225/45-17 and choice of rims
- Thread starter the.jack
- Start date
Nice. What finish/color?
So far loving the tires. The Nexens that were on the front I could spin easily with a little goosing from a standstill, carry the spin right through second and even in to third. You know how much torque the 5 doesn't have, so that's ridiculous. And they weren't any good in wet, cold or snowy conditions either. They were total poo. I actually have acceleration now - for what all that's worth. But slow is so much slower when you can't even get the tires to hook up! Great on corners. And I'm sure they aren't quite broken in, so a little more to come perhaps. I haven't pushed them TOO hard, but had a little fun today as a preliminary checkup. Initially test results are encouraging.
The 'Kooks are no louder than what was on there, so that's good. That's my only real comfort-related complaint with the 5: tire noise. It's about the same with this set up.
So far loving the tires. The Nexens that were on the front I could spin easily with a little goosing from a standstill, carry the spin right through second and even in to third. You know how much torque the 5 doesn't have, so that's ridiculous. And they weren't any good in wet, cold or snowy conditions either. They were total poo. I actually have acceleration now - for what all that's worth. But slow is so much slower when you can't even get the tires to hook up! Great on corners. And I'm sure they aren't quite broken in, so a little more to come perhaps. I haven't pushed them TOO hard, but had a little fun today as a preliminary checkup. Initially test results are encouraging.
The 'Kooks are no louder than what was on there, so that's good. That's my only real comfort-related complaint with the 5: tire noise. It's about the same with this set up.
Hello mazda owner's!
This is my first post in this forum, which seems to be very informative, but i can not find an answer for my question! I was wondering if you could help me.
I have a 09 mazda5 with the factory rims, and i would like to change my tires for a 215-55-17 intead of the original that came with the car 215-50-17, my question is; do you think the new tire size will fit? (215-55-17)
This is my first post in this forum, which seems to be very informative, but i can not find an answer for my question! I was wondering if you could help me.
I have a 09 mazda5 with the factory rims, and i would like to change my tires for a 215-55-17 intead of the original that came with the car 215-50-17, my question is; do you think the new tire size will fit? (215-55-17)
This might be considered "off thread", but here goes:
If I'm not mistaken an 09's stock tire size should actually be 205/50-17 not 215. A 215/50 will be .4" taller (about 1.5% speedo error), a 215/55 jumps to 1.2" taller with nearly 5% error. Technically it will probably fit the rim and fender wells, but not sure you'd want to do it.
You might want to start a new thread. A lot of folks (myself included) are looking for more width rather than more height. I don't find the 4" sidewall of the stock tire size a problem (same sidewall size as my new 225/45s as well).
If I'm not mistaken an 09's stock tire size should actually be 205/50-17 not 215. A 215/50 will be .4" taller (about 1.5% speedo error), a 215/55 jumps to 1.2" taller with nearly 5% error. Technically it will probably fit the rim and fender wells, but not sure you'd want to do it.
You might want to start a new thread. A lot of folks (myself included) are looking for more width rather than more height. I don't find the 4" sidewall of the stock tire size a problem (same sidewall size as my new 225/45s as well).
Those are sharp! Was that "Hyper Silver" or something? I like the finish.
I find it really odd that a +42 with 215s would stick our farther than a 225 with +45. Unless yours were 8" maybe? The DR-42s are 7.5".
(Side note: the only thing I miss about having the base model without any add-ons are the fogs. I think the fogs on the 5 are particularly nice looking stock fogs. Not sure it's worth it to me to buy a set and wiring it in, though.)
I find it really odd that a +42 with 215s would stick our farther than a 225 with +45. Unless yours were 8" maybe? The DR-42s are 7.5".
(Side note: the only thing I miss about having the base model without any add-ons are the fogs. I think the fogs on the 5 are particularly nice looking stock fogs. Not sure it's worth it to me to buy a set and wiring it in, though.)
