wheel&tire experts chime in!

[zx2man]

whats the widest wheel tire combo can I run without rub on a ms3? id like to run 245 or 255 tires..what size wheel&offset would I need?

 

[CnoTataymo]

If you're using stock suspension, 18x8 with +50 offset with 245/40's would be a tight. Using 235/40 with the same wheel spec would probably be better.

 

[jam_asian85]

Ummm the widest I've seen so far is 17x9.5 ET38 255/40/17

 

[CnoTataymo]

Ummm the widest I've seen so far is 17x9.5 ET38 255/40/17

Yeah, that too but if you have passengers, for sure rub.

 

[jam_asian85]

Yeah, that too but if you have passengers, for sure rub.

How much fender rolling involved on these bad boys..if there not sold by end of october which im sure they will..Ill buy em.

This is from the user with the above mentioned wheel/tire combo.

all i had was my rear fenders rolled...not even all the way, just mild roll

i also had cobb rsb...everything else was stock on my car

absolutely NO RUBBING what so ever...yes thats right, no rubbing

the only time was when I hit a NASTY dip going REAL fast...of course, there shouldn't be any reason you should be going fast on streets with nasty dips like that....so you will not have to worry about anything

 

[kneedragger241]

I'm running 18x8 +50 with 245/40-18 Dunlop Direzza Z1 and I was rubbing like crazy, even at stock ride height!

I have about a 1/4" of clearance between the tire and the shock in the rear, so I don't think you can go in any further, and going out is only going to cause more rubbing.
I've rolled my fenders to the point where they are flat and I still get a little rubbing, but nothing that damages the tire anymore. I'm considering adding a degree of negative camber to alleviate the problem.

To be honest, my previous set of tires, 225/45-18 Bridgestone S-03 Pole Position, rubbed too.
There's not much room in there to go big.

 

[zx2man]

ouch!...hmmm..well I was thinking 18x8 tsw trackstar 50mm offset with 235/40/18 tires.

 

[Design]

whats the widest wheel tire combo can I run without rub on a ms3? id like to run 245 or 255 tires..what size wheel&offset would I need?

Without rolling your rear fenders...

18x8.5
+ (48-50) offset
225/40/18 (slight rub in the back under load)

On 245/40/18, you also might rub at full lock in front on the front inner fender lining. Depends on the section width of the tire in question.

These are great resources:
http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp
http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp

 

[CnoTataymo]

This is from the user with the above mentioned wheel/tire combo.

He had a mild fender roll and no passengers.

To make the 17x9.5 255/40's work best, you'd have to roll or pull the rears and have at least -2 camber or probably more.

 

[zx2man]

ok so im thinking of going 17x8 enkei rpf1 with 45 offset. I heard going with 235/45/17 tire would be best for gearing compared to stock. How would this combo work..if i go 17 I will do mild drop down the road=cobb or h&r springs.

 

[jam_asian85]

You'll be fine with that drop without even rolling your fenders.

 

[BulldogSRT]

I run 18 x 8 with a 45 offset and 235 40 tires. With the stock suspension it does rub. I normally don't have anyone in the back and at highway speeds it will rub when I hit a decent size rolling dip (like across certain intersections).

Just my two cents

 

[zx2man]

Thanks bulldog...would it help running a 235/45 tire? or 48-50mm offset?

 

[BulldogSRT]

A 235/45 would be worse since the tire would be taller. A 50mm offset would be better for clearance at the fender but I think (I do not know for sure) it might be getting close to the strut / shock.

 

[zx2man]

Understand..and thats what i thought with the 235 45 tire..just making sure. I want to have as much tire patch as I can without rubbing and hopefully with out fender rolling..so thinking of going with 18x8 from rota with 48mm offset or tsw trackstar 18x8 with 50 offset..then run a 235/40/18 tire and hope for the best lol.

 

[Design]

Understand..and thats what i thought with the 235 45 tire..just making sure. I want to have as much tire patch as I can without rubbing and hopefully with out fender rolling..so thinking of going with 18x8 from rota with 48mm offset or tsw trackstar 18x8 with 50 offset..then run a 235/40/18 tire and hope for the best lol.

That will definitely rub. 235/40/18 is almost as tall as 215/45/18. Any member who's gone wider will tell you that 225 is the limit due to a narrow rear wheel well. Not trying to discourage you, but that width has already been tested by many Mazda3/MS3 owners with the exact same result. One bad bump under load could rip up the tread real good.

If you're doing the Rotas at +48, stick with 225/40/18 or 215/45/18. 225/45/18 might work, but some members have reported a slight rub in the rear. All of them work well on an 8" rim and give plenty of sidewall protection.

 

[zx2man]

Thanks very much Design guess ill be rolling my fenders cause thats too skinny. 18x7 stock is horrible for a 263 fwd car..Im running right at 300 at the wheels and 320 tq...I need way more grip than these stock potenzas...was hoping to get away without rolling..but if this cars fenders is that pathetic then yep..roll time

 

[TwisteDcLoWn]

I'm on stock height riding on 18x8.5 +48 with 245/40/18. Rear rubs all the time.

 

[zx2man]

yeah not trying to go that aggressive..but I bet your setup looks very nice ...I just wanna go 18x8 with 235 tires and be fine..but if your gonna roll your fenders might as well make it worth it and go 8.5 or 9 inch wide lol.