CX5 Sleek and Modest Offroad mods

Jack Rabbit

Banned
:
18 Mazda CX5 AW
Hi all. Am new to Mazda. Have had every type vehicle such as a ford mustang, truck, corolla sedan, vw rabbit and a mariner suv. Fords mainly.

Couldn't get a ford maverick til 2022/2023 and then test drove the CX5. and glad to be a new Mazda owner.

Seems the community at large is into lowering there cx for the street/looks but very few Offroad posts. Am not planning to climb cliffs or win races. Didn't buy a Jeep or Corvette. This cx5 is actually close to the perfect middle.

The goal is to have a daily driver and slightly modify the cx5 for enhanced light/medium Offroad without sacrificing too much performance, handling or aesthetics.
While keeping weight and costs down.

For everything added, something will have to go.
First off the useless tiny spare gots ta go. Next post will see what we're replacing it with as well as switching the full size rims and tires. and ground clearance gotta go up, even if slightly. Will also need some chrome delete. Have already read alot of useful forum posts and will welcome any useful tips/critiques by fellow members.
 
Thanks bcblur. Wish had seen your post before spent time researching. Found a kumho 165 90r17 spare at the local junkyard this afternoon...as well as a cheap full size rim to sort of match the used 17" bbs wheels(just ditched the stock 19s) until decide on more permanent wheels. They just couldn't get the wheels pulled today. Picking up tomorrow. Your post had great idea on the bolt elongation. Now to Home Depot for nuts and bolts. Thanks much.
 
Welcome. You've already mentioned swapping out wheels/tires for fatter rubbers, so might want to consider this : CorkSport 2017+ Mazda CX5 Skidplate
Thanks sir. Was already thinking about an cork or borla exhaust ...didn't know they had a skid plate. Thanks for the link/suggestion.

Just hit a road gator and tore up the fender liner( but no other damage) last month, less than a week after getting the car. Could have used the skidplate then.

Since we're in rust-belt, will need to weigh the positives and negatives.

Positives : protection from road gators, etc. during interstate and highway driving, possible protection during light/mild offroading.

Negatives: more weight, more cost, possible corrosion @ the bolt and touch points (although it looks like corksport provides aluminum plate and stainless bolts, may need rubber neoprene washer and or some type thin gasket material in between the skid plate and steel frame. Possibly more Offroad damage dependant on ..., For a southerner or westerner who doesn't have winter salted roads and does alot of highway, driving, a skidplate should definitely be on their list. For me, the skid plate might be a 50/50 coin toss.

Any chance you currently have a cork skidplate and how did you resolve the aluminum/steel contact points?
 
Just went 17s today from 20s. Love it
 

Attachments

  • A6C71C21-466E-4E0E-91AD-7492871F469D.jpeg
    A6C71C21-466E-4E0E-91AD-7492871F469D.jpeg
    139 KB · Views: 3,552
  • 54F4A913-1A97-4840-97AF-AC7D0B88B09E.jpeg
    54F4A913-1A97-4840-97AF-AC7D0B88B09E.jpeg
    165.6 KB · Views: 3,337
Just went 17s today from 20s. Love it
Looks great with the Falkens. Great choice. Black rims always look good on red or white.
I shoulda got the soul red...but gonna make the machine gray work.
For tire, narrowed my choices down to Falken trails or the Firestone destination at2s.
Falkens got the edge for cost, looks and doubled back sidewall. But the Firestones are lighter, and look potentially to have the best rolling resistance and least noise for a daily driver out of the whole class. Expensive though. It'll be a 50/50 tossup.
 
The Search for Quiet AT Tires.

Disclaimer :Have run Firestone Destination AT's (version 1) in past.

Looked at 5 different AT Tires. The problem with reviews is most reviews for tire noise are based on new use. I read multiple reviews, and looked at all the tread patterns/tire compounds used. Again the following list is my preferences based on virgin tire noise
as there is no good research/reviews out there as to tire noise after 20k or 30k miles.

The five tires( in order of my choices) were
1.Firestone Destination AT2
2. Falken Wildpeak AT trail
3. Yoko Geolander GO15
4. Goodyear Wranglr Trails
5. Pirelli scorpion AT Plus.

The first 4 choices have tread patterns which should be beneficial to quiet ride.
The Pirellis just look cool and despite their claims, the reviews were mixed on road noise plus the tread pattern just screams noise.

Firestone AT's are lighter(only 28 lbs at 235), and should have very good rolling resistance and less noise( based on compound and tread pattern) and 12/32 tread. great rankings for dry, wet, ice, offroad etc. Only come in 235 65r17 and up. $$$ Expensive though.