They were 17x7's though the offset was actually 38. Not sure what color to go with though... The websports were rpainted by the preveous owner and are not pretty at this point. the blue stickers are ok though. Lots of hand sanding is in store for this week. Im thinking something similar to yours though a bit darker of i can find the paint. Do you have front and rear shots on hos wide the tires look? Car looks really clean bu the way. (rei)
Still doesn't seem like a 7"@38 should stick out much more. Odd.
I don't envy the work you have ahead, but I'm sure it'll turn out nicely. I like the grey-on-grey with very different greys. The Galaxy is such a light grey that a charcoal really sets it off. I'd rather have the Metro Grey on the 5 and go with either a light or a black rim, but in the used market you take what you can find... Especially when you are looking for manual transmissions. Plus I don't believe Metro was available in '08 if it ever were on the 5 at all.
It should be clean, it was used with only 30k
Trying to take care of it. It's "all I got" for a toy. I've had a Miata (99, then 05 MSM) as a toy car for so long I'd forgotten how normal people need to care for their primary cars and don't have a garage queen to focus on (to the detriment of your DD). Spoiled myself.
I will take photos tomorrow in the daylight: front, back and with the steering cocked. I'll even put the stockers next to it for comparison.
I don't envy the work you have ahead, but I'm sure it'll turn out nicely. I like the grey-on-grey with very different greys. The Galaxy is such a light grey that a charcoal really sets it off. I'd rather have the Metro Grey on the 5 and go with either a light or a black rim, but in the used market you take what you can find... Especially when you are looking for manual transmissions. Plus I don't believe Metro was available in '08 if it ever were on the 5 at all.
It should be clean, it was used with only 30k
Trying to take care of it. It's "all I got" for a toy. I've had a Miata (99, then 05 MSM) as a toy car for so long I'd forgotten how normal people need to care for their primary cars and don't have a garage queen to focus on (to the detriment of your DD). Spoiled myself.I will take photos tomorrow in the daylight: front, back and with the steering cocked. I'll even put the stockers next to it for comparison.
By "not a word" do you mean you *aren't* looking for input from us? Honestly I'd see it working either way.
I didn't really forget to take pics. I've just been running around and haven't taken the time to do it. I should though. It might be helpful to post in the official fitment guide we have. Most of those seemed to be 18s and some 19s. Not a lot of us little 17ers.
I didn't really forget to take pics. I've just been running around and haven't taken the time to do it. I should though. It might be helpful to post in the official fitment guide we have. Most of those seemed to be 18s and some 19s. Not a lot of us little 17ers.
225/45 does fit nicely. But my wife's previous car was an '07 SAAB 9-3 Aero wagon. Stock rims were 17X7.5, but the tires were 235/45 (coincidentally that's a near-perfect fit for MS3's slightly taller stock tire size). Those fit pretty well too. 8" would probably be nice, but from reading on here 8s are pushing it on the 5. So... 7.5 and 225 is as far as I am willing to push it unless I get serious with power someday. Even then the MS3 has 280 ft-lbs and 215mm tires.
Have tires mounted and on, surprising the 225/45-17 falken 512's are at least 1 inch narrower then mu 215/55-16 conti dws's... best of ll they fin in the wheelwells and don't stick out! Will post picks tonight. Did not get a chance to pain them as it is to humid lately. Will paint next week or so.
Finally pics of width
I'm only... Oh... A week late. Here are various shots displaying width.
Simple front-on shot
Closer shot of driver's front
Next to stock size on stock rim
Top-down shot of stock versus new (easier to see nearly 1" of gain. Also yes that is a slug that apparently is living in the void of the new tire...)
pseudo-glamor shot of tire tread 
Car's dirty, but it's been raining for about a week straight and whenever it stops for a second the pollen comes out and coats everything. Will wash this weekend!
I'm only... Oh... A week late. Here are various shots displaying width.
Simple front-on shot Closer shot of driver's front Next to stock size on stock rim Top-down shot of stock versus new (easier to see nearly 1" of gain. Also yes that is a slug that apparently is living in the void of the new tire...) pseudo-glamor shot of tire tread Car's dirty, but it's been raining for about a week straight and whenever it stops for a second the pollen comes out and coats everything. Will wash this weekend!
