Need ideas for CX-5 wheels

[JPot32]

I have a machine gray 2018 CX-5 touring. I wanna downsize my wheels to 17” or 18” but I need some ideas for which ones to buy. I’ve been on tirerack for a few days. lol

 

[Natey]

Your stock wheels are 18x7 and have a 5x114.3 lug pattern with a +45 offset. Stock CX-5 17s are the same everything but 17 instead of 18.

EDIT: Wait, you got 19s? They are 7.5. wide, but again, same everything else as far as I know.

What do you want to do? wider? taller? offroad? VIP? hella frush?

It's really up to you.

 

[JPot32]

Your stock wheels are 18x7 and have a 5x114.3 lug pattern with a +45 offset. Stock CX-5 17s are the same everything but 17 instead of 18.

EDIT: Wait, you got 19s? They are 7.5. wide, but again, same everything else as far as I know.

What do you want to do? wider? taller? offroad? VIP? hella frush?

It's really up to you.

I’m looking to keep this vehicle for a while so dropping in size is for cost efficiency and ride quality. I’d be selling my 19’s. I’m not sure how I feel about the stock 17” wheels for a machine gray vehicle. Doesn’t give the car much contrast.

 

[yrwei52]

Your stock wheels are 18x7 and have a 5x114.3 lug pattern with a +45 offset. Stock CX-5 17s are the same everything but 17 instead of 18.

The stock wheel size for CX-5 should be either 17X6.5” or 19X7”.

EDIT: Wait, you got 19s? They are 7.5. wide, but again, same everything else as far as I know.

Yeah, 2018 is the only model year on Touring comes with 19” wheels instead of 17”’s.

 

[yrwei52]

I’m looking to keep this vehicle for a while so dropping in size is for cost efficiency and ride quality. I’d be selling my 19’s. I’m not sure how I feel about the stock 17” wheels for a machine gray vehicle. Doesn’t give the car much contrast.

In theory for 18” tire, 225/60R18 with 28.6” overall diameter is the most compatible size to stock 225/55R19 with 28.7” overall diameter. You’d need 18X6.5 wheels.

Honestly you’d only save less than $100 each time you need a new set of 18” tires, and nowadays it’s once in 50K ~ 70K-mile business. With money you invested on a new set of 18” wheels, you really don’t save too much money, as the selections on 225/55R19 tires are getting much wider.

You won’t get much better ride with 18” tires than 19” tires either. 17” tires? may be. You can always get softer 19” tires for better ride. Check the Ratings Charts & Reviews on Ride Quality under Comfort Performance in Tire Rack website for tires with better ride quality.

Of course if you want a new set of 18” wheels for cosmetic reason, more power to you.

 

[JPot32]

In theory for 18” tire, 225/60R18 with 28.6” overall diameter is the most compatible size to stock 225/55R19 with 28.7” overall diameter. You’d need 18X6.5 wheels.

Honestly you’d only save less than $100 each time you need a new set of 18” tires, and nowadays it’s once in 50K ~ 70K-mile business. With money you invested on a new set of 18” wheels, you really don’t save too much money, as the selections on 225/55R19 tires are getting much wider.

You won’t get much better ride with 18” tires than 19” tires either. 17” tires? may be. You can always get softer 19” tires for better ride. Check the Ratings Charts & Reviews on Ride Quality under Comfort Performance in Tire Rack website for tires with better ride quality.

Of course if you want a new set of 18” wheels for cosmetic reason, more power to you.

Thank you. That’s super solid advice

 

[Natey]

The stock wheel size for CX-5 should be either 17X6.5” or 19X7”.


Yeah, 2018 is the only model year on Touring comes with 19” wheels instead of 17”’s.

Sorry if I was wrong, I was looking at this.

2018 Mazda CX-5 - Wheel & Tire Sizes, PCD, Offset and Rims specs

Wheel size, PCD, offset, and other specifications such as bolt pattern, thread size (THD), center bore (CB), trim levels for 2018 Mazda CX-5. Wheel and tire fitment data. Original equipment and alternative options.

www.wheel-size.com

 

[PatrickGSR94]

why would he need 18x6.5 wheels? That's likely an OEM-only wheel size. 18" aftermarket wheels have a very limited selection in 7" width, less limited in 7.5", and a HUGE selection in 8" width. If you look up 18x6.5 wheels on eBay, you'll find pretty much only OEM wheels, with several being compact spares for cars with larger wheels.

 

[JPot32]

why would he need 18x6.5 wheels? That's likely an OEM-only wheel size. 18" aftermarket wheels have a very limited selection in 7" width, less limited in 7.5", and a HUGE selection in 8" width. If you look up 18x6.5 wheels on eBay, you'll find pretty much only OEM wheels, with several being compact spares for cars with larger wheels.

My man! Thanks for the info

 

[PatrickGSR94]

My man! Thanks for the info

I can't even begin to say what would fit and what won't, just telling you what's out there. I was just going by the big wheel distributor websites like Fitment Industries and Discounted Wheel Warehouse. They both have zero available in 18x6.5, but thousands available in 18x8.

 

[JPot32]

I can't even begin to say what would fit and what won't, just telling you what's out there. I was just going by the big wheel distributor websites like Fitment Industries and Discounted Wheel Warehouse. They both have zero available in 18x6.5, but thousands available in 18x8.

