What do I need to put wheels on my Mazda 3? HELP!!

[xTravis]

I've been looking at getting a set of wheels for my Mazda 3 hatch and have a few questions. Im going to go with either the xxr 521 or 527's in an 18. How wide can I go with the wheel? What size tires do I need? What's a good offset? What kind of suspension do I need? This is my daily driver and I just want to lower it a bit on a nice set of wheels. Any advice would be AWESOME!! Thanks!!

 

[magicka]

http://www.willtheyfit.com/ is a good place to start. Stock offset is 52.5mm, I believe. Width will be limited by the amount of work you're willing to do. The XXRs you're looking at are either 8.5" or 8.75", which is going to require that you roll, and probably pull, the fenders. If you're going to be lowering the car, you'll want adjustable rear camber arms as well. For those wheel widths, I'd suggest 235/40 or 245/40 tires.