Show me your CX-5 wheels

Well I finally got the car on ramps and got under to investigate clearance. It looks like the shortest distance between any two parts, whether it be the lip of the wheel and the bottom of the strut (sorry, I don't know the names of the parts I was seeing) or the widest part of the tire and the strut tube itself, is around 35mm (2 fingers). I had to use finger widths because you can't really get up in there with a tape measure. Lowering the car should only increase these distances because the suspension angles increase. That means we should be able to run 9" wheels at an offset up to +50 to achieve flush fitment and without rubbing.

I haven't found any examples of this exact fitment, but @Voluntas is right in that ballpark at 9.5" +40. He claims no rubbing. He has reduced his inner clearance by 27mm and says he can't get a pinkie finger in there anymore, which seems about right. My pinky measures 5-7mm but I'm sure that varies, as do tires.

Jef said:

Enkei RPF1 18x9.5 +35
Continental DSW06 plus 255/55/18

Click to expand...

Jef said:

That’s a lower offset…. Higher would be 45ish territory.

Added these pics to another previous post, but the 35 offset puts you flush to the fender, but these conti’s are super fat and stick almost a 1/4 inch past the actual wheel lip.

No rubbing, lock to lock on corksport springs.

Click to expand...

I'm finally figuring out why your tires poke out so much—because the section width of that size is 11"!

Looks meaty though.

@dps03 and @prix57,

Can you guys put a straightedge (level, lumber, whatever) up against one of your tires and take a picture from an angle showing if there's any "rim protection" to the sidewalls or if the wheel and tire are the same width? According to specs on Tire Rack they are flush with each other, but it's kind of hard to believe without proof. Thanks a ton.

ziggi said:

View attachment 304401This is a pic of a front wheel I test fitted for flushness a while back to determine whether on not I should purchase a set. The spec was 20x9 et 35 and you can see the wheel pokes a few millimeters. Since I want to run 255 tires, that’s too much protrusion for me. A 235 tire should give a more flush look. I’d think a 9.5” et 35 wheel would stick out about a quarter of an inch further. Hope this helps.

Click to expand...

@ziggi would you say that's about 7mm out? So a +42 would have been flush?

I installed Megan Racing front and rear anti roll bars on our 2024 CX-5 T Pre. I choose Megan because they had a set, front and rear. I didn't want to mix and match from different venders. I like the quality of the bars and stiffer bushings that fit the OE straps. Megan does not furnish step by step instructions. Their web site does not say it will fit a Gen 3. They fit my Gen 3.

https://meganracing.com/mrs-mz-1690

Rear Anti Sway Bar

FRONT:
I couldn't find any install instructions for Gen3s. I used Gen 2 instructions. The front was NOT easy. After many hours I put a jack under the exhaust to raise it a few inches and loosed the drive shaft. STILL couldn't remove the OE bar.

Next I removed the drivers side strut and the OE bar came out.

The install was a breeze compared to getting the OE bar out.

Gen 3 turbo guys, put a jack under the exhaust and gently move it to the floor. NA guys might need to do the same. Remove the DS strut. Lower the sub frame as far as possible.

REAR:
Again, no Gen 3 instructions. The Gen 2 instructions were better than the front anti roll bar. I could not loosen the top nut on the passenger side bar strap. I need a 1/2" more clearance to get my socket wrench on the 12mm nut. I loosed the two nuts on the passenger side shock and got that last 1/2". Also had to remove a wiring fasteners on both sides to get that last 1/2" to lower the sub frame.

Gen 3 guys, lower the sub frame as far as possible and remove the fasteners on wiring looms on right and left side. Loosen the pass side shock from the body.

Install was uneventful.

Recommendations: put lithium grease on the bushings before installing. The rear bushings are making a low squeak sound that is going away. Megan said lithium grease would have been a good idea and that I may have over tightened the bar bushing. AND in 75 to a 100 miles it will go away. It's already better after driving 30 miles today. Megan Racing agreed that having the bushing too tight is better than to loose......

