I have a 94 se. I was looking at the zeo bz-11 rims at wheelmax. they have a 35mm offset. Do you think these would fit without rubbing. according to the faq's they do but im still not sure. i have a stock suspension.
http://www.wheelmax.com/Wheels/Zeo/bz11ch-sm.gif

 

You will likely have no trouble. I had 18X9" wheels with a 35mm offset and they rubbed in the back. Another few mm and I was good to go. Close, but good to go. Oh, and that was with Suspension Techniques drop springs.

 

Yeah, you will probably be OK, it also depends on how wide a tire you are going to run.

 

i was gonna get 235/40/18 size tires. do you think that would rub with the stock suspension and 18x8, 35mm offset rims. also do you have any good recomendations for tires or which ones not to get. thanks.

 

why? shouldn't you be running something like 215/40 ??

You should contact your local tire shop and ask them what the recommended tire size for that rim would be.

 

I am not sure but think I remember reading that the 235/40 is the recomended size for our car if you go 18.

I think 215/40 would be too small not to mention look like a rubber band...would a 215 even be wide enough for a 8" rim without looking funny (honest question)?

 

215 is too narrow for a 8" wide wheel, and why run 8" wide wheels if all you want is 215 anyway?

235 should be fine, you might have a tiny bit of rubbing in the rear, but the only way to tell, is to mount those suckers up!

 

My 9" wide 18" diameter wheels wore 225/40/18 tires... that's why it didn't make sense to me. 235 would be an even wider contact patch... on a skinnier wheel.

 

Currently, my rolling stock consists of 17 X 8.5" wheels, and I just got new tires in the front (rear ones are going on next week when they come in, that's why the rear and front are a different size). I was using 225/50 which bulged from the rim all the way around. Now, I'm running 225/45 and it's a lot better. I have 225/45 in the front and 225/50 in the rear, but rear's are getting replaced with the 45s next week.

 

225/40 is the recomended size for a 18x8". But i prefer 235

 

Do you use 235/40/18? on the miata tire calculator it says that 235 if almost exactly same size overall as stock (205/65/15). If you do, is there any rubbing with the moda's.

 

i think im gonna go with 225/45/18 instead of 235/40/18. what do you guys think is better?

 

It seems to me that if you went with the 235s, the contact patch would wrap around the sidewall. Is that what you want? Correct me if I'm wrong...

I just know that with a 9" rim, I used 225s and the contact patch on the tire met with the top of the sidewall perfectly. It made for a pretty stiff sidewall, but better handling. You're worrying about rubbing, but that's not your issue. It's an 8" wide rim... you're not going to rub. You won't rub on top because of our monster sized wheel wells. The place you'll rub (if at all) is against the strut. That's not going to happen with an 8" wide rim if the offset is proper. You should be more worried about the sidewall height, rim protection from sidewall bulge, and the stiffness of the sidewall/width of the contact patch. These things all effect the handling of the car. Improperly sized tires will ruin your handling. If you don't care about handling, and all you're worried about is rubbing... then you're fine (as long as you're not putting huge tires on already bigger than stock rims).

Like I said before... I'm currently running 8.5" rims (1/2 inch wider than the 18s you're considering) and they don't rub. They wouldn't rub if I were running 235mm wide tires, they don't rub with me running 225mm tires. 235mm wide tires would be too wide for an 8.5" rim as far as I can see, unless you had a 30mm sidewall or something... but that would be rediculous. Correct me if I'm wrong... Does anyone fully understand the aspect ratio between contact patch width and sidewall height??? I thought I did but the more you guys post the more confused I get.

 

The 235/40-18 is slightly but noticeably larger then stock. The only rubbing i got was on the front right wheel, but that was because of a loose splash guard that stuck out/