Does anyone have Mazda3 Rims on there P5 ?

[Matt V]

How did they end up looking????

 

[turbine50]

Damn, looks good! I want those headlights.

 

[Matt V]

You can be a retrofit customer if you are really interested, look at the thread in my sig.

 

[turbine50]

You can be a retrofit customer

Tempting. Dont really want HID but black housings and projectors sounds interesting...

I'm happy with the 215/40/R17's. They end up being the same outer diameter as the stock 50's. My speedo is spot-on with GPS groundspeed. Once the Racing Beats are in I'll post pics...

 

[CDNRedP5]

I got the mazda 3 rims on my p5

wow, i'm impressed

looks Great!

 

[nate0123]

wow, i'm impressed

looks Great!

impressed with the 20 series tires on 17s? or the jacked up stance? (scratch)

Nice! Perfect tire size on the Protege

 

[ornithology]

SO is the consensus now that 205/40/17 is too small because it messes up the speedo or because it just doesn't look good?

Can someone else post pics of their 205/40/17 setup? Is the only benefit from this size the lack of rub if lowered?

Thanks.

 

[ornithology]

My bad, it was rubbing on 215 45 R17's. Too tall. It rubbed the splash guard at about the 10 o'clock position on the right rear and opposite on the other side. The front was ok. This only happened when I went through a roller-coaster section of a super twisty road.

I just put new tires on. Falken Ziex 521's, great in the dry and great in the wet. I accidentally told them 205 40 R17 and they were way too small. P215 40 R17 was perfect. It is the same as the outer diameter of the original P195 50 R16's.

I'm using the stock springs, Tockigo HB's, and a 21.5mm AWR rear anti-roll bar. I didn't want to lower the car when I did the struts because I regularly carry loads and end up on an adventure that takes me off roads. She handles beautifully now, and even held her own hanging with the MS3's in the super twisty roads on the 2009 meet. Now I kinda want to do the Racing Beats, they only lower it by an inch or less and are 20% stiffer.

Off-road near Groom Lake:

So you're saying DON'T go with 205/40/17 because of the looks? How did it drive though?

Also wondering, were the mazda3 rims a direct fit onto the protege? It had the correct offset? (Other than tire rubbage which was addressed earlier)

 

[turbine50]

The 205/40's are too small for me. And yes, the speedo will be off.

I have a pic on this thread of one installed on my car (scroll up or go back a page) but I didn't drive it like that.

I had them put the 215/40's on after I realized what I did. Some people might like the super-low profile look, but super low-profile tires can hurt handling and ride like crap and make lots more noise. Some people only care how it looks.

As far as tire sizes go, the "40" is the percent of the width (205). So a 205/40 is thinner than a 215/40. At the tire shop, I held a 215/40R17 next to the stock 195/50R16 and it was the same diameter so I went with those. On the road, I set the cruise at 70 and my GPS groundspeed was right on the money with the 215/40R17's. I'm going for function first but they look cool too.

Not sure what the offset is on the stockers or the 17's but there is no fitment or adverse handling issues. The only reason I had rubbage before is because I bought and installed the wheels with tires sized for the Mazda3 (215/45R17). They were too tall and my speedo was off as well.

 

[nate0123]

I thought Mazda3's came stock with 205/50-17

215/45-17 is stock MSP size and can be run on a protege just fine, provided the appropriate offset

 

[Matt V]

The stock size is 205/50/17. 205/40/17 is like riding on rubber bands so 205/45/17 is a perfect compromise.

 

[turbine50]

I forgot to mention, besides being rubber bands, the 205/40's seemed awfuly narrow for those snowflakes. Here's a shot of the 215/40R17 profile:

<a href="http://s614.photobucket.com/albums/tt225/turbine50/?action=view&current=201545r17.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt225/turbine50/201545r17.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[808MP5]

Looking good. I'll be swapping off my 19's for a month and slapping on my mazda3 rims. I so badly want to paint mine dark bronze. Should be interesting for me to go from 215/35/19 to 205/45/17. Brand new bfgoods grid19 tires

 

[nate0123]

I think you'll be loving life

 

[turbine50]

Got the Racing Beat springs installed. Falken Ziex 512's P215/40R17


<a href="http://s614.photobucket.com/albums/tt225/turbine50/?action=view&current=springs.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt225/turbine50/springs.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[Matt V]

I put my MZ3 wheels up for sale, just in case anyone was interested in getting some.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123770961

 

[turbine50]

The P215/40R17's, Tokico HB's, and Racing Beat Protege springs in action...

<a href="http://s614.photobucket.com/albums/tt225/turbine50/?action=view&current=P5lead.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt225/turbine50/P5lead.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[808MP5]

has any one put mazda3 rims with 20mm spacers?

i think i'm going to give it a try... as you can see there is a lot of unwanted space between the tire and the fender.. in the front there is about a 30mm gap and in the rear there is about a 22mm gap...

here's pic of the front gap... i'm not liking it... plus i think with spacer i'll get a much better stance and overall look


here's a side profile shot...

 

[ScratchNSniff]

 

[Matt V]

I just put my MZ3 wheels up for sale if anyone was looking for some.