RS Watanabe hold/held the licence for Minilite wheels for the Japanese market (not sure of the status, because Minilite has gone through various states of ownership); ie, they are pretty much identical to the original Minilite wheel. I had a set of aluminium alloy 14" Watanabes; they weighed about 12lbs each, so weren't particularly light, so I don't find anytthing special about them from a technical point of view. Mag-alloy versions are lighter, but cost a lot more. Unless you were getting close to see the 3-crane monogram, I doubt anyone could tell, visually, the difference between Watanabes, Minilites and Superlites. All of these are quality wheels, and the Superlites/Minilites can be ordered in pretty much any PCD/offset combo.
My old '91 on 14" Watanabes;
On the Roadster, I suppose if you were wanting to be "authentic", it would have to be 15" Panasports; these were the only ones fitted by Mazda and M2 Corp.
Superlites would be too good for the Locost; the name is a play on words; Low-Cost (originally featured in a Haynes book describing how to build a £250 sports car).
I'm currently on 15" factory BBS's. I'd like to change them at some point, and need to consider my options.
