17" alloy wheels

[mandplango]

The 2010 5's 17" alloy wheels seem to get bent pretty easily. Rather than pay $541 for one to get bent again I thought to change to smaller wheel and higher profile tire. I know they don't look as cool. Notice how the 2012 Mazda5 offers a 16" wheel with P205/55R16s; Maybe they figured out that the P205/50R17 is just too delicate? Also looks like the 2012 5's alloy wheels are beefier than the 2010's.

So I was thinking to replace the 17"ers on my 2010 with the 16"ers from the 2012. That would give the nice look. But I was wondering if they are making the alloy wheels any stouter now. For 30 years I've had steel wheels and tires with a reasonable sidewall and had no problems. So I was thinking about getting a P195/60R16 wheel with taller sidewalls; it is only 0.56% off in terms of outside diameter, actually closer to the 17" combo O.D. than the P205/55R16. But is a bit skinnier.

Anyone put P195/60R16s on a Mazda5?

 

[Heat]

From page 22 of this thread:

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123655878-Mazda5-Wheel-Fitment-amp-Photo-Guide/page22

The red Mazda5 is mine, it is an '09 Sport.

The first guy got his wheels from Tire Rack, I got mine from Discount Tire. Both of our tires are 205/55R16 which is the stock snow tire size for the vehicle, with 16" rims. Don't spend $350 or $450 per rim from the Mazda dealer, buy a nice alloy aftermarket for between $90 and $110 per rim.

Smoother ride, cheaper tires (about $30 per tire), and more tire choices.

 

[jibwagon]

and as an FYI, i use a 205/60 16 as my winter tires with no issues.

 

[thaxman]

195s vs 205s:

Less rubber on the road, so...
Better gas mileage (a smidge - don't use that as your decisionmaker)
longer braking distance (cheaper tires also increase braking distance regardless of size, so keep that in mind)
lower load capacity (also a smidge)

 

[flatlander937]

I hate to kinda derail... but do you guys happen to know the weight of the OEM 17x6.5s on the Mazda5? I'll be needing a second set of wheels for auto-x in stock class for my 3 and I'm limited to that specific size wheel.

Also: One point of skinnier tires is that they generally are awesome in rain and snow. Skinny tread pattern cuts through pooled water/powder and gets right down to the road surface/packed snow. I ran 33x10.50s on my Jeep back when it was closer to stock(ha), they do just SO well in adverse conditions compared to the same tire in 12.50" width. If you ever look at expedition-based vehicles(not Ford Expedition... like travel into the jungle for months expedition) and they will all have tall skinny tires.

That said, I kinda have my doubts that 195 vs 205 will be a big enough difference to notice.

Lower profile and wider tires generally like to wander and grab imperfections in the road a lot quicker/harsher than skinnier or taller sidewall tires.


My $0.02.

 

[mandplango]

I appreciate the words of wisdom. I'm putting off getting the new wheels for a few thousand more miles. My OEM Toyo tires will be done then anyway. The road vibration from the bent wheels kicks in at 45 mph mostly. Going slower or faster than 45 is my coping strategy at the moment. I was amazed at how bent they were though just from jacking them up and spinning them by hand in my garage. I was disappointed with the dealer not being able to quantify how bent they were when I brought them in to review for warranty items though.

 

[golftango]

Yep, I went to the 16" wheel from the '12:

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123799564

 

[phunky.buddha]

What are you hitting to bend them so easily? There are a LOT of cars on the road with 25" tires mounted on 17" wheels. Have you thought about using 215/50-17 tires to get some additional sidewall without giving up the 17" wheel?

 

[mandplango]

I put four P195/60R16s on. Rims were $150 each from TireRack, got a nice set of Yokohama tires with a 740 treadware 10/32" deep tread for $125 apiece. UPS delivered them to my door all mounted and balanced. TPMS light came on soon enough, I will probably get them moved over to the new tires when I get them rotated. The P195s had the same load rating as the stock P205s. The ride is a bit smoother, but not dead quiet or anything. I will probably keep one of the old 17" wheels as a full size spare and find a home for the other three. One is bent pretty bad when I spin it up on the jack, but the others look reasonable to my eye. Not sure how to quantify "bentness", but I hope to never have it again now that I have more air and rubber between me and the potholes.

 

[flatlander937]

You should take it to a wheel repair place and see if it can be fixed. I've seen some nasty wheels get saved by shops that know what they're doing. I have personal experience w/ Rim Works in Dayton(www.rimworksltd.com) as I work at a dealer and have to send them out to get repaired occasionally. There was an $800 Aston Martin wheel that was 3/8" out of round... came back smooth as can be. Usually cost to repair is $150 to $200 for walk in customers. It's on a case by case basis though so give them a call(or anyone else locally to you to avoid shipping) and see what they can do. No sense in getting rid of a good set of factory wheels... or you can have them repaired and sell for more $$ depending on cost to repair vs market cost of factory wheels.

 

[mandplango]

The dealer wanted $541 each for the 17" new Mazda OEM wheels. That's what got me going down the path. I could have taken the "M" center cover out of the bent OEM wheels and put it in my new twenty spoke Borbet wheels but chose not to. I'll call the local Indy wheel straightener and see if they might be interested in buying them from me, straightening them, and then reselling them. I'm not real interested in investing more in the 17" (cause I am assuming that my new 16" will never get bent). My wife drove 25,000 miles on the 17" and never hit anything. Two days after I change out the wheels she scrapes the new 16" rear on a curb taking a corner. So it goes.