tire question, possibly a noob question

Chaddy

Member
:
Mazdaspeed 3
i have the stock ms3 wheels and i want to get a set of wheels that are size 18x8.5 but the ms3 wheels are 18x7.
now ive never cared much about wheels so i never looked into tire stuff lol, would the tires i have on my ms3 wheels be able to go onto the 18x8.5's? how big of a strecth would it be? any pics or help would be awesome
 
Here you go:

He's running staggered 18x8 and 18x9 with 215's on both ends

This is probably the 215 on the 9" rim. Quite a stretch. Yours should be close to this since you are only losing 1/4 inch on both sides going 8.5".

IMGP0434.jpg
 
thanks rotus! my tires are 215's and ive decided to go with an 18x8 so even less, i dont want too much stretch
 
why do people want to run a bigger wheel with the same size tire? it makes no sense to me, someone please explain. why would you get a heavier wheel and not try to put more rubber to pavement? what are the benefits of a bigger wheel than tire?
 
why do people want to run a bigger wheel with the same size tire? it makes no sense to me, someone please explain. why would you get a heavier wheel and not try to put more rubber to pavement? what are the benefits of a bigger wheel than tire?


to clear the fender..
 
to clear the fender..

Exactly - the wider wheel provides looks both in the way it pokes out the fender, and it's overall appearance VS stock. I think generally this is a technique used when guys run wider rims with lower than factory offset, like 40 or 38 etc. A narrower tire on a wider wheel that provides stretch will provide better clearance to the fender.
See the pic above to understand. The sidewall is pulled over or rounded thereby providing more clearance to the fender.

Personally I agree I would not sacrifice performance for looks but to each his own. As an example, I'm going to run 235/40/18 on 18x8 RX8 rims this spring on stock suspension. These wheels are 5lbs lighter than stock, but an inch wider and that tire size will clear the stock fenders even if lowered a bit. The wider 235 is heavier than 215/45/18 by a couple pounds so it makes up for the difference in weight almost exactly.

How much additional performance do you get for 20mm more section width? I don't know, but every bit helps with this silly, little, overpowered, FWD car.
 
Just so everyone knows i am not doing this to be flush or anything, im on a very tight budget and was just confirming that itd be alright to "stretch" temporarily
 
Just so everyone knows i am not doing this to be flush or anything, im on a very tight budget and was just confirming that itd be alright to "stretch" temporarily

If you're going to run 8" wide and not 8.5", the 215 stock tires will work fine and just have a bit of stretch. Seen this done many times by others here. You should be fine.
 
awesome man thanks alot, i picked up the wheels yesterday and didnt realize until i got home that the hub bore is way too small! lol, gonna get em bored out a mm or so at a machine shop today
 
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