Need off-road wheels and tires - suggestions?

J

jtking

Member
:
Mazda 3, Mazda CX-9
Hello all,

I have a 2008 Mazda CX-9 GT purchased in mid '07. So far (withe the exception of warping rotors) we have been very happy for the 30,000 miles we have on the vehicle. But the kiddos are getting to camping age and we want to take the vehicle on dirt roads. Mainly we are looking for somethign with more sidewall than the stock 20" rims will give as well as a more durrable tire that will resist rock punctures.

Some Q's for those in the know:

1. Is there a cheap 17" rim that has proper off-set and will fit over the brak calipers? Something OEM Mazda is fine - if that's available and cheap.

2. If not, what is the cheapest way to get proper sized 18" rims?

3. What tire recommendations are there that will fit the wheelwell on a 17" or 18" rim?

4. What experiences have people had driving on rocky-dirt and washboard roads with the stock suspension?

5. Am I nuts?

BTW, I have done plenty of 4-wheeling with various jeeps and am well aware of the CX-9's chassis and break-over aangle limitations. My concern is avoiding damage to tires on the very rocky (although fairly flat) dirt roads common in the American Southwest.

Thanks in Advance!

JT
 
Where are you located? I am willing to trade you my stock 18" wheels and tires for your 20" wheels and tires. You will find more options and cheaper prices on all-terrain tires on 18" wheels then 20" wheels. I am located in San Bernardino, SOCAL.
 
Davicho said:
Where are you located? I am willing to trade you my stock 18" wheels and tires for your 20" wheels and tires. You will find more options and cheaper prices on all-terrain tires on 18" wheels then 20" wheels. I am located in San Bernardino, SOCAL.
Click to expand...

I guess I should fill out my profile (doh)

I am in Riverside, SoCal - but I am looking for an *additional* set of wheels and tires so I can swap them on for camp trips and switch back to mommy-waggon during the rest of the time.

JT
 
Ahh darn it..and you are so close to me...I work at Moss Bros in San Bernardino. You should convince the wifee to run 18" OEM Chrome alloys all the time....LOL!

If you change your mind, give me a holler.
 
So doing some research.... I am considering the following:

Mazda CX-7 18" factory alloys for wheels
Firestone Destination A/T in 265/60 R18

This gets me within 3 % of the original circumference of my 245/50/ R20's and an All Terrain style off-road tire.

The BIG QUESTION is, will the CX-7 wheels fit on my CX-9 GT considering they have a 45 offset instead of a 50 offset? Will they fit over my brake calipers?

TIA!

JT
 
CX-9 wheels have a 44mm offset while CX-7 wheels have a 50mm offset. The CX-7 wheels will be pushed back inside towards the hub by 6mm. You should still be fine. Or you can trade me for your 20" wheels and tires or buy my OEM 18" Chrome alloys with tires.
 
Davicho said:
CX-9 wheels have a 44mm offset while CX-7 wheels have a 50mm offset. The CX-7 wheels will be pushed back inside towards the hub by 6mm. You should still be fine. Or you can trade me for your 20" wheels and tires or buy my OEM 18" Chrome alloys with tires.
Click to expand...

LMAO (lol2). Persistence!!
 
jt,

Here is a link to an offset calculator:

http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp

I would recomend to measure the distance now from the rear of the spoke of your wheels to the brake caliper and subtract 6mm to see if the CX-7 wheel will clear for both front and rear. Front brake calipers tend to be bigger in size.

Also, you are going with a 265 series tire which is 20mm wider (10mm per side inner and outer) then the stock 245 series you have now. Which means you need to check for inner tire clearance to the inner body with 16mm less space (6mm for the diff. in offset and 10mm diff. in wider tire).

Hope this helps you a bit...
 
Davicho said:
jt,
...measure the distance now from the rear of the spoke of your wheels to the brake caliper... Also, you are going with a 265 series tire...you need to check for inner tire clearance to the inner body...
Click to expand...

Ok, So first nominal tire stats at the size I am looking at:

Tire Size-- S-wall Rad Diam Circ Rv/M %Dif
245/50-20 4.8in 14.8in 29.6in 93.1in 680 0.0%
265/60-18 6.3in 15.3in 30.5in 95.9in 661 2.9%

Now clearances measured at full lock:

Caliper Clearance
Back of front spoke to caliper = 15mm

Front Tire to Wheel Well Clearance
Inside leading edge to body = 25mm+
Inside trailing edge to body = 25mm+
Outside leading edge to body = 20mm

My only concern given the above nominal specs of the 265/60 R18 is that outside leading edge as it turns into the body. 3/4 inch is not much clearance for the stock 20" 245/50. According to the nominal specs that will shrink by nearly 1/2 inch. But tires are rarely "nominal". And aggressive All-Terrain off-road tires tend to have a bit extra rubber on them. I could see occasionally rubbing on the outside tire under loaded hard turn scenarios.

Anyone have any experience with pushing the wheel-well envelope like this?

JT
 
JT, I do not have personal experience with "all-terrain" tires on my CX-9, but I have had in the past a set of 32" BFGs All-Terrain tires on my Frontier and I know exactly what you mean by having extra rubber beyond the specified size, needless to say I had to do a little trimming on fender shields to make it clear at full lock.

Based on your measurements it looks like the CX-7 wheel should be no problem, your wheel to caliper clearance will decrease to about 9mm but you still should be fine. As far as tires size go however, I would try to stick to a 255 or even a 245 series all terrain tire just to keep your clearance when and if at full lock and suspension compression, without having to trim any fender liners or bumper cover.
 
Davicho said:
JT,...As far as tires size go however, I would try to stick to a 255 or even a 245 series all terrain tire just to keep your clearance ...
Click to expand...

Can't find a R18 AT tire in under 265/60. If I could fit 17" rims I have lots of options but 18's there are only a few sizes and they are all bigger.

I lost my auction for CX-7 rims anyhow (damn snipers!) so It's back to the drawing board.

JT
 
Were those CX-7 wheels on eBay that started at $250? Sorry to push it yet once again...but mine are still open if you wish...LOL!
 
Davicho said:
Were those CX-7 wheels on eBay that started at $250? Sorry to push it yet once again...but mine are still open if you wish...LOL!
Click to expand...
yah... was goign to give them a shot and would still take them at the final price but the sniper got me. 350+99 shipping seemed reasonable for a factory look on 18's.

I'd love to buy your wheels at that same price! :)

You can even keep the tires!

JT
 
Ok, got the rims... (thanks Davicho!). Next up is tires...

Basically it has come down to two options:
1. Nitto Terra Grappler AT (255/60-18) for $193 @
2. Firestone Destination AT (265/60-18) for $156 @

Since these are a second set I'd love to save the $150 + to go with the firestones, plus they have an additional .5 inches of sidewall. However, as per my previous posts I am a little worried about size and clearance especially with CX-7 rims on a CX-9.

Nominally both tires *should* fit, but practicalyl if the AT's are significantly taller than their specs suggest because of tread height the 265's might not fit.

Any thoughts?

JT
 
Firestone Destinations all the way!

1. Cheaper (affordable)
2. They look better
3. Less "meatier" rendering the little extra clearance you may need.
4. Lots of Jeeps (I have seen) have them, so performance should be at the very least adequate.
 
Yes, I realize I'm bumping a 6 year old post, but has anyone done this? OEM tires are almost due for replacement and I think some all-terrain tire would look bitchin. 255/60/18 or 265/60/18
 
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