trying to help out a friend who really needs some light wheels on his maxima. havent thought about this in a long time. but wanted some thoughts/opinions on what is the cheapest way to put some small and lightweight wheels up front ?

example: mazda millenia wheel off ebay

any other cheap setups out there that could be used to put (2) 15 inch or (2) 16 inch wheels up front ?

thanks
c

 

Millenias are going to be the best ratio of cost to weight I'm sure.

 

Ceasar, This may not help, but I just bought two American Racing Outlaw II wheels, 15X8, for $69 from Peerless Tires - a USA company. Either Jeg's or Summit have them in their catalog. I just received my 23/8.5/15 M&H Racemaster slicks last night and they are being mounted today.

The wheels weigh just over 17 lbs and the slicks weigh 15 lbs each, so the tire/wheel combo should weigh in around 32 1/2 to 33 lbs.

The wheels look kinda cheesy, but 15x8 wheels for the Maxima seem to be hard to find and the few out there have delayed ship-dates. Mine are the 4 1/2 inch / 5-hole pattern for Fords, and they mount OK. The wheel has 3 3/4" offset, so they will stick out from the fender an inch or so. There is very slight interference with a brace on the brake caliper, which I'll grind down. I even got their 12mm/1.25 lug nuts for those wheels for 75 cents each.

I have a pair of the Mazda wheels w/225/50/15 BFG DRs, but I need more traction. I should weight them, I guess - they are light. The M&H slicks have the same height - 23" - but much more footprint.

Hope this helps....

Later EDIT: I just picked up the mounted slicks, took them home, and weighed them. The Mazda/BFG-DRs were 33.4 lbs on a digital scale, and the AmericanRacing / M&H combo also weighed 33.4 lbs!

I have attached photos of both wheels:





And links to tire sizes:
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...3/Dscn0722.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...3/Dscn0721.jpg

 

would it be pointless to put DRs on those american wheels? i assume since its wider DR would benefit more than in the mazda or sawblades.

 

I don't think it would be a problem - an 8inch wheel would give more stability, but would stick out beyond the edge of the fender. Chances are that the 8" rim would put more tire on the ground. I know that those DRs do NOT like lower tire pressures on the Mazda rims - they squirm a lot. 18 or 19 psi is my lower limit on that tire/wheel combo.

And if you have to have street-legal tires, the DRs are your only choice. I just happened to be getting the M&H setup today, when Ceasar asked the question....

 

grey99 is that what the millenia wheel/rim looks like the black one? anyone know what year model car this comes off. will have to see if the car is called millenia here, and year model would be helpful to narrow down the search.

 

Ceasar, yes, that is the infamous Mazda Millenia 15x6 lightweight wheel - and the 225/50/R15 BFG DR tire. They have the same 114.3 mm 5-hole Maxima/Ford bolt pattern - and I do use the stock Max lug nut with them.

I seem to recall they were around 1990, but not sure....... They are light weight. I got those from Dave B, from Kansas City, and the combination works well. These were painted the dark color you see and I left them that way.



EDIT: there's a JClaw thread here that you should look over:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=334009

To quote the man:

The year those wheels come off of is the 95-96 millenia (they came on the base model but i dont know if they were available on the millenia S), they are the 9 spoke models and weigh 11.5lbs. the 12 spoke models are available on the millenia S of those years and were also pretty light at 12.5lbs.

 

FD RX7 wheels are also very light. 16x8 but a high (50mm) offset.

 

does the high offset matter really? if theyre racing wheels i would think its ok since you wont be looking ridiculous with them very often. or am i getting confused and that high offset might mean it would hit the caliper?

 

it could possibly hit the caliper...well, the higher the chances with the higher offset....but it generally depends on wheel spoke design IIRC...

 

with the FD rims they get closer to the struts, and to get the wider tire on there you may need spacers.

 

The Millenia wheels are pretty much the best way to go.

If you want, you can get some 15" Rota Slipstreams. A lot of Honda guys get those to mount their slicks on. I think the widest they go is 7.5".