Yeah I’d go with whatever they recommend. They know better than I do

 

[Chas]

Yeah I’d go with whatever they recommend. They know better than I do

I would not blindly go by what they recommend....I would also do your own calculations to verify....using on line calculators

This particular site has been upgraded to select equivalent sizes., such as the afore mentioned 225/55-19 is most similar to 225.60-18. You want to keep within 0-1.5% of the OEM tire diameter, because that is what the vehicle speed sensors assume. This site recommends 1% in general.

I would cross check with other sites such as tire rack to see that there are a selection of sizes actually available on the market, and to see what average prices are.

Things have changed now, but I had a AWD Acura sedan with 18 inch equivalent (they were metric sized) wheels, and I upsized 1 inch to 19, trying to do a conservative +1 upgrade while keeping the weight down (pretty easy because the OEMs were Michelin PAX tires and wheels). It turned out that the tire sizes in 18 and 20 were less money, and there was more choice available, than 19 inch tires, but that was over10 years ago,.. However, the lesson was not lost on me...I always check for that too.

 

[JPot32]

I would not blindly go by what they recommend....I would also do your own calculations to verify....using on line calculators

This particular site has been upgraded to select equivalent sizes., such as the afore mentioned 225/55-19 is most similar to 225.60-18. You want to keep within 0-1.5% of the OEM tire diameter, because that is what the vehicle speed sensors assume. This site recommends 1% in general.

I would cross check with other sites such as tire rack to see that there are a selection of sizes actually available on the market, and to see what average prices are.

Things have changed now, but I had a AWD Acura sedan with 18 inch equivalent (they were metric sized) wheels, and I upsized 1 inch to 19, trying to do a conservative +1 upgrade while keeping the weight down (pretty easy because the OEMs were Michelin PAX tires and wheels). It turned out that the tire sizes in 18 and 20 were less money, and there was more choice available, than 19 inch tires, but that was over10 years ago,.. However, the lesson was not lost on me...I always check for that too.

I’ll do my own research then to make sure. You’ve been a big help. I appreciate all the advice and input. Good lookin out man

 

[yrwei52]

why would he need 18x6.5 wheels? That's likely an OEM-only wheel size. 18" aftermarket wheels have a very limited selection in 7" width, less limited in 7.5", and a HUGE selection in 8" width. If you look up 18x6.5 wheels on eBay, you'll find pretty much only OEM wheels, with several being compact spares for cars with larger wheels.

I said “in theory”, 225/60R18 tire has similar overall diameter as stock 225/55R19 tire and recommended by Tire Rack for 18” tire. And the measuring rim width for 225/60R18 is 6.5”. This means every car manufacture will use 18X6.5 wheel for 225/60R18 tire from factory.

Of course OP can use whatever tires and wheels he prefer. But this tire / wheel combination will be used by car manufactures.

 

[surftoad]

i suggest 18"x7.5", 8", or 8.5" ET45ish with 245/55/18(28.6" dia.). it will maintain the scrub radius at or very close to OEM on a wider footprint. if you budget permits, rotary forged aka flow formed for weight reduction.

 

[PatrickGSR94]

I said “in theory”, 225/60R18 tire has similar overall diameter as stock 225/55R19 tire and recommended by Tire Rack for 18” tire. And the measuring rim width for 225/60R18 is 6.5”. This means every car manufacture will use 18X6.5 wheel for 225/60R18 tire from factory.

Of course OP can use whatever tires and wheels he prefer. But this tire / wheel combination will be used by car manufactures.

but I thought OP was asking about aftermarket wheels. 18x7 is going to be the narrowest 18" aftermarket wheel available. 225/60-18 is rated for mounting on 6.0 thru 8.0 inch rim widths. I would look for a 18x7.5 or 18x8 for that particular tire size, since there's a large wheel selection available in those sizes. Or go to a wider tire if desired as @surftoad mentioned.

 

[johnrm]

I have a machine gray 2018 CX-5 touring. I wanna downsize my wheels to 17” or 18” but I need some ideas for which ones to buy. I’ve been on tirerack for a few days. lol

I went the OE+ route and bought some take off cx 30 18 x 7.5 rims and installed 235/60/18s on my 20' machine grey AWD CX5. they're about .4" larger in diameter then the 19 equivalent but remain within the 3% deviation limit. Next step is plasti-dip the wheels flat black

 

[yrwei52]

but I thought OP was asking about aftermarket wheels. 18x7 is going to be the narrowest 18" aftermarket wheel available. 225/60-18 is rated for mounting on 6.0 thru 8.0 inch rim widths. I would look for a 18x7.5 or 18x8 for that particular tire size, since there's a large wheel selection available in those sizes. Or go to a wider tire if desired as @surftoad mentioned.

People can ignore “measuring rim width” when they’re looking for alternative tires and wheels with optional sizes. But car manufactures will follow “measuring rim width” matching tires and wheels. For optional sized 225/60R18 tire for CX-5, the measuring rim width is 6.5”. You could use any rim width within 6” ~ 8”, but 6.5” is the “designed width” for 225/60R18 tires. Wider wheels should get wider tires for the best performance. But suspension rubbing can be an issue. Both of my front struts have rubbing black marks even from stock 225/55R19 Toyo A23 tres.

“The measuring rim width is the industry standardized rim width upon which the tire must be mounted in order to confirm it meets its dimensional targets. Because the width of the rim will influence the width of the tire, a standard rim width for every tire size is assigned and must be used. This standardized measuring rim width allows all of the tires produced around the world to meet the same dimensional standards and therefore, be equivalent with regards to their physical size. The measuring rim width is sometimes referred to as the tire's "design rim width."”