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- Fredericton Canada
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- 2018 CX-5 GT
Same for me...19" for summer and 17" winters. My summers are Pirelli Scorpion AS +3's, and my winters are Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2's. Best tires, hands down!!!
On the fence...CX-5 20” wheels vs 19”
- Thread starter N7turbo
- Start date
Generally, smaller wheels tend to be lighter and can be stiffer, while offering space for a thicker sidewall for better grip and ride comfort. I find that a 55 sidewall seems to be the best balance between steering response and comfort. For a CX-5, I would stick to 17's. 18's are generous. 19's are foolish. 20's are... well. Useless.
N7turbo
2023 CX-5 2.5T
Hmm. I think 19s can look small on these cars sometimes. I think they're the minimum for a car this size if you care about balance, and apparently Mazda does, too. The CX-9 gets one more inch due to its size.
Regarding weight, see above. A larger wheel means a smaller, lighter tire. In my case the 20" setup is slightly lighter than the 19" set.
Regarding my personal experience driving five different CX-5s, I really don't recall any of my 17" cars riding that differently. Maybe a little If I'm straining my memory, but nothing about the ride jumped out at me when I made the trade. I can however confidently say that the current 19 inch set with the Toyo A36s handles worse--but that's a tire issue that will be resolved soon. Maybe they are artificially affecting my perception of the ride? I guess I'll find out soon when the Continentals are on.
Finally, we shouldn't refer to tires based only on aspect ratio. I'm going from 55 to 50 and the sidewall will stay virtually the same, at 4.8" vs 4.9". The reason the aspect ratio drops is because the tire gets wider from 225 to 245.
But I'll most likely stick with 19s because I really like the Forgestar CF5V and their 20" probably won't fit.
So gloss anthracite is probably the finish for me, but sometimes I think the black wheels look good and sort of menacing. Other times I don't care for them. I really think it depends on the lighting. In any case, black wheels really expose how your tires look in contrast (not in a good way).
Regarding weight, see above. A larger wheel means a smaller, lighter tire. In my case the 20" setup is slightly lighter than the 19" set.
Regarding my personal experience driving five different CX-5s, I really don't recall any of my 17" cars riding that differently. Maybe a little If I'm straining my memory, but nothing about the ride jumped out at me when I made the trade. I can however confidently say that the current 19 inch set with the Toyo A36s handles worse--but that's a tire issue that will be resolved soon. Maybe they are artificially affecting my perception of the ride? I guess I'll find out soon when the Continentals are on.
Finally, we shouldn't refer to tires based only on aspect ratio. I'm going from 55 to 50 and the sidewall will stay virtually the same, at 4.8" vs 4.9". The reason the aspect ratio drops is because the tire gets wider from 225 to 245.
But I'll most likely stick with 19s because I really like the Forgestar CF5V and their 20" probably won't fit.
So gloss anthracite is probably the finish for me, but sometimes I think the black wheels look good and sort of menacing. Other times I don't care for them. I really think it depends on the lighting. In any case, black wheels really expose how your tires look in contrast (not in a good way).
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- Fredericton Canada
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- 2018 CX-5 GT
Interesting...as I found the OEM Toyo's handled really well until they started to wear, which many agree wear out way too soon. Of course, I, like many others moved on to another longer lasting brand (like you will be doing) when replacements were due.
N7turbo
2023 CX-5 2.5T
Coming from the 17" Geolandars, I pretty quickly noticed the 19" A36's feel really squishy on the highway, in a way that if you quickly jerk the wheel, it feels like the front and rear of the car do not move in concert with each other. And, you feel the sidewalls giving when cornering at moderate speed, like the tires aren't holding their shape on the wheel. Yes, I have adequate tire pressure.
It really has me wondering what the car will feel like with the DWS06 Plus. I think they're going to be worlds apart.
Wheel choice and color look very good to my eye but yours is what matters. Note that the small brakes on the CX5 will not fill the wheel like image. As for your original question, many people will tell you how terrible it is to increase wheel size (fuel economy, ride comfort, etc.) but my experience has been great. I run the DW06's 255 on a 20x8.5 +40 wheel. I do live in North Carolina so harsh roads and conditions are not an issue. I used to live in New Jersey/New York and potholes would have been a concern. My wheel setup is lighter than OEM so no negative hit there. If the ride is stiffer than OEM, it's not by much. BUT, my confidence in cornering, rain, and stopping is much, much higher than with the stock 19" setup. Search through the "Show me your wheels" thread and you'll find that 20x8.5+40 is a standard, conservative setup with either 245 or 255s. My front is perfectly flush (no poke) and the rear could use a 5mm space to achieve the same flushness. Honestly, I'm still a little disappointed in the tire width. It still looks a bit narrow to me but much better that the skinny OEM legs. I wonder if a 9 inch wheel would have made a difference but I went the conservative route. Hope this helps.