Falken Wildpeak Trails.
Come in many sizes. 225 65r17 and up. Cheapest price at 235 size, aggressive look, supposedly a doubled back sidewall. Should have good rolling resistance and noise. And good dry, wet, ice, offoad rankings. But way heavier(36 lbs at 235) and only 11/32 tread, maybe more noise than the Firestones.

The Yoko's got good tread pattern for noise but expensive as fudge and doesn't appear as rugged as the wildpeaks or destinations. Can't justify Yoko's at that price point when better options. Yoko's are overvalued.

Goodyears- bland and heavier than firestones.
Soso weight(not heavy, no light), soso rankings. Better options.

Pirellis - aggressive look, cheap price. 13/32 tread!!
And had good reviews dry, wet, ice, Offroad.
But that tread pattern gotta be noisy, especially after worn in. reviews on noise were mixed. And only come in 225 no 235.
Wish there were reviews on noise from posters that had drove 10, 20, 30k on these. If didn't care about noise, would choose these over KO2's.

Had considered Cooper but the tread pattern and some reviews appeared it would be too much noise.

And KO2's and Kumhos we're out of the question.

Will be either the Wildpeaks or Destinations in 235, or might push to a 245. Rugged looks & better sidewall versus a lighter, maybe quieter tire.

Again the goal was/is to get the best overall AT tire with good all terrain qualities but least amount of noise for a daily driver with occasional Offroading.

Hope this helps anyone looking for an AT tire.
 
Last edited:
2018 Mazda - YUASA battery 55D23L 14.4 kg = 31.75 lbs. Warm climate battery. In a northern car

If covered under bumper to bumper, will be requesting a cold weather 75D23L or alternative replacement.

Eventually will be replacing with either an AGM or Lithium to lower curb weight, whichever has best value and costs less $$ per lb. Will be spreadsheet the comparisons incl weight, $$$, cca and warranty.
 
Negatives: more weight, more cost, possible corrosion @ the bolt and touch points (although it looks like corksport provides aluminum plate and stainless bolts, may need rubber neoprene washer and or some type thin gasket material in between the skid plate and steel frame.
I like that you're considering durability and solutions for it.
Any chance you currently have a cork skidplate and how did you resolve the aluminum/steel contact points?
Sorry. The only offroading I do is virtually on DiRT.

If I did, I'd probably do the same thing you were contemplating. Also, plenty of coats of peelable spray PlastiDip might offer some sacrificial protection and water resistance to exposed/rubbed metal.

Isn't rust par for the course for off-roaders - cost of entry? They are kicking up stones and debris everywhere, which probably nicks and exposes metals.
 
Here you go. I actually think this one looks good.
View attachment 303749
Yeah... Roof looks great...everything except the bullbars... too much weight . Wheels/tires would look great on soul red and white but not my machine grey. Really hard to find a rim that goes well with machine gray. Gonna spend winter months finding the right color to match or contrast in either a low cast or flow form/ rim roll type rims.
 
I like that you're considering durability and solutions for it.

Sorry. The only offroading I do is virtually on DiRT.

If I did, I'd probably do the same thing you were contemplating. Also, plenty of coats of peelable spray PlastiDip might offer some sacrificial protection and water resistance to exposed/rubbed metal.

Isn't rust par for the course for off-roaders - cost of entry? They are kicking up stones and debris everywhere, which probably nicks and exposes metals.
Yeah... Just don't want to create a catchpoint to make it worse. And not sure how long plastidip would last under the frame...would be great if corksport could create a thin gasket to go between the frame and the skid plate. Otherwise will have to macgyver something together.
 
Ok.. Tire companies and battery companies all post their weights of their products. However, it seems to be a conspiracy by the brake companies to not post weights... Making it almost impossible to find.
In search of lighter brake assemblies, I have emailed several vendors for weights. Am looking to drop weight and get maybe high carbons for a deal. Carbon ceramic might be outta my price range.
 
Current plan to keep curb weight as close as possible to stock weight:

Proposed added weight(sprung):
Roof rails
Crossbars
Roof rack
Full size spare
Running boards
Trailer hitch
Bike rack
Other minor Offroad mods
Corksport Skidplate maybe
Extra soundproof- maybe


Drop weight(sprung & unsprung)
Wheels
Brakes
Rotors
Lightwgt AGM or Li battery.
Switch stock exhaust for corksport axleback.
Useless mini-spare.
Lightweight floor mats.
Lose 50 lbs at gym.

