Why 19" Wheels

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Rich 65

Member
:
2009 6 GT, 2014 CX-5 GT
LOve my GT. Unfortunately it only comes with 19" wheels. I know all the car makers are doing the same, not just Mazda. Other than looks (which is very subjective), is there any advantage to 19" wheels? I don't even want to think about what 4 new tires will cost me when they need to be replaced. I rotated my wheels this last weekend and I almost busted a nut
lifting those suckers.
 
The larger wheel allows for a smaller sidewall on the tire if you maintain a similar circumference. This reduces the sidewall flex which improves handling. There is also the look factor in that larger wheels simply look better. The downside is a slightly firmer ride and the tires tend to be more expensive. If you want 17" wheels I'm sure you can easily swap with someone who would love to have 19's.
 
Looks first, handling improvement second (in that order) is my opinion on what motivated Mazda to put the 19's on CX-5 GT.

And now that we have seen the popularity of GT's since introduction in 1st quarter of 2012, I think it was the right choice with nice revenue/profit for Mazda. I've driven both Touring and GT versions of CX-5, and like the major magazines I found little difference in actual ride/handling between the 2.
 
I personally would not buy a CX-5 without the 19" wheels. The 17" wheels just don't fill out the wheel wells enough for me. For me, it all came down to looks...
 
Why 19

CX-SV said:
Looks first, handling improvement second (in that order) is my opinion on what motivated Mazda to put the 19's on CX-5 GT.

And now that we have seen the popularity of GT's since introduction in 1st quarter of 2012, I think it was the right choice with nice revenue/profit for Mazda. I've driven both Touring and GT versions of CX-5, and like the major magazines I found little difference in actual ride/handling between the 2.
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So If I don't care about looks (personally, I don't find bigger to be better) the handling difference between 17's and 19's is negligible? Swapping my 19's for 17's sounds like an option when I am ready for new tires. BMW puts 17's on the X1 so handling can't be too bad.
 
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dougal said:
I personally would not buy a CX-5 without the 19" wheels. The 17" wheels just don't fill out the wheel wells enough for me. For me, it all came down to looks...
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same here... If The GT came with 17" I would have gone aftermarket 19-20 and kept the stock 17" for winter.

mazda should have made the offset and width of 19" something like 45 offset and 8 inch width. this would have made it even more of a looker.
Darker metal gray wheels would have been awesome also.
 
Rich 65 said:
So If I don't care about looks (personally, I don't find bigger to be better) the handling difference between 17's and 19's is negligible? Swapping my 19's for 17's sounds like an option when I am ready for new tires. BMW puts 17's on the X1 so handling can't be too bad.
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That's right, handling difference is minor on CX-5.

Your styling preferences (or lack of if "don't care about looks") would not be the norm but that's certainly okay and subjective.

The stock 17" tire would be a downgrade from the stock 19" tire (plenty of info on that here discussing noise and wear). Selling the 19" wheels/tires should be reasonably lucrative with decent demand.
 
dougal said:
I personally would not buy a CX-5 without the 19" wheels. The 17" wheels just don't fill out the wheel wells enough for me. For me, it all came down to looks...
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Agreed, I required 19's (and leather, Bose, moonroof, nav).
 
Thanks CX-SV. As far as wheels go, my priorities are handling, comfort and looks last. In my opinion, filling up the wheel well does not equate to better looks.
 
Rich 65 said:
Thanks CX-SV. As far as wheels go, my priorities are handling, comfort and looks last. In my opinion, filling up the wheel well does not equate to better looks.
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Given your priorities above listed in order of importance, "handling, comfort and looks last", probably best to consider sticking with 19's and stock Toyo tires because they are better in terms of handling and comfort (comfort including both ride harshness and road noise, both when tires are new and when they are well worn). They are simply better and more expensive tires.
 
CX-SV said:
Given your priorities above listed in order of importance, "handling, comfort and looks last", probably best to consider sticking with 19's and stock Toyo tires because they are better in terms of handling and comfort (comfort including both ride harshness and road noise, both when tires are new and when they are well worn). They are simply better and more expensive tires.
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Than what? This isn't another subjective comparison between stock Toyos and Yokohamas is it? I thought that issue was pretty much put to bed by the poll here (which I can't locate) that indicated there was virtually no difference in satisfaction between the two. I for one am perfectly happy with my Yokos. As for Toyos being a more "expensive tire", I'm not sure that proves anything about anything.
 
paris1 said:
Than what? This isn't another subjective comparison between stock Toyos and Yokohamas is it? I thought that issue was pretty much put to bed by the poll here (which I can't locate) that indicated there was virtually no difference in satisfaction between the two. I for one am perfectly happy with my Yokos. As for Toyos being a more "expensive tire", I'm not sure that proves anything about anything.
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No the poll was inconclusive (therefore not put to bed), although I think the poll focused on road/tire noise and the Toyos came out slightly on top, with Yokos having more road/tire noise reported on average. Agreed selling price means nothing and proves nothing, it's just a price point.