My Millenia and 22" MT slicks setup weighs exactly 25 lbs! Not too bad huh.

The tires I put on the rear are 11lb 1994 RX7 16" spare tire wheels and 9 lb Metzelers. A 20lb combo equates for a pretty nice weight reduction.

 

what would be a good 16 rim since from what ive been told i cant slap on 15s on a 5th gen?

 

try getting some kosei k1 from tire rack...or try to find them used on flea bay

 

http://www.diamondracingwheels.com/AvengerSeries.htm

About 70$ a wheel. You can get 15X8 and even 15X10 and they are still light. You can get any bolt pattern you want.

Also, the important thing to keep in mind is to put the right slick on the right wheel. For example a 24.5X8.5 slick should go on a 15X8 rim, and a 26X10 slick should go on a 15X10 rim. If you have an 8.5" wide slick on a 6" rim, you're only effectively putting down 6" of thread width.

I think that's part of the reason why it seems a lot of people have problems getting into the 1.8xx, 1.7xx or even 1.6xx range 60 foots; if you want to do it right, get the same witdth wheel and slick. A 26X8.5 slick on a 15X8 wheel with rim screws is capable of a 1.6 sixty on a FWD car. You just need the power to get there.

 

I'm pretty sure a 15" rim can fit on the 5th gen.

You don't want a 16" rim for drag racing. You will have serious problems trying to find the correct size slick for your application.

 

I think you're right - I just got 23x8.5x15 M&H slicks and had them mounted on 15x8 American Racing wheels. I havn't been to a strip yet, but on-ramp testing feels like they grip MUCH better on a full-power launch and run up to 100MPH on spray. I'm going to Heartland Park on June 7 to give them a workout. I've been having too much tire spin and distortion with DRs lately..

 

i think he was referring to a 5.5 gen...i believe some 15 inch wheels will have caliper clearance issues

 

My .02 If Convo Pros out of summit can be had to fit, I know they are the lightest yet tough enough to drive on the street wheel out there. I had a set for a 02 SS Camaro I had, and they where alot lighted that Welds. The wheel and a 26 X 9 Hoosier slick where incredibly light.

 

And remember, M&H like big smoky burnouts... On my best runs I would do a healthy burnout and let them peel almost to the starting line. That way, they spin in VHT and hot rubber...

 

Yeah, that's my favorite way to warm 'em up. Set the Ebrake (auto, you know) and spin 'em up in the water box until the tires pull me out and down the track...

These M&Hs really grab compared to two different sets of DRs. Of course, only track time will tell, and I'll get on the Topeka O'Reillys' Nationals track on Wednesday - I hope there's some sticky left out there from Memorial Day...

Once I worked through how to get a consistent launch with the Edge TC, and was able to do a consistent burnout on my DRs, I could usually nail 13.6s and 2.1 60' on every track day. Once I got the timing right for launching at 2800 while spraying a 50-shot, then spraying the second 75-shot while still in first, letting up for the 1-2 shift (that is faster) then spraying the 75-shot again on top the 50-shot, the lack of traction with any DR I had was obvious. Hence the M&Hs. The small tire gives me lower gearing, the 8 1/2 " footprint on 8 inch rims seems sticky, and the mounted tire/wheel weighs 33-34 lbs.

These slicks have gotta do a better job - the 225/50/R15 BFG DRs have tread that has split and separated - I suppose from the 125-shot launches. The 255/50/16 BFGs are 26.1 " diameter - not really a low first gear at all. It's up to the M&Hs now..

 

sorry to jump in here with a somewat unrelated topic, but with 75shot and 00vi (and auto with sawblades). will slicks really be necessary for exmaple the M&H, or will DR's be good enough like bfg's. im not planning on doing 100shot any time soon. so i don kno wat to pick? slicks or dr's

 

Does anyone know what other 15" wheels, other than the K1's that will clear 5.5 gen calipers? or some place to get the K1's? I've tried tire rack and discount tire but they just tell me that 15s wont fit on a maxima.