I changed my tires today to winter tires with 16" steel rims. For some reason, whenever I brake and go over bumps my driver side front tire makes a single clunk/pop noise ( only once)...
Any idea why this ? The overall size of the tire remains the same as compared to the original one...

 

did you make sure you tighten the bolts enough????

 

yes...i double checked everything..
Also...the OEM tire size is 225/50 R17 and I went with 205/60 R16(on steel rims)...would that be okay or too wide? Sorry, I know this should be in the tire dept but no one ever goes there.

 

Not sure about the clunk, but, per a tire calculator, the circumference of that setup is a lot less than the stockers, so your speedo will be way off. When your speedo shows 60mph, you are only doing 56mph.

 

I don't think its your tires. Wheel Bearing problem. Have it replaced.

 

But everything was fine 10 minutes before I got the tires changed.
But would the size be off that much...I checked on http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html and that says that when my speedo shows 60mph..it's actually 59.6mph...so it's not too bad..it's the width of the tire that bothers me...anyone?

 

You're right. I must have plugged in the wrong numbers

The only thing I can think of would be the break pad moves forward. Think about the suspension on the vehicle. You have the rotor which is attached to the axle to the tranny. If it happens while breaking, then the tranny is not the problem. Then you have the brake pads and calliper. The brake pad may be moving forward causing the noise or your caliper could be loose. You also have the strut mount point which may be loose and allowing the whole assembly to move. Finally you have the lower mount which I highly doubt is loose or causing the problem.

Jack up that side and start checking out the components to see what is moving?

 

I don't really know the answer to your problem, but as an FYI I can tell you that I run 205/60-16 winters on my 2K2 with an OEM size of 225/50-17, and I have no problems whatsoever.

 

I've got 205/60/16s too with no problem, but I think you problem might lie with the centre bore of the hub. I have hub centric rings for aftermarket summer rims, but no ring for the winter steels. I have to be very careful when mounting the winter rims to centre the rim on the hub by torquing the lug nuts to keep the rim centred until the nuts are tight. Perhaps the clunk is the rim slipping out of position on the hub. Just a thought.