18s on a CX-5

[Bopper]

My Sparcos/Bridgestones arrived late this afternoon. I've studied them and could not find a scratch or blemish. I panicked when I saw that they were packed without a box, just plastic staps with cardboard protecting the face and rear of the wheels while the tire were exposed. I slapped a coat of wax on them right away so i am ready to go. Once I get them on, I will post some pics.

 

[NinjaNoises]

My Sparcos/Bridgestones arrived late this afternoon. I've studied them and could not find a scratch or blemish. I panicked when I saw that they were packed without a box, just plastic staps with cardboard protecting the face and rear of the wheels while the tire were exposed. I slapped a coat of wax on them right away so i am ready to go. Once I get them on, I will post some pics.

Can't wait to see it.

 

[Bopper]

Sorry. My schedule has just changed, I am not going to get a chance to put the wheels on for about a week and a half, but here are a few pics of them. The wheel are now keeping company with the Curt Hitch that is also on the To-Do List.

 

[MikeM.]

Sorry. My schedule has just changed, I am not going to get a chance to put the wheels on for about a week and a half, but here are a few pics of them.

Good looking wheels. I guess it's not too remarkable that they look similar to my OZ Alleggerita's (considering that OZ engineered them). And a loss of 9 lbs. per wheel? That's excellent!

I guess the weight savings is significant in both the tire and the wheel when moving from 19" to 18" wheels.

After you get them installed, let us know if you notice a little more peppiness from having less rotational inertia.

 

[Awolowa]

Here they put on some 20s -- looks pretty sweet, but apparently that's all you'll benefit from. Please correct on this info, but the dealer told me that if I did this option, I would get super bad mileage and a ruff ride with no handling. ?

http://modmonstr.com/2013/03/08/mazda-cx-5-180-concept-car/

 

[Lt Johnny]

I'll be posting pics of my CX-5 with the new Enkei M52's I just got on it...

Awolowa, there are some guys on these forums that are a wealth of knowledge. If you add weight or increase rolling resistance... Your MPG goes down. If you run 20's or 22's you're going to have a firmer ride then stock (alot of people like that). As far as handling, unless you put on a crappy wheel and tire combination I think your only going to improve your car's stance and handling. Peformance though, you may lose some...

 

[mr.fusion]

I have the M52's on mine now also, just installed yesterday. Need to get pics off my camera....

First impressions are mixed. They look mean with 255s for sure. It especially looks good from the back. Handling feels very good of course with the extra meat.

But the ride is more harsh on bumps, etc, and mine have a slight vibration at freeway speeds that the oem set didn't have at all. I'll have the front checked for balance pretty soon... hoping it's not just lousy tolerance with the rims or tires. The new tires were really noisy on one stretch of interstate I drive, but it wasn't an issue on most other roads I've been on so far. Yesterday, on one typical workday type of driving, it was down a couple mpg... but that was just one day. Let's see what it is after a couple tanks, but I have a feeling it's going down... with the extra weight at 57 pounds vs the stock 47. But, my cx5 does look good.... finally.

 

[Lt Johnny]

Mr. Fusion... I HAD MINE FIRST!!! Take em' back! Just kidding. 18X8 with ET40 is definitely the 18" wheel size to go with for sure. Looks perfect in the wheel well. I'm wondering if we are seeing different MPG is because you have a 2.0 vs 2.5 and from the stock weight you listed, I'm guessing you went from 17's to 18's. I went from 19's to 18's and shed 8lbs per wheel. The 2.0's definitely get better gas mileage but I'm happy to lose a few mpg for a little more spirit for when the gas pedal and floor come together.

The stock 19's are a good looking wheel but what was Mazda thinking with the 50mm offset on that 7in. wide wheel?!? They also should have went up to 235/55's so there was more availibility and choices for replacement. And on my Mazda survey, I made sure I let them know that!

 

[mr.fusion]

Totally agree that Mazda screwed up the stock offset... which kinda looks like a 60's vwbug. Having said that, the 255/55 on 8"-40mm may be a bit much for a stock setup. Split the difference would be about right.

I wish General made more sizes in the Gmax line. They have a 235/55 but at 28.2" it's .5" smaller than stock... not sure how noticeable that would be, but decided against it. Those tires mounted on Motegi SP10s would only be 44#. That would be nice.

 

[Voyager]

Interesting tidbit. While buying our CX-5 last weekend, mentioned to the dealer that we were considering asking them to swap out the 19” wheel set on our GT for the 17” wheel set on the sport. He said swapping them would require them, per Mazda, to conduct a computer recalibration.

 

[Lt Johnny]

Voyager,

I'll be the first and definitely not the last to tell you they are full of BS! At the most "maybe" a TPMS reset that with 1 finger and 5 seconds you can do yourself.

If your going to run 17's, pick up some nice light aftermarket ones with a tire that you can easily replace. Your stock 19" Toyo's run about $265 each IF you can find them. I suggest 18X8's with 235/60's unless you want to go a little wider. Easy to replace and lots of choices

Johnny

 

[costermonger]

My 18x8 BR7s and 225/60s Goodyear Eagle GTs shipped this morning. I wanted 235/60s but the price difference wasn't worth it. I had Eagle GTs on my Mazda6 and they were a good, reasonably sticky tire, so I'm hoping the 225s will still be a little better handling than stock. Visually, an Eagle GT usually looks about one size wider than it really is due to the thick rim protector.

I almost changed my mind and got the 235s but they'd shipped by then.

 

[mr.fusion]

There is a small difference in diameters between the 17 and 19s (28.6" vs 28.8-9") but it's not enough to justify a computer calibration. Speedometer difference is less than 1 mph at highway speeds. From the factory, my speedo is off almost 2mph btw, with the tires at 38-39psi. Adjusting air pressure also changes rolling diameter, which is how the TPMS functions. Tires also change diameter as they wear. Calibration is BS

Buy it with the stock 19's, then pick out an aftermarket set of 17 or 18s, paying attention to the rim weight. You should be able get a nice set, sell the 19's and pocket a chunk of change, if you do it while they are still new.

For a 17" rim, 235/60 is a perfect size match to the stock 225/65-17

 

[Voyager]

You’re saying a dealership was making that up? Say it ain’t so…

All kidding aside…I could see a corporate lawyer having an issue with the product going out the door deviating from the standard.

I’m really particular about our tires, so we'll pick up a different wheel/tire package when the time comes…

 

[mr.fusion]

I don't doubt what the Mazda policy is... the dealer may be telling the truth. Or they might be trying to make a buck on the side. Either way... they know it's BS in this situation. Then again, could be they're just dumb. lol

 

[mr.fusion]

btw, I did post a couple odd pics in the "show me your wheels" thread, to show the tires I ended up with, and the offset/tire bulge. Almost an exact copy of LtJohnny, just a different line of Nittos. I found out the "Crosstek CUV" is sold only through certain stores... BigO, NTW. They have similar lines for other distributors. Seems a little odd, but they have multiple exclusive lines. The one I got is called the NT850+

 

[Lt Johnny]

My CX-5 with new Enkei M52's...

 

[nXt]

My CX-5 with new Enkei M52's...

Picture Fail!

 

[NinjaNoises]

Picture Fail!

lol (lol2)

 

[costermonger]

Just thought I'd mention.. I put 18's on tonight and made sure the tires were at 34psi before I even turned the car on, and the TPMS didn't so much as beep. No reset required.