2015 wheels

[azgard]

Hello gentleman been eyeing the 2015 mazda3 specifically the I sv trim and was curious, does anyone know or tried putting 15 inch wheels on one? I live in the snow belt and like to run 2 sets of wheels, so try to keep them cheap and skinny if possible.

 

[JiinXC]

According to tire rack the smallest I was able to go was 16 inch for my 2014 S GT. Since the '14 and '15 models are essentially the same I would bet 16's are the smallest you can go. When I put my snow tires on it didn't seem like there was a lot of extra space with 16's so I don't think 15's will work. If you want I can try to a picture of the clearance between the brakes and the inside of the wheel with my snow tires on.

 

[azgard]

According to tire rack the smallest I was able to go was 16 inch for my 2014 S GT. Since the '14 and '15 models are essentially the same I would bet 16's are the smallest you can go. When I put my snow tires on it didn't seem like there was a lot of extra space with 16's so I don't think 15's will work. If you want I can try to a picture of the clearance between the brakes and the inside of the wheel with my snow tires on.

If you get a chance would definitely appreciate it.

 

[GrasshopperCO]

I have an iSport, which has the 16" steel wheels. I took a couple pics to (hopefully) demonstrate the clearance between the brake caliper and the inside of the wheel:

The wheels in question:

Close-ups:

I honestly wouldn't recommend going any smaller than 16". I don't think 15" wheels would fit over the brake calipers.

 

[azgard]

I have an iSport, which has the 16" steel wheels. I took a couple pics to (hopefully) demonstrate the clearance between the brake caliper and the inside of the wheel:

The wheels in question:

Close-ups:

I honestly wouldn't recommend going any smaller than 16". I don't think 15" wheels would fit over the brake calipers.

Yea, oh well thanks though. Still not dissuaded from the car though, looks pretty nice.

 

[BrianM3GS]

In the previous generation, there is apparently a front brake disk size difference between the GS/GX (which fit a 15" spare wheel) and the GT (which requires a 16" spare wheel). The overall diameter of 2014+ tires is up about an inch from the previous generation; if the brake size is up (perhaps to the previous GT size?) then the 15" wheel might no longer fit.

I'm planning 195/65R15 for my next set of winters (on my 2012 GS), but that would be a bit short for the 2014+ and I suspect that 2014+ owners may need to plan on 16" wheels even for winter. The stock 16" size for 2014+ is 205/60R16; a 195/65R16 would probably work... if you could find tires that size (which is not likely). The stock 16" size may be the only viable choice. Even if 15" wheels fit, a 195 mm wide tire would need to be a 195/70R15, which won't handle well and is likely available only in all-season patterns in commercial service tires... not really Mazda3 stuff.

 

[JiinXC]

I went with 205/60R16's for my car. The selection was the deal breaker for the 195's but the price wasn't too different. I think the X-Ice Xi3's were $5-10 more for the 195's on tire rack.

 

[BrianM3GS]

I went with 205/60R16's for my car. The selection was the deal breaker for the 195's but the price wasn't too different. I think the X-Ice Xi3's were $5-10 more for the 195's on tire rack.

According to TireRack, they have no tires at all in 195/65R16, so I assume it was the available 195/60R16 (which is current $5 more than the 205/60R16), but that would be a little short in overall diameter.

 

[Bruns]

I run the stock 16 alloys in winter and I just received a set of 19s from the mazda6 to run in Summer.

If you are not willing to spend too much, just go for 16 steelies for winter


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