N7turbo
2023 CX-5 2.5T
Which wheels are you running? I might have seen them; I did go through that thread. The best fitments seem to be 8.5" +45 with the DWS06 Plus, based on the fronts, of course. You will always have more room at the rear. I measured from the fenders with a weighted string and there's 20mm of width that can be added to the front and 25-30mm at the rear to get the tires flush. I figured with the DWS06 Plus being a more substantial tire in terms of the sidewall that I didn't want to push it. Note that I'm talking about the widest part of the tire sidewall, half way between the wheel and the tread.
I do have the option of 20×9, but that requires +51 to be equal, and I worry about rubbing on the inside. Your proposal would be 20×9 +46. I'll have a look and see if remember seeing your ride.
Edit: I found your post again. There does seem to be a very tiny amount of poke. As in, if you were to imagine lowering the car several inches, at what point on the tire would the fender touch?
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N7turbo
2023 CX-5 2.5T
The price is $240 vs $246. I was surprised, too
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N7turbo
2023 CX-5 2.5T
To each their own., I hate lowered cars…but those rims look great.
7eregrine
The man, the myth, the legend
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- Land of Cleve
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- 2016.5 CX5
Lol…it’s not the look I hate…it’s how they drive. Bought a lowered Saab once. Looked pretty good…and it cornered like a train on tracks…but man…Cleveland roads are not kind to cars with tight suspensions. I do want to feel the road…but I want my car to at least absorb some of the road.
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- Canada
Was that your only experience with a lowered car?
7eregrine
The man, the myth, the legend
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- Land of Cleve
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- 2016.5 CX5
Yes. And it was impressive, I will admit. I mean there was hardly any space between the wheel and the car. And I could put 1,000 pounds in the trunk and it wouldn't budge or scrape. And it did corner exceptionally well.
But man, that drive. And yes, I realize not all lowered cars are that bad, but being my only experience certainly soured me on the idea.
But man, that drive. And yes, I realize not all lowered cars are that bad, but being my only experience certainly soured me on the idea.
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- Canada
I understand why it did, but IMO, it shouldn't. There's more than one way to lower a car, and I think if you chose to do it, you would likely do it the right way for your preferences. Sounds like your experience was closer to the "extreme" end of lowering a car.
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- 2022 CX-5 Turbo
I did an apple to orange comparison.
Stand corrected.
The difference is about $5-10 from a few more comparisons.
N7turbo
2023 CX-5 2.5T
That's the tough part. There's no extra weight, and very little extra cost to going 20". The risk is that these wheels have to be custom ordered and made from a blank so if I'm not satisfied with them I may be SOL. I'm not quite convinced that a 20×9 wheel will fit flush so the safe option is 19×8.5. There's just that nagging feeling of what if 20×9 could work. Unfortunately I don't get to test this to confirm beforehand so I have but one shot at getting it right.
Edit: just took more measurements. Using the string method, the stock tires are 20mm inset from the fender edge (measured at the widest part of the tire sidewall). Therefore, 8.5" width with a 45 offset (unless you change tires! more on this later) is flush fitment. Especially if you correct camber after lowering.
Edit: just took more measurements. Using the string method, the stock tires are 20mm inset from the fender edge (measured at the widest part of the tire sidewall). Therefore, 8.5" width with a 45 offset (unless you change tires! more on this later) is flush fitment. Especially if you correct camber after lowering.
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N7turbo
2023 CX-5 2.5T
I've seen two setups pushing the boundaries:
20x9.0 +45
25mm less clearance to the inside and a 25mm increase to the outside. Slight poke out of the tire up front, I bet.
20x9.5 +40
This is pretty aggressive and certainly pokes out past the fenders. 27mm less inner clearance, and 37mm of increase to the outside. Owner's comment:
That might be the one you're thinking of.
So considering my 20x9.0 option (minimum width for this wheel), to mimic the above inner clearance but still be as close to flush as possible I would have to split the difference and do +48. That's 28mm less inside, 22mm more outside.
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