New MemberHi!

[Mark12345]

New MemberHi!

Hi All! Well its been like 25 years since I bought a Mazda and I believe it was a Mazda6

We picked up a white 2014 CX-5 2.5 Touring with Moonroof/Bose package MSRP was $28,500 but we got it for $25,990 (headbang) and since Mazda was offering .9% financing, we took advantage of that too!

We have a number of cars but we needed a small run-around-town AWD vehicle with decent gas mileage. We have a number of cars now328XiT, M3 Vert, Porsches, Audi R8, etc but we're pleasantly surprised how fun the CX-5 can be. We recently sold a 2012 Nissan Juke and that was fun too. We like the CX-5 better than the Juke because it feels a little more substantial and slightly bigger inside but overall package is still compact.

I'm planning to do a number of things to the CX-5 in the next:

• 3M Clear Bra
• Plastic weather mats
• OEM mud flaps
• Seat covers
• Curtis III hitch
• LED interior lights
• HID headlight/fogs
• And finally not sure here and would love your opinion -
  I'd like a more aggressive stance and better handling. Should I
  a) get larger wheels/tires and no suspension changes
  b) leave OEM wheels + 25mm spacers + sometime in the future, get slightly wider tires
  c) lowering springs + OEM wheels + perhaps wider tires in the future?

Here are some pictures sorry for the bad quality:

 

[IHeartGroceries]

You own a number of premium sports cars and you are questioning whether or not you should run OE wheels w/ excessively large spacers?

It doesn't appear money is much of an object, but perhaps I am making assumptions.
For that reason, just purchase a nice set of aggressive fitting wheels. Check out the appropriate sub-section here, and in the wheel/tire thread for ideas on sizing. OE wheels aren't going to get you much more tire width/ contact patch. Too much tire bulging over too narrow a wheel begins to compromise handling, sidewall strength, and load rating.

If it were me, I'd slap some H&R springs on it while I was at it...

 

[Mark12345]

Hello IHeartGroceries and welcome??

Money is always a consideration no matter how much a person makes (wink).
Why do you think 25mm spacers are excessive? Is this just a personal preference or is there a technical issue with using 25mm - please advise! And sorry if I missed it but what does premium sports cars have to do with "questioning whether or not you should run OE wheels w/ excessively large spacers" specifically for a Mazda car that I have no experience with? It appears there is easily enough room in the CX-5 wheel well to accommodate.

I run 10mm/17mm on my Porsches and a lot of experience with German cars. But I don't have a lot of experience with Mazda suspensions so I was asking the members here.

I like the OEM wheel design so if I can keep it and have a more aggressive look, that would be our preferred choice.
I did talked to the guys at Corksport - I'll probably go with HR springs first and see how that setup works.

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

Hello IHeartGroceries and welcome??

Money is always a consideration no matter how much a person makes (wink).
Why do you think 25mm spacers are excessive? Is this just a personal preference or is there a technical issue with using 25mm - please advise! And sorry if I missed it but what does premium sports cars have to do with "questioning whether or not you should run OE wheels w/ excessively large spacers" specifically for a Mazda car that I have no experience with? It appears there is easily enough room in the CX-5 wheel well to accommodate.

I run 10mm/17mm on my Porsches and a lot of experience with German cars. But I don't have a lot of experience with Mazda suspensions so I was asking the members here.

I like the OEM wheel design so if I can keep it and have a more aggressive look, that would be our preferred choice.
I did talked to the guys at Corksport - I'll probably go with HR springs first and see how that setup works.

Hi, for the best look (and in my opinion that's reduce that wheel gap) I would recommend larger wheels, say 20" at least, or lower it (H&R and Eibach have a set, as well as order from Japan sets). If you don't mind a stiffer ride lower and you'll get better handling and a better look. However the car looks bad lowered with OEM wheels.

 

[Mark12345]

Hi, for the best look (and in my opinion that's reduce that wheel gap) I would recommend larger wheels, say 20" at least, or lower it (H&R and Eibach have a set, as well as order from Japan sets). If you don't mind a stiffer ride lower and you'll get better handling and a better look. However the car looks bad lowered with OEM wheels.

Thanks for the helpful info Chris!

Do you have the part # for H&R and Eibach springs?
Do you recommend H&R or Eibach?
In terms of lowering depth, are they about the same?