Early alloys vs later alloys?

[goldtop]

Anyone who has swapped the earliest 15/16 alloys for the post '93 alloys care to comment on how the handling/ride changed?

Never been in an early one and wonder if they're a bit softer, but more compliant.

[L696ULO]

I had the original alloys 15/16 on mine and changed to 17's all round last year which made the ride slightly stiffer but very marginal.

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

The changes in ride height and rake are very little between 15/16 and 16/17 combo so under street driving conditions, it’s more down to the tyre you use and the tyre pressure setting (and how much weight you can shift around the tyres on purposely although on street, it’s far better and safer to drive smoothly with the traffic flow).

While the springs may be fine, most of the dampers fitted at the factory could be well out of their original spec/characteristic by now.
Again, tyre side shoulder also plays big part on here.
Addition to the tyre, the rubber bush from the factory will play one of the biggest factor.
By now, they are very likely to be too tired to work properly.
So, you may not be able to do proper back to back comparison with the tired bush.

Kaz

[madras]

I went from 15/16 to 16/17 and didn't really notice any difference, probably too busy feeling pleased with the look, but changed back 2 years later and found a massive difference for the better, more feeling, I could drive it faster, it even seemed to have more grip (yes well aware the tyres are different, but it went back on the same old tyres). I think the car drives much better on the road on the smaller wheels. This is a no PS car. I didn't notice any difference in damping or ride really, it was just all about the front end feel.

[goldtop]

Thanks Madras - that's exactly what I was interested in. I may give it a go in my '93 (unassisted steering, but later alloys)

Bonus Q: was there an aftermarket 15/16 alloy for the '91-93 NSX? The original NSX alloy definitely looks dated now.

[madras]

there are the original 1993 type-r wheels which have the same tyre sizes. I assume the rims are the same width too - http://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/media/6000146/honda_nsx_type-r.jpg