Which wheel to use?

Jack Rabbit

Banned
:
18 Mazda CX5 AW
Looking to downsize to a 16" rim on CX5 non-turbo so could get extra sidewall
and maybe lose some more un-sprung weight.

Was going to downsize to old Mazda tribute 5-spoke wheels similar in offset, centerbore, etc. to the cx5. Cheap and can be found under $100 each but the weight is still a heavy 25 lbs. Should hold up for off-road or any highway bumps/potholes, etc. They are equal in weight to my 17" BBS wheels.

Am having trouble locating all manufacturer info to compare wheels,
especially whether gravity cast, low-pressure cast, or tilt cast form flow. Some just say "cast" without specifying which type.

It also appears that there are very few if any comments or reviews on the web.

However, have narrowed down six choices that appear to go well with the Machine Gray. Have attached screenshots below. Any suggestions for which one to choose?
Volks are too $$$ and none of the Enkei's( incl the RFP1's) went well with the machine gray.

Does anyone have any bad experiences and or any preferences with any of the manufacturers below ?

Alutec(Rial)
Konig
American Racing
Radius
Liquid Metal
Montegi
 

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Ok. Think have decided the Montegi for the looks.
Its only low pressure cast(The BBS are pressure cast as well)
and not flow-formed like some of the Enkei wheels.

Will get me to 16 inch rim and lose weight.
The offset will go from stock 45 mm to 40 mm.
and it will change my track and scrub radius slightly
out from stock.

It is only a small change but has anyone run the
montegi(or other wheel) with 40 offset and how
is the performance/handling affected, if at all ??

Below is the diagram of the difference.
 

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Ok. Think have decided the Montegi for the looks.
Its only low pressure cast(The BBS are pressure cast as well) and not flow-formed like some of the Enkei wheels.

Will get me to 16 inch rim and lose weight.
The offset will go from stock 45 mm to 40 mm.
and it will change my track and scrub radius slightly
out from stock. Looks like it will change scrub radius by 3 mm. which will push the scrub by +3.
Does anyone know the mazda cx5 oem scrub radius andi f it's zero or negative ?

It is only a small change but has anyone run the
montegi(or other wheel) with 40 offset and how
is the performance/ handling affected, if at all ?

Below is the diagram of the difference.
 

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I think the Motegi look the best too, and also easiest to clean.
Yeah.. for those with soul red or white car, the Montegi with red strip looks really well. But the black goes better in the machine gray. The alutec 5 spoke grays we're a close 2nd.
 
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Okay looked all over the internet and looked all over the Mazda cx5 19" rim made in Japan... no rim max load rating anywhere on the rim unless I'm missing it.

So fast math, the gvwr = 4670 lbs. So each wheel needs to load at least 1168 lbs. bare minimum. So appears most of the konig, Montegi and Enkei wheels are load rated at at least 1500 lbs and up. Even the Enkei form flow has only a 1519 lb rating... seems a little low but ...
at least they appear to be more than adequate.
To be more accurate the front axle is approx 2400 and rear axle 2200. So the front would be about a 1200 load and rear 1100 load. Again fast math.

Still would be nice to know the OEM wheel load rate though.

The load rate in the Firestone tires will be 1984 lbs.. would be nice to have the rims rated close to that but it's only a cx5 daily driver so not gonna output that kinda $$$ for rims.
 
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So still don't have 16" rims

Had found a set of BBS SR gray rims with offset 45 that were $1200 on Tirerack.

Then got lucky & found them elsewhere for only $650 which was just slightly more than the Montegi 116 rims with offset 40.

The BBS SR were backorder til February.
Well now the rims are going to be almost $1200 on backorder so that's cancelled. Cancelled for now but still on list.

Choices are now :

Montegi 116 with ET40 for approx $520

BBS SR Grays ET 45 for approx $1150

Used Mazda Tribute ET 45 - approx $300
(Decent but still scuffed rims from junkyard)

The Montegi's with ET40 and 235 70r16 tires will throw scrub radius off by + 3mm. Would have had to go to 245's to keep the OEM scrub radius but already bought tires and was tryin to keep the tire diameter near/close to OEM specs.

