I have been searching for wheels for the 02. I wanted something classic looking, yet unique. I also wanted something that fit properly and DEFINITELY 15". So that left only a few options. 15x7 ET25 is the most aggressive fitment for a 2002. My current wheels are 14x6.5 ET 30. They fit perfectly! The rears actually could be pushed out a tad bit more aggressively, but they fit without any rubbing. So there are the Rota RB's which are like the minilite wheels. Classic look, but not my cup of tea. I am more of a BBS guy. So there are a few options that are available. None are cheap. There are the BBS RZ 15x7 Euroweaves. Called Euroweaves because they were popular on European E30 BMW's. These are a bolt on and are in the correct size and offset. Still available new at about $300 a wheel from BMW. They are identical to my wheels now, just in 15". Kinda boring. Then there are the 2 or 3 piece alternatives. BBS RM's in 2 piece and BBS RS's in 3 piece. Both great looking wheels, but the cost is about $1,500 for a set needing to be refurbished and thats another $1,000 to refurbish them. Also kind of common. So I looked for a different route. Bigger wheels USUALLY weigh more. More weight at the wheels in a car means slower acceleration, slower turning, and slower braking. All things that make a great handling lightweight sports car fun. So I was looking to make sure the wheels I got weighed the same or LESS than my current 14" wheels. So I started looking at weights of BBS wheels. BBS made LOTS of OEM wheels for various cars thought the years and one car it made lightweight wheels for is the Miata. This also has a 4x100 bolt pattern. The problem is most 15" Miata lightweight wheels are EXPENSIVE and rare. They are also offset +45, which would require a pretty big spacer. Then I stumbled across the Mazda RX-7 Convertible BBS RZ Lightweight wheels. Only made for a few years. Its a forged 1 piece BBS wheel at 12 pounds each! My current BBS 14" Wheel is about 14 pounds. Its a 6.5" wheel just like my current BBS wheels. 2 downsides. 1, Offset...its ET40 offset, which is 10mm off for a 6.5" wheel. So it would require a 10-15mm spacer. I plan on a 10mm in the front and a 15mm in the rear. This requires longer wheel studs to accommodate spacers. I already have longer studs on the front because of my Big Brake Kit and I have longer studs in the back waiting to be installed. 2, Bolt pattern...its 5x114.3. The good news is that the bolt circle is a flat area and it can be redrilled to 4x100. They fill in the existing bolt holes, and redrill the wheels to 4x100. A "Fill and Drill".
When completed it will give me a VERY lightweight 15" wheel. It will give me a 1 piece deep dish wheel with a polished lip and a painted BBS mesh center. It will be unique to 02's because of the bolt pattern, lighter than most of the other 15" wheels that are available, and it will have cost me under $400 for a near PERFECT set!
Now that the wheels have been modified to fit the car I plan on doing a complete refurbishing. Polishing the lip and reprinting the centers.