2019~2025 Mazda3 New wheels and tire size...Am I nuts?

[popeyecahn]

So call me crazy, but I am just not loving the 18” rims and Toyo Proxies that came on my ’23 3 Hatch Premium. I’m supposed to like them and aesthetically I do, but… in practice I loathe them. Aside from the fact that I’ve never owned a car with low profile tires (road feel, noise), my biggest gripe is the fact that I cannot keep the rims from getting torn up, curb rash has made me give up on having nice rims. The Toyos lack a shoulder to help prevent this and you would think after the first time and 2.5 years of ownership I would have worked past scraping the curb, but for some damned reason I have not.

So the tires are ready for replacement and honestly I’m considering going with 16” steelies and a good set of all season because winter’s coming up and I head to the slopes and if I need to chain up I don’t care of the rims get scuffed like they did previously with the 18s. Here’s some photos for thought…

w/18s, though not the OEM rims...

W/16" rims and tires

As the image says, I need help lol

 

[N7turbo]

my biggest gripe is the fact that I cannot keep the rims from getting torn up, curb rash has made me give up on having nice rims. The Toyos lack a shoulder to help prevent this and you would think after the first time and 2.5 years of ownership I would have worked past scraping the curb, but for some damned reason I have not.

This won't prevent your wheels from touching the curb...it will just mean a messed up tire that needs to be replaced asap.