Am thinking of either going with the Montegi's for looks
or
just junkyard Mazda tribute rims for the OEM offset.

Attached are pictures of Montegi, BBS and Mazda Tribute rims
as well as the Firestone Destination AT2 tires showing the tread pattern.

Does anyone think the BBS rims look good enough to justify the price and keep the mazda oem offset?
 

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Just go with the Motegi wheels or the Tribute wheels. The Motegis have a nice, clean design, but the Tribute wheels look great for an OEM offering, and I think they look more "offroady" than the Motegis.
 
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The prices I've paid for junkyard steel wheels has averaged around $15@.
Yeah steelies are cheap.

It's cost/benefit.

For the tribute rims

Substandard high mileage alloys that are beat-up are
$ 40 to $60.

Decent high mileage alloys are $75 to $100 but still might have some scratches, chips, etc.
At the point paying $100 or more for used high mileage rims, might as well get new sleek aftermarket.

If doing the used tribute alloys, am trying to stay in the $60 to $80 range if can find some decent ones.

Sometimes you can get refinished on eBay for $75 to $100 depending.

Now for Mazda 3 rims, cx5 rims, or other nice alloys the prices are even higher...like $100 to $200 or more for decent rims. At that point I'm getting BBS rims or Enkei.

Also they didn't go with my machine gray but may look great with red, white or possibly black Mazda:
the Enkei rfp1 at 13.7 lbs for 16 inch @ $230
or
konig backbone @ 15.2 lbs for 16 inch @ $114

I would've got the konig's if they had looked good with the machine gray..
supposedly low pressure cast(this needs verified), low weight and low price.

The konigs have to be low weight in the 17 class too.

The enkei rfp1 are really low weight and
flow-formed but $$$.
 
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Rpf1’s are inexpensive wheels. You aren’t going to get lightweight wheels for cheap money unless you scour Craigslist and Facebook marketplace hourly. Deals for good wheels go really fast.
You always get what you pay for. Cheap wheels are cheap for a reason. Forged wheels will last the life of the car or longer. Don’t focus so much on precisely how wheels are cast. The differences aren’t much in reality. Cast wheels are either heavy or brittle. From your list I would go with Konig or American Racing because both brands have been around a long time so they are doing something right.
 
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Rpf1’s are inexpensive wheels. You aren’t going to get lightweight wheels for cheap money unless you scour Craigslist and Facebook marketplace hourly. Deals for good wheels go really fast.
You always get what you pay for. Cheap wheels are cheap for a reason. Forged wheels will last the life of the car or longer. Don’t focus so much on precisely how wheels are cast. The differences aren’t much in reality. Cast wheels are either heavy or brittle. From your list I would go with Konig or American Racing because both brands have been around a long time so they are doing something right.
Agree. Thanks for the suggestion...it is sound advice.

Was able to take everyone's suggestions into consideration and read forum boards, reviews and researched all the products of interest.

Looked at the RFP1's but problem is they don't go with the machine gray.

Machine gray is very cool looking color but very hard to find wheels that play well with it.

For those considering car color choices... White, red or black vehicles give you an almost unlimited selection of wheels that would look great. Not so much with machine gray.

Agree that forged is great.
That's all my friend runs on his track car. However, Volks and Braid rims just not worth it at this time as vehicle is mostly daily driver, limited Offroad and not a track car. These would be my first choice if off-roading the vehicle alot.

While agree that Konigs have been around and seem well made...the
Enkeis and Konigs just don't play well with the gray. Not too much does. These would have been 2nd choice due to lightweight.