Driving experience: Car feels solid, not moving bouncing around on uneven pavement. Corners are firm and controlled. It tracks nicely going down the interstate. It felt like it was out of alignment or the suspension was worn before switching the bars. NOT RACE car quality, this our travel car and wife's grocery getter. Makes driving FUN. I hope MAZDA reads this gets back to their roots....

Was it worth it? For me yes, I would never have been happy with the ride quality of a 3rd Gen. Is this install for everyone? Maybe. With the above tips, it goes much faster. Still a weekend project.

Side note: I have never seen such attention to detail regarding wiring before. I'm impressed. Heavy looming and supported like some OCD guy wired this car.

The front and rear subframes are stout! The weldment and overlapping of metal is impressive. The rear engine mount and fasteners are massive for just a 2.5l turbo, 256 HP 320 torque.

The belly pan is the real deal. It's huge, well constructed and fastened to the hilt!

Next up, waiting on BC Racing BR coilovers. Lower up to 2 inches and dial in the shock setting somewhere between firm and socker Mom soft. My wife and I will discuss! These must be made to order. It takes 3 to 4 weeks to get them. I'll install a toe and camber kit on the rear and get a 4 wheel alignment.

BC Racing BR Coilovers

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

Lastly a set of 19" x 8" Entkie wheels. These are 8 to 12 week item. These will are about 24 pounds lighter per set.

Entkie Wheels

We will stay with the the OE Toyo mush tires for awhile. When I increased pressure to 45 psi, they feel much better.

The more I look at this car and turn a few wrenches on it, the more I'm impressed.

AL Cx5 said:

I installed Megan Racing front and rear anti roll bars on our 2024 CX-5 T Pre. I choose Megan because they had a set, front and rear. I didn't want to mix and match from different venders. I like the quality of the bars and stiffer bushings that fit the OE straps. Megan does not furnish step by step instructions. Their web site does not say it will fit a Gen 3. They fit my Gen 3.

FRONT:
I couldn't find any install instructions for Gen3s. I used Gen 2 instructions. The front was NOT easy. After many hours I put a jack under the exhaust to raise it a few inches and loosed the drive shaft. STILL couldn't remove the OE bar.

Next I removed the drivers side strut and the OE bar came out.

The install was a breeze compared to getting the OE bar out.

Gen 3 turbo guys, put a jack under the exhaust and gently move it to the floor. NA guys might need to do the same. Remove the DS strut. Lower the sub frame as far as possible.

REAR:
Again, no Gen 3 instructions. The Gen 2 instructions were better than the front anti roll bar. I could not loosen the top nut on the passenger side bar strap. I need a 1/2" more clearance to get my socket wrench on the 12mm nut. I loosed the two nuts on the passenger side shock and got that last 1/2". Also had to remove a wiring fasteners on both sides to get that last 1/2" to lower the sub frame.

Gen 3 guys, lower the sub frame as far as possible and remove the fasteners on wiring looms on right and left side. Loosen the pass side shock from the body.

Install was uneventful.

Recommendations: put lithium grease on the bushings before installing. The rear bushings are making a low squeak sound that is going away. Megan said lithium grease would have been a good idea and that I may have over tightened the bar bushing. AND in 75 to a 100 miles it will go away. It's already better after driving 30 miles today. Megan Racing agreed that having the bushing too tight is better than to loose......

Driving experience: Car feels solid, not moving bouncing around on uneven pavement. Corners are firm and controlled. It tracks nicely going down the interstate. It felt like it was out of alignment or the suspension was worn before switching the bars. NOT RACE car quality, this our travel car and wife's grocery getter. Makes driving FUN. I hope MAZDA reads this gets back to their roots....

Was it worth it? For me yes, I would never have been happy with the ride quality of a 3rd Gen. Is this install for everyone? Maybe. With the above tips, it goes much faster. Still a weekend project.

Side note: I have never seen such attention to detail regarding wiring before. I'm impressed. Heavy looming and supported like some OCD guy wired this car.

