[masraum]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Yes, I believe the later models can handle wider rims (however I am still a noob in the Miata world so don't take my word for anything).

I'm kinda kicking myself for not going with the 15x7.5's I was looking at, however the tire I have is a 205 and is has a straight sidewall, I'm guessing I could go to a 215 (or maybe a 225?) with no problem.

The general consensus is that for a 15", 15x6 or 15x6.5, the best tire from a handling perspective is 195 50, and for 15 x 7 up to about 15 x 8, 205 50. I'm running a 205 50 on 15 x 8. I prefer a slightly (nothing like in the crazy pics above) slimmer tire. Back when I had my 911, the PO had put 245 50 16 on the stock 16 x 7 rears. They looked great, but I don't think they offered the best performance and they didn't wear evenly, and that was, I believe, due to being over-sized for the wheels.

There's a guy that I see pretty regularly on the way to work in a big diesel dually truck that appears to be running a 16" wide tire on an 8" wide wheel. It looks as bizarre as the tires the "stance" crowd is running.
This picture really doesn't do it justice.



I also see this look pretty regularly



Another favorite look from the Houston streets