I can buy 2 new tires for the amount I would spend on that book :dodgy:
Good find though......
Wheel & Tire Options
- Thread starter chuyler1
- Start date
I can buy 2 new tires for the amount I would spend on that book :dodgy:
Good find though......
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- 2007 Mazdaspeed 6 Sport
You can come to a point where you spread the weight of the vehicle too greatly across the contact surface, actually inhibiting grip. I know this from my experience with Pro Street V8 setups. Having a fully tubbed out truck with tires that are 20" wide may look cool, but anyone with experience trying to make a race car/truck grip will laugh at that knowing how much additional weight, drag, and reduced grip that person has just paid for.
My advice is to stick with the manufacturer's initial wheel size and try to improve on the following:
Find a tire (OEM size or maybe 225/45ZR18 max) that fits your needs better
Find a wheel (OEM size) that you like the looks of better, but is lighter
If you're going to the strip:
- Find a set of 15" or 16" wheels that weigh as little as possible (reduce unsprung weight)
- Pick up a set of street slicks for those wheels
- Use semi-truck scales and manipulate your coil-over suspension to achieve as close to a 50/50 weight distribution as possible
InlineTwin
Member
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- Mazdaspeed6
As far as wheel load is concerned, which affects your contact patch, use the max vehicle weight and divide by 4. That is the target weight for the static WRL (wheel rated load). Tire rack calls it max load on the tire spec sheets. The closer to the WRL the better contact area the tire will have and the happier you will be with performance.
Aircraft tires have lots of rubber, and they run at very low WRL and have speed ratings higher than street cars can get, starting at 190mph on light jets. Trust me, a great deal of effort went into saving weight and maximizing performance and it is obvious from looking at various aircraft fatter is not better. Taller and lots of rubber to optimize WRL is the lightest and most effective. And aircraft don't just go straight. Most load is generated when turning onto the taxiway. Aircraft are rated minimally at 0.5g lateral load, but it is a load far exceeding that of a small vehicle on tires of about the same size. (or smaller for a light jet)
Aircraft tires have lots of rubber, and they run at very low WRL and have speed ratings higher than street cars can get, starting at 190mph on light jets. Trust me, a great deal of effort went into saving weight and maximizing performance and it is obvious from looking at various aircraft fatter is not better. Taller and lots of rubber to optimize WRL is the lightest and most effective. And aircraft don't just go straight. Most load is generated when turning onto the taxiway. Aircraft are rated minimally at 0.5g lateral load, but it is a load far exceeding that of a small vehicle on tires of about the same size. (or smaller for a light jet)
Well most of us here aren't going for racing with our "daily" drivers... and having a 15 or 16 inch wheel in these cars wheel wells would look out of palce IMO. I've seen people with 19s, but I prefer the factory OEM 18"s for the Mazdaspeed6. And I've seen a few wheels I've liked that weigh anywhere from 15 to 18 lbs per wheel (over the MS6 factory 24 lbs), but at the benefit of the weight, they also cost a pretty penny. So most people just go for looks.
But thanks for the advice, I can definitely use that when I get to building the E30 that's waiting for me to get my hands on it (thumb)
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- 2007 Mazdaspeed 6 Sport
E30's are nice! I had a pretty tricked out '90 E30 about 10 years ago. Damned thing had close to 285hp. That inline 6 is a great platform to work from. Those cars are a top performer for handling for their generation. I wish you luck with that project. Makes me jealous and miss my old one at the same time.
petemc53555
Member
16" mazda3 steels on a MS6?
Looking forward to winter and drifting the MS6 a bit. Can I fit 16" steels over the calipers?
TIA
Pete
Looking forward to winter and drifting the MS6 a bit. Can I fit 16" steels over the calipers?
TIA
Pete
kris808mazda
Member
would 17x7, 5x114.3+42mm on 215/45-17 tires with no drop rub at all?
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new tires are smaller in all dimensions than stock, offset is within the range on the first post, you should be fine.
that sounds pretty close to the stock protege mp3 wheels that i'm using for winters.
ok.. ive been looking at rims for my MS6 and i really cant find any aftermarket rims that are 215-45-R18. ive found a bunch that are 225-45-R18. Does that mean i have to get a tire with the same specs? and will that work on the car??.. i dont understand what is acceptable with the wheel dimension compared to the tires dimensions.
I'm currently running 225/45R18 on 18x8" rims. You can do it, but it is important to have the right offset. With the wrong offset and a lowered suspension you risk rubbing, but every tire is slightly different. My Pirelli 225/45s are narrower than my previous continental 225/40s.
amilliems6
Member
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- MazdaSpeed6
im running 225/40 with stock suspension on stock wheels.
so far so good.
After i just read this, i wish i went with 235's
so far so good.
After i just read this, i wish i went with 235's
I'm running 235/40/18 on the stock wheels... been doing so for a year and 4-5 months now. I love the look and the feel of the grip, but that's just me. I'm now looking for rims to get for my baby (naughty)
I should probably throw in that I'm also lowered 2 inches and not rubbing (although if you put your hand under you'll feel that it's close and either a wider rim or a 245 tire would definitely rub in the rear).
amilliems6
Member
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- MazdaSpeed6
man ur lucky. wider tires are sexy and that pic from that back with ur tires looking ****** hawt.
What tires did you get btw?
Well I had 2... first I had Falken FK-452s..... and then I had to spend a bunch of money on some crap (like bills and moving)... time came for new tires and I didn't have too much left so I went semi-cheap, heh.
Right now I'm rolling on Nexen N3000s (they're not bad, really good grip, awesome wet grip too, but the road noise is a bit much)... and I'm probably going to need new tires in about 3 months, which I'll try to switch back to the Falken FK-452 since I loved those.
amilliems6
Member
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- MazdaSpeed6
Honestly?
I drive too much, and too spirited.... I travel about 100-120 miles a day (this is counting going too and from work and all the driving I do outside work, heading to friend's/family's houses, stores, etc). Most of it is work mileage [which figures about 80-90 to and from work].
I'm also a bit of a spirited driver, I like the twisties, there's some back roads down here in SOUTH south florida that I enjoy driving around.
What I need is a closer job
kris808mazda
Member
what about 18X7.5 5-114.3 43mm on 225/45-18 tires with no drop? would it rub? seen someone claim it doesnt but i want to make sure.
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this is so confusing.
has anyone had any problems rubbing on the inner side of the wheel well? like the strut housing of anything?
&
i got a two inch drop all around right now.
anyone on here try running an 18x8 +37 wheel with 225/40/18 tire?
is this possible with rolled fenders?
has anyone had any problems rubbing on the inner side of the wheel well? like the strut housing of anything?
&
i got a two inch drop all around right now.
anyone on here try running an 18x8 +37 wheel with 225/40/18 tire?
is this possible with rolled fenders?
With an offset like that you need to worry about the calipers as well, you don't want your rims hitting that while you're driving. What kind of car? I know I've heard of SOME running a +38 offset on the Speed6.