American Racing rims, as well as some $$ Offroad brands(Mayhem, Black Rhino, KMC) have some rims that look great but the offset is too low(Zero offset, 0, +12, +30, etc) . These would have been great if they had high positive offsets(et40, 42, 45, 47) in the styles/colors I liked to match machine gray. But they seem to cater to sport(American Racing) or dedicated Offroad vehicles(KMC, Rhino). Someone with different color car(red,white,black) looking for 17" or larger wheels may find rims they like from above companies.

BBS has rims that look good in close comparable offsets to OEM (et45). And current 17" BBS SX silver on my car are strong as ... And look great! But the 16" BBS SR gray's just seem to be lacking.

After looking at everything as a whole, will be getting the Montegi rims(which are low pressure cast) and then going to junkyard to look at Mazda 5-spoke rims that can refinish at leisurely pace. The used rims will take alot of work but hopefully look great when finished.

If the Montegi's crack/break, will be sure to come back and post for others. But appears several others on boards have run different style Montegi's without problem. Plus will have a very high sidewall which should cushion the rim alot, so as long as load rating holds up.

Thanks to everyone who responded with advice/suggestions.

From research, it appears
Volks, Braids, Enkei, Konig, BBS, American Racing, KMC, and Black Rhino are quality wheels/rims). The Montegi's don't have alot of posts either way. Few reviews could find seem to be mostly positive.

Others with different color Mazdas( red, white, black, etc.) that are running larger wheels(17 inch to 22 inch) may find it easier to find Enkei, Konig, BBS, American Racing or a good Offroad manufacturer rims they like.

Avoid gravity cast cheap alloy wheels($) that are usually heavy and if advertised as light means it may fall apart.
* For cheap and strong, just get a steel rim instead.

Get low pressure cast($$) or flow formed($$$) alloys for best value.

and forged($$$$) alloys for lightweight, heavy duty.
 
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Motegi has been around for a while, I'm sure they'll do the job. What colour are you going to get?

Capture.JPG


If your budget would have allowed for it, RPF1s or another comparable Enkei wheel would have been my first choice - colour can easily be changed with a few cans of spray paint and an afternoon or two.

EDIT: If you're eventually going to end up with refinished OEM Mazda wheels, why not skip out on the Motegis and just put that money towards having a shop refinish them?
 
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Ok, winter project, buy used alloys, degrease, strip, sand and paint them.

Am going to test one out that I have to see how looks

Paints narrowed down to :
Classic Argent Silver
Hammered Matte Black
Gunmetal Gray
Oil Rubbed Bronze

Not sure which one will go best with the machine gray

maybe the argent or the bronze ?
 

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Motegi has been around for a while, I'm sure they'll do the job. What colour are you going to get?

View attachment 304693

If your budget would have allowed for it, RPF1s or another comparable Enkei wheel would have been my first choice - colour can easily be changed with a few cans of spray paint and an afternoon or two.

EDIT: If you're eventually going to end up with refinished OEM Mazda wheels, why not skip out on the Motegis and just put that money towards having a shop refinish them?
was going to get the mr116 matte black with machined edge.

Excellent idea. Might check into having someone else redo them.

I'm still gonna have to test one out to see what color goes best... might just keep coating with different colors til get best one then it will become the spare.
 
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I'm a fan of bronze on machine grey. But my wheels are a "satin bronze" standard finish from Vossen, and they're a much brighter/yellower bronze than the oil rubbed bronze in your picture. There are a few photography websites/forums where you can request photoshop edits - might be useful in deciding which colour to go with without having to paint them yourself first.
 
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I'm a fan of bronze on machine grey. But my wheels are a "satin bronze" standard finish from Vossen, and they're a much brighter/yellower bronze than the oil rubbed bronze in your picture. There are a few photography websites/forums where you can request photoshop edits - might be useful in deciding which colour to go with without having to paint them yourself first.
Yeah.... Like bronze but trying for the subdued look.

Black just disappears & looks awful on machine gray.
Certain grays just blend in too much and look like one big block.
Silver and bronzes stand out too much.

The oil bronze seems a little darker and subdued but still stands out.
and
The argent silver contrasts but not too much.
 
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