Let me spell out why the Toyos are somewhat better tires (better tire doesn't mean it's a great tire btw):

. Most users w/Toyos here are reporting longer life here on mazdas247, based on wear-to-date, expecting 50-65K miles of life (versus Yokos). I personally have experienced similar long wear with 60% tread left at 25K miles of fairly aggressive driving on Toyos.
. Most users w/Toyo low profile 55 series tires and major automotive magazines have reported no increase in ride harshness and/or tire noise versus Yokos 17" tires. I personally have enjoyed good comfort, low levels of noise and harshness on Toyos.
. Probably the biggest difference is this - As the Yokos wear and accumulate mileage, they get much more noisy. As the Toyos wear and accumulate mileage they remain quiet.Yes, the tire comparison is subjective and the differences are not huge.

But that's not the point of this thread. Here we have the OP considering going to the trouble of selling 19's and buying 17's. Short reply/recommendation to that is, don't bother.

Regarding your happiness with Yokos, certainly that is a good sign, but many other users on this site have expressed unhappiness.
And btw, you were the only one mentioning running lowering tire pressure to cut down ride harshness (yes we know blaming it on springs), but still that's not a good sign of happiness with possibly the tires...

You ask a good question, "than what?" Answer: Yokos
 
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Well I don't disagree with your conclusion, but I would take issue with some of the finer points of your argument. Particularly the last one about noise levels over time. I haven't noticed my Yokos becoming any noisier in the year and a half I've owned the car and I don't recall ever reading anything here that would lead me to believe the Toyos are superior in that regard (except maybe your comments).
 
paris1 said:
Well I don't disagree with your conclusion, but I would take issue with some of the finer points of your argument. Particularly the last one about noise levels over time. I haven't noticed my Yokos becoming any noisier in the year and a half I've owned the car and I don't recall ever reading anything here that would lead me to believe the Toyos are superior in that regard (except maybe your comments).
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Regarding noise level over time, yes I clearly remember it's been reported here before. And it's not an uncommon trait with some tires. But I can say so far on Toyos with 25K miles accumulated in 2 years of ownership, no noticeable increase in noise.

How many miles have you accumulated on your Yokos in 1.5 years of ownership?
 
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Just under 14K. They have 7/32" tread depth left out of an original 10/32". I don't think I'll have any complaints about longevity at that rate. I just noticed that TireRack sells these things for $205 each. They're not that good!
 
Rich 65 said:
So If I don't care about looks (personally, I don't find bigger to be better) the handling difference between 17's and 19's is negligible? Swapping my 19's for 17's sounds like an option when I am ready for new tires. BMW puts 17's on the X1 so handling can't be too bad.
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If you are not concerned about the look and don't plan on road racing the car then go with 17's. The benefit is a bit more sidewall flex to soak up the bumps and they cost less to replace. In my area there are several Craigslist adds for CX-5 17" take off's. BTW you can always test drive a touring to see if you can feel any difference.
 
In most times, replacing the tires will change handling and comfort depending on what "type" of tire and "brand". So like others have said, downgrading to 17" will have its strengths (lower cost to replace), but physically, the weakness is that it won't look as nice as 19".

Back when I had my Impreza, the stock tires on those were RE92's and my god were they brutal.
Swapped them out for UHP all season tires and then later, UHP Summer tires and it made a world of difference.
 
If the diameter of the rim and tire are the same for both for 17 and 19 inch rims how does one size fill the wheel well more? I. Guess I don't get it.
 
CX left front.JPG
Hadone said:
If the diameter of the rim and tire are the same for both for 17 and 19 inch rims how does one size fill the wheel well more? I. Guess I don't get it.
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It's just a visual thing, a way of saying that the 19" wheels look better or more proportional on a somewhat large and tall crossover SUV. (The Mazda CX-5 is not really that small and is nearly as large as a mid-sized crossover SUV of 15 years ago). You are right, tire diameter is nearly identical for 17" vs. 19", don't get hung up on the actual measured difference in tire diameter which is insignificant.

I see other reasons why the 19's look better visually to many, not just the larger diameter being more proportional, but also the design of the spokes and wheel itself is a bit more interesting (with curves and some depth). The way the spokes extend nearly all the way out to edge of rim also creates the look of larger diameter (a bit of a visual trick common in wheel business), the 17's spokes do this too.
 
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