2015 Mazda3 Sport GT 18" or 16" rims?

[Sybil99]

I am looking to purchase a Mazda 3 Sport GT car that comes with 215/45R/8 tires.

I am considering having those removed and replaced with a set of 205/60R/60 at the time or purchase.. The presumed benefits of moving to a smaller tire are a softer ride, a quieter ride, better absorption of bumps and a smaller liklihood of rim damage if hitting a big pothole as well as cheaper replacement costs compared to the 18".

I would appreciate any feedback on this, offering advice on the pros and cons of such a change. I realize that moving to a 16" will likely reduce the sharpness of cornering and other performance aspects, but this car will be used for a lot of urban commuting and daily highways trips of about 25KM and as such I won't be pushing any boundaries of performance.

Thanks for any and all reasonable feedback on the matter.

 

[BrianM3GS]

I am looking to purchase a Mazda 3 Sport GT car that comes with 215/45R/8 tires.

I'm assuming that's 215/45R18. Is that an optional Mazda setup, or aftermarket? I think a GT should have 205/50R17, and I think at least recent Mazdaspeed3 have 225/40R18.

I am considering having those removed and replaced with a set of 205/60R/60 at the time or purchase.

I assume that was intended to be 205/60R16. The stock size is 205/55R16; is the extra height (almost an inch overall) deliberate?

The presumed benefits of moving to a smaller tire are a softer ride, a quieter ride, better absorption of bumps and a smaller liklihood of rim damage if hitting a big pothole as well as cheaper replacement costs compared to the 18".

I would appreciate any feedback on this, offering advice on the pros and cons of such a change. I realize that moving to a 16" will likely reduce the sharpness of cornering and other performance aspects, but this car will be used for a lot of urban commuting and daily highways trips of about 25KM and as such I won't be pushing any boundaries of performance.

That all sounds right to me. I definitely feel a difference between the 205/55R16 that my GS car came with, and the 205/50R17 that I'm using in summer (a used setup from a GT), but I wouldn't run the 17" set in the winter, and the 16" set still worked well... I'm using the wheels and winter tires in the same size in the winter.

 

[concept]

I have the stock 18s on my GT and the ride was reasonable before the Eibach springs were installed. Fortunately, roads are mostly smooth, here in San Diego, so I don't mind the added stiffness. But for you, if anything, I would go 17s, not 16s. 60 aspect ratio tires are not only getting more and more rare, but they are an insult to Mazda's well-deserved reputation. Yes, I know that 16s come standard on the lower cost trims, but if you're going to swap out the 18s, anyway, consider a much better compromise in 17 inch. Your selection of tires will be much better and you can still get lightweight and low cost wheels, like Konigs. Lighter wheels (stock 18s are 27 lbs, I believe) will improve the ride, as well.

 

[BrianM3GS]

60 aspect ratio tires are not only getting more and more rare, but they are an insult to Mazda's well-deserved reputation. Yes, I know that 16s come standard on the lower cost trims, but if you're going to swap out the 18s, anyway, consider a much better compromise in 17 inch. Your selection of tires will be much better...

Okay, but the stock size are 55-series, not 60-series, and are readily available... that's why I asked about the choice of size.

... if you're going to swap out the 18s, anyway, consider a much better compromise in 17 inch. Your selection of tires will be much better and you can still get lightweight and low cost wheels, like Konigs. Lighter wheels (stock 18s are 27 lbs, I believe) will improve the ride, as well.

I agree that a smaller wheel diameter means lighter wheels and a lighter total wheel+tire package. That also means that 16" will be lighter than 17".

Personally, I don't know about aftermarket wheel availability. Cheap aftermarket wheels are so bad, and good aftermarket wheels sufficiently expensive, that for my purposes I prefer to just buy used OEM wheels. Do you know what the weights are for all three sizes - 18", 17", and 16" - of recent Mazda3 OEM wheels?

 

[concept]

Figure $200 each for Kosei 17" wheels that weigh 14.1 lbs each. THAT's light no matter which size you look for.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/resu...se&filterNew=All&filterWeight=All&sort=Weight

No, I don't know the weight of anything but OEM 18s. Perhaps someone who owns the 16s will chime in.

 

[mullyinma]

Why not just stick with the 3i GT that comes standard with the 16" rims? Save ur self some time money and hassle. Just a thought.

 

[BrianM3GS]

Why not just stick with the 3i GT that comes standard with the 16" rims? Save ur self some time money and hassle. Just a thought.

I get this logic, but in Canada (where we have a slightly different and probably more restricted choice of models), only the GX and GS come with 16" wheels. If you want the GT for the larger engine or other features, you are stuck with getting the 215/45R18 tires (yes, that is the right size - I didn't realize they had changed from earlier sizing).

Now that I realize that the 2015 sizes are not quite the same as the previous two generations, I realize the value of concept's 17" suggestion.

• GT stock: 215/45R18
• GX/GS stock: 205/60R16
• possible 17" choice: 205/55R17

The 205/55R17 would have the sidewall height of earlier GX/GS tires (205/55R16), and would work well on used (from earlier generations) or readily available aftermarket 17"x6.5" wheels, as long as the offset is right.

On the other hand, despite the concern expressed earlier about availability of 60-series tires, there seems to be (based on a quick check in TireRack.com) a lot more choice of tires in 205/60R16 than in 205/55R17.