Tire size and Rims.

[Karma_hunden]

hey fellas, how yall doin? first time posting here.

I've a mazda III' 05 white sedan. I want to change the tires/rims. My current tires are 55Rs and they are 16s. For the tires, I want some good wide tires and low at the same time. A friend mentioned 225s and 50Rs should do it; however, I want to have it as wide as possible without rubbing or side friction with the sidewall. Will 225s do it? or could I go a bit more?

how bout the 50Rs? could i go 45Rs?

Are 19s a good idea? or should i go for 18s?

I dont know if I want to drop my car, still thinking about it. Where should I go for this?

Thank you in advance.

 

[goldwing2000]

First and foremost, welcome to the board.

Next, you should really, really, REALLY do a search on the forum. All this has been discussed at length at least a dozen times and there are numerous links to tire size calculators that will tell you exactly which sizes will be the same as stock.

Poke around for a while and if you still can't find the information you're looking for, then I'm sure we can point it out for you.

 

[Karma_hunden]

Ok, I did my research. I saw that many people said the 19s are not a good idea. So now Im thinkin on putting 225/45/18s...7.5'. Will the 7.5 rub? What if I go a bit lower to 40s?

What's an 'offset' btw?

Is it a good idea to drop your car? or do you get a lot of side-issues?

 

[goldwing2000]

225-45/18 will be too tall. You will have to go with a 225-40/18. Personally, I think even an 18" wheel is too big but that's me.

Offset explained.

The only side issue with lowering (so far) is that the rear camber goes WAY negative. It's correctable with Mazdaspeed rear camber links for about $250.

 

[goldwing2000]

If you're interested in a set of 18" wheels and tires for an excellent price, there's a set for sale here:
http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123625752

 

[Karma_hunden]

Thanks. Yesterday I bought a set of 17x7.5's rims. But not sure if I should get 45Rs or 40Rs. What do you think?

 

[goldwing2000]

Check these:

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2344532&postcount=16

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1589683&postcount=7

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1515834&postcount=19

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67967

 

[Karma_hunden]

I picked 45Rs. Although the 40Rs would've given me more acceleration, they would've made my rims propense to ground friction whenever I take a curve too fast/hard (worse if my tires are running a bit less on air than usual)...also, they would decrease my top speed. I'll stick to the 45Rs because they're the ones that come the closest to matchin the stock tires circum., revs/miles, diam./radius.

Thanks for the help.

 

[goldwing2000]

I'll stick to the 45Rs because they're the ones that come the closest to matchin the stock tires circum., revs/miles, diam./radius.

Good call. That is the most important deciding factor!