Grand Turing with 17inch wheels

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icyblueyez

Member
Is it true that the 19 inch wheels cause a slightly less smooth ride compared to 17 inch wheels? What are the pros and cons?

I know 19 is standard on GT...if I don't want them can I get the dealer to put on 17inch ones?
 
I personally like the looks of the 19"
I find the ride ok with them

I have switched to winter tires with 16" steel rims for the time being and the ride is more quiet and feels slightly less firm.

If there are any differences, it is very slight and you wouldn't notice it unless you really focused onto it.
 
As jeremy44 said above the 19" have the looks and the ride is ok. I did 2 test drives, one with 17" and one with 19". I did these drives back to back over the exact same course (same bumps, same smooth roads, same potholes, same railroad tracks, same curves). The 19" were ok but nowhere near the ride comfort 17". You also have higher cost and limited availability with the 19" when replacement time comes. I was about to get a GT so I put up a post to see if anyone with 17" would trade and I suspected there were plenty. Also some responses claiming they were able to get the dealer to do the swap before they picked up the GT. It's actually profitable for the dealer. Who wouldn't want cool GT wheels on a non-GT. Then the 2.5 engine was announced and I decided to wait for it or possibly even the Forester now that it has been announced.
 
^As much as I would love the 2.5L engine, I would have to start all over again trying to buy at the release of the model - means less stock, less likely to haggle, etc. I'm just going to get a 2013 so I can get a deal.cfuel economy beats engine power anyway for me.

I think I'll ask the dealer to swap. I don't want a worse ride quality. But does it look weird? Is the body of the GT made for 19 inch wheels?

Btw what makes the forester compete with the cx-5? I didn't look at it much
 
I've driven both 17's and 19's. No difference in ride quality ( btw-major car mags said same )

The 19's look much better, have slightly better handling and steering feel. I required the 19's when buying.

Yes, the 19's (being larger diameter) are better integrated from style standpoint as intended in original concept car shown prior to release of CX-5.
 
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Same body, wheels don't look weird. In fact when you take into account both the wheel and tire the overall diameter is about the same for 17" and 19" (within .2"). You just get more tire with the 17" which is better for the ride and better protection for the wheel should you hit a pothole. As far as the Forester goes it's all new for 2014 with Febuary order taking with March delivery. It's probably not a good idea for me to pitch Forester pros and cons on a CX-5 thread so I will just provide the Motor Trend link and leave it at that:
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests...u_forester_prototype_quick_drive/viewall.html
 
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To my trained eye anything smaller than 19's look too small on cX-5 ( classified as compact SUV, close in size to mid-sized SUV ) . 19's are better proportioned to vehicle in question. I'm talking about wheel diameter, not tire diameter. When I see CX-5's on street with 17's I immediatly notice wheels look undersized.
 
18" wheels would have been a better compromise, and would provide more tyre choices.

In the UK to fit a 17" wheel set, to replace the standard 19" wheels fitted to a sport, would cost over 700 EXTRA.
 
xtrailman said:
18" wheels would have been a better compromise, and would provide more tyre choices.

In the UK to fit a 17" wheel set, to replace the standard 19" wheels fitted to a sport, would cost over 700 EXTRA.
Click to expand...

yes 18" wheels would have been great. You can get 16/17/18" on the nissan qashqai so 17/18/19 on the maz would have been nice as it's a bit bigger than the Nissan. May have to go aftermarket if nothing decent at a reasonable price turns up on mazda's website.

Also I would have preferred less spokes to the wheels as they are easier to clean :) - changed the alloys on my wife's car because they were corroded(and she needed 4 new tyres) from 5x2 spoke to 5 spoke - reckon I save 5 mins a wheel compared to cleaning the old wheels.
 
I think the stock 19s are better tires than the stock 17s (take a look at reviews on tire rack). I also thought about switching down to 17s for ride comfort but i am glad I did not as the 19s are quiet, smooth and wearing well after 10,000 miles. If you change the size up one notch to 235R19s you get a lot more choices for less expensive tires for replacement with very little change to the speedometer etc.
 
Agreed w/gaxibm, I have 12K miles on 19's, with little visible wear, low noise, good comfort and handling.

Choices of 18's and 19's (instead of 17's) would have been nice. Mazda spec'ed and designed-in plenty of sidewall, more than competition, that's why the OEM 19 is a tall 55 series tire (versus a 45 series tire on Escape w19's).
 
Wouldn't trade the 19's for anything smaller. Ok tires are going to be $50-75 more per tire but that's fine, spending an extra $200-300 every 5 years or so is no big expense. I noticed in addition to Toyo A23 and the Kumho Solus tires available for the 19" wheels Goodyear Assurance has been added n Tirerack as well. The Goodyears have a treadwear rating of 600 compared to 300 that the Toyo A23 has at $69 less per tire as well. Just incase people were looking at it from a budget or tire availability point of view.
 
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Good info on 2 additional/new tires already available in stock 19" size. Thanks gio26nj.

I remember the worrying and moaning and groaning about the unique 19" sizing, and how we would supposedly be stuck with only one tire brand / model, etc. And here we are just a few months later with 3 good tire choices. By the time I actually need tires in a few years there will be even more choices. Non problem.
 
Funny I had a car in the 80's that had 17 inch wheels. Couldn't get tires anywhere for it except from Finland (Nokian) or some almost tractor-like tires from Russia (to be fair it was a Lada 4x4) Times sure have changed! I have the 17" on my CX-5 and agree that even though the overall diameter doesn't look much different, the wheel portion is noticeably smaller that the 19" and almost makes the entire wheel look undersized for the vehicle. However, ride/comfort is excellent. I never got to try a 19" so I can't say if I would have preferred them. I'm thinking when it is time to replace the factory tires of using the 17" wheels for my snow tires and up-sizing to 18" or 19" for my summer tires. Get the best of both worlds that way. Around here we really should only be running snows from about Nov1st to March 1st.
 
Just bought a Touring with 17" wheels yesterday. If the dealer won't trade for 17"s (mine wouldn't for 19"s) I will trade you straight up, and pay the shipping both ways :). PM if you are interested.
 
going from my old venza with 20s the cx5's 19 already seems a little small LOL. loving the handling so far though.
 
For the first time today i could compare the looks of the 17/19 inch wheels side by side.

I have to say the 17" wheel looks at odds with the car compared to the 19".

I think Mazda should dump the 17" for 18", it would look far better, IMO.
 
xtrailman said:
For the first time today i could compare the looks of the 17/19 inch wheels side by side.

I have to say the 17" wheel looks at odds with the car compared to the 19".

I think Mazda should dump the 17" for 18", it would look far better, IMO.
Click to expand...

yes, it was such an obvious option to me , can see why they didn't offer 18". I've only recently replaced the stock wheels that were on my other half's daihatsu due to wear and tear and the car has been transformed.

I'll be looking for five or six spoke 18" replacements when the tyres are due for replacement. Cleaning 10 spoke or 5x2 spoke wheels is not fun. That is the only aspect of cx-5 ownership i'm not looking forward too, cleaning the alloys :(
 
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