stock wheels weigh?
Tom M.

[takza]

You've got some stiff competition there. Did you ever do the donuts in the springs thing? Run in 4WD?



list of wheel weights....

http://www.wheelweights.net/

[danzo]

Takza I did slap in one "donut" in each front spring. Autozone has them for 10 bucks each, and they slip in easily with the front jacked up. They didn't seem to raise the car much, but did make the front a little bit stiffer. When I finally get around to replacing the front shocks/control arm bushings it will drive even nicer.

I really don't want to drive the car on dry pavement in 4wd, the risk of tranny damage in tight turns scares me. Plus the car just doesn't have enough power to justify doing this without rain. Tomorrow is the last autocross of the season, so today I installed 16 by 7 aftermarket wheels on the front with old 205/45 Toyos and dialed in some more negative camber. The wheels are kinda heavy at 19lbs, you can really feel it with bad shocks. I'll try to post some pics.

Tom I haven't had a loose Terc alloy lying around so I haven't weighed one but they do feel fairly light, I would guess about 12lbs. I weighed the wheel/tire combo and if memory serves they were around 27lbs. I still can't find an offset stamped on the wheel.

[ARCHINSTL]

I should have specified the weight of OE steel wheels; sorry.
Tom M.

[takza]

Takza I did slap in one "donut" in each front spring. Autozone has them for 10 bucks each, and they slip in easily with the front jacked up. They didn't seem to raise the car much, but did make the front a little bit stiffer. When I finally get around to replacing the front shocks/control arm bushings it will drive even nicer.

I really don't want to drive the car on dry pavement in 4wd, the risk of tranny damage in tight turns scares me. Plus the car just doesn't have enough power to justify doing this without rain. Tomorrow is the last autocross of the season, so today I installed 16 by 7 aftermarket wheels on the front with old 205/45 Toyos and dialed in some more negative camber. The wheels are kinda heavy at 19lbs, you can really feel it with bad shocks. I'll try to post some pics.

Tom I haven't had a loose Terc alloy lying around so I haven't weighed one but they do feel fairly light, I would guess about 12lbs. I weighed the wheel/tire combo and if memory serves they were around 27lbs. I still can't find an offset stamped on the wheel.

In my experience....2 donuts per spring will make all the difference...plus dialing in your tire pressures...usually 3-4 lbs below sidewall max....struts would be last in line...plus snugging up the swaybars. For AutoX...I'd say use the spring clamps...which would work in addition to the single donuts...just clamp two coils together...I did this on one car...clamps alone worked real well....both lowers and stiffens.

You'd also be better off with some good sticky 185/60 series tires on light 14" wheels?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... mpare1=yes

A 1/2" drop in the center of gravity makes a major difference....less sprung weight helps a lot.

And if you look at the pic of your car cornering...the inside rear tire is just touching the ground...would spin easily in 4WD. I know that even on dry pavement...the car is much more stable in 4WD...I just don't do it often...have in the rain though. Use some moly in the oil?

You probably know all this. That said....fairly sure my wagon wouldn't last too long autoxing...but I get into it when somebody else takes the risk....

[MootsMan]

what are the donuts called at Autozone ?? I've looked on their site but can't find them. I put new shocks and struts in mine a couple years ago, but not new springs. I'd like to get something in there that'll raise it and make the steering a little tighter. Will these help ?

[takza]

Don't know what they are called...in the spring section among other boosters...usually at other parts stores too....AdvanceAP?