No or minimal effect:
Replace stock Toyo's with Firestone all terrain tires.
Lift suspension.
Hood struts.
Additional lighting
Chrome delete.
Cell phone mount.
 
Last edited:
Assumptions blown to bits.

Before joined this forum and before embarked on goal of modifying the cx5 slightly, had certain assumptions.
For instance, have always used Goodyear/Firestone tires and NAPA products and Walmart car mats.

Assumed I would be using all NAPA brakes and parts, NAPA or Optima batteries, Falken or Pirelli all terrain tires, Borla exhaust and Weather tech mats(wanted a nice mat)

However, after researching, reading reviews, and comparing...

Will be using Braille or Bosch batteries( batteries I never hear of), Corksport exhaust(never heard of, all my buddies used borla), Firestone tires(my old favorite, although Falken and Pirelli were close/onlist), OMAC car mats(never heard of) and brakes to be decided. Will be keeping NAPA for all my other car repair/parts needs.

I ended up sticking with Firestone even though I was planning to change, while going with all new companies I never heard of for other products.

It's amazing how we get set in our ways and used to using certain old goto products or we get hyped up about new different products when there might be unused unheard of products better for our situation.

It may take a little more effort, but sometimes we can find a better product that is not our usual product and not one that has spent $$$ on advertising for name brand recognition.

Will be providing detailed updates and reasoning for my choices in the future.
 
Last edited:
Update:

Changes made to date:

Ditched 19" stock pizza cutter wheels and crappy Toyo tires.(59.4 lbs per corner)

Bought Pre-owned 17" BBS SX rims with Nokian winter tires(225 65r17).
Total Cost $ 475 for 4 rims weighing 52.4 lbs per corner. Total loss of 7 lbs per corner and total reduction of 28 lbs unsprung weight.

Replaced stock carpets with OMAC mats. Loss of approx. 8 lbs for $119.

Ditched spare death tire(145 90r16) for loss of 20 lbs? Can of tire gunk in car until refurbish the used 17 " rim &165 90r17 replacement from local junkyard for $45. Used spare from Kia Sorrento...was rustier than thought... soaking in homemade rust remover gel.

With just a 56 lb weight loss and 17" wheels, already feels faster, rides better and definitely more comfortable ride. Don't know how people can stand those 19" crater magnets.

Next changes within next month :
Buying Firestone destination AT2 tires size 235 65r17 @ 28 lbs per tire. Storing in garage til spring. Current deal $ 174 per tire x 4 = $ 696 installed minus current $80 tire rebate and $40 credit card rebate = $576 total outlay. Thats only $144 for a great all terrain tire. Rebates good til november. If can ditch enough weight with lighter rims, may upsize to 245.

Bosch AGM @18 lb $240.
Replace stock battery of 32 lbs for net loss of 14 lbs.

Add curt hitch $158 and plus + 41 lbs. Argh!!! Hating the weight on this. May search for lighter hitch.

Search for good lightweight "form flow" or "low pressure cast" 17 inch rims that match car well. Hoping to find 18-20 lb rims that blend with the machine gray. It looks tight but may try to push down to 16" rim. Will see if the 16" minispare will clear brakes in non- turbo model. Appears mazda manual says not to run 16" spare on front... probably more to do with ruining all-wheel drive due the undersized spare that they supplied. As long as stick to 28 to 29" diameter on 16" wheel, think it should be ok. Might even throw on gray Jeep 16" inchers if can't find good matching aftermarket rim.
 
Not too sure if this is something you'd be interested in pursuing, but you can also get a set of grade 5 titanium lug nuts for more unsprung weight reduction. I paid $163 USD including shipping to Canada for a set of 20 about 3 years ago. Definitely more than most would pay for lug nuts, but still a whole lot cheaper than some other name brand suppliers.

I ordered a set because I knew I'd need aftermarket nuts for my aftermarket wheels. Total weight of 445g for 20 nuts. I don't remember what the weight of the OEM nuts is, but if you're interested, I can weigh them later and find out.
 
Will see if the 16" minispare will clear brakes in non- turbo model. Appears mazda manual says not to run 16" spare on front... probably more to do with ruining all-wheel drive due the undersized spare that they supplied. As long as stick to 28 to 29" diameter on 16" wheel, think it should be ok. Might even throw on gray Jeep 16" inchers if can't find good matching aftermarket rim.

The 16" spare will fit on the on the front of the non-turbo model, but will not clear the front brakes on the turbo model. Most manufacturers recommend putting the spare on the rear only for many reasons.

A 16" aftermarket/OEM wheel might fit, depending on the backspacing/offset. I would start with a wheel/tire size calculator and go from there.
 
Back