The front and rear subframes are stout! The weldment and overlapping of metal is impressive. The rear engine mount and fasteners are massive for just a 2.5l turbo, 256 HP 320 torque.

The belly pan is the real deal. It's huge, well constructed and fastened to the hilt!

Next up, waiting on BC Racing BR coilovers. Lower up to 2 inches and dial in the shock setting somewhere between firm and socker Mom soft. My wife and I will discuss! These must be made to order. It takes 3 to 4 weeks to get them. I'll install a toe and camber kit on the rear and get a 4 wheel alignment.

Lastly a set of 19" x 8" Entkie wheels. These are 8 to 12 week item. These will are about 24 pounds lighter per set.

We will stay with the the OE Toyo mush tires for awhile. When I increased pressure to 45 psi, they feel much better.

The more I look at this car and turn a few wrenches on it, the more I'm impressed.

Click to expand...

Awesome info, any links to the Enkei’s wheels or subframe parts?

AL Cx5 said:

I installed Megan Racing front and rear anti roll bars on our 2024 CX-5 T Pre. I choose Megan because they had a set, front and rear. I didn't want to mix and match from different venders. I like the quality of the bars and stiffer bushings that fit the OE straps. Megan does not furnish step by step instructions. Their web site does not say it will fit a Gen 3. They fit my Gen 3.

FRONT:
I couldn't find any install instructions for Gen3s. I used Gen 2 instructions. The front was NOT easy. After many hours I put a jack under the exhaust to raise it a few inches and loosed the drive shaft. STILL couldn't remove the OE bar.

Next I removed the drivers side strut and the OE bar came out.

The install was a breeze compared to getting the OE bar out.

Gen 3 turbo guys, put a jack under the exhaust and gently move it to the floor. NA guys might need to do the same. Remove the DS strut. Lower the sub frame as far as possible.

REAR:
Again, no Gen 3 instructions. The Gen 2 instructions were better than the front anti roll bar. I could not loosen the top nut on the passenger side bar strap. I need a 1/2" more clearance to get my socket wrench on the 12mm nut. I loosed the two nuts on the passenger side shock and got that last 1/2". Also had to remove a wiring fasteners on both sides to get that last 1/2" to lower the sub frame.

Gen 3 guys, lower the sub frame as far as possible and remove the fasteners on wiring looms on right and left side. Loosen the pass side shock from the body.

Install was uneventful.

Recommendations: put lithium grease on the bushings before installing. The rear bushings are making a low squeak sound that is going away. Megan said lithium grease would have been a good idea and that I may have over tightened the bar bushing. AND in 75 to a 100 miles it will go away. It's already better after driving 30 miles today. Megan Racing agreed that having the bushing too tight is better than to loose......

Driving experience: Car feels solid, not moving bouncing around on uneven pavement. Corners are firm and controlled. It tracks nicely going down the interstate. It felt like it was out of alignment or the suspension was worn before switching the bars. NOT RACE car quality, this our travel car and wife's grocery getter. Makes driving FUN. I hope MAZDA reads this gets back to their roots....

Was it worth it? For me yes, I would never have been happy with the ride quality of a 3rd Gen. Is this install for everyone? Maybe. With the above tips, it goes much faster. Still a weekend project.

Side note: I have never seen such attention to detail regarding wiring before. I'm impressed. Heavy looming and supported like some OCD guy wired this car.

The front and rear subframes are stout! The weldment and overlapping of metal is impressive. The rear engine mount and fasteners are massive for just a 2.5l turbo, 256 HP 320 torque.

The belly pan is the real deal. It's huge, well constructed and fastened to the hilt!

Next up, waiting on BC Racing BR coilovers. Lower up to 2 inches and dial in the shock setting somewhere between firm and socker Mom soft. My wife and I will discuss! These must be made to order. It takes 3 to 4 weeks to get them. I'll install a toe and camber kit on the rear and get a 4 wheel alignment.

Lastly a set of 19" x 8" Entkie wheels. These are 8 to 12 week item. These will are about 24 pounds lighter per set.

We will stay with the the OE Toyo mush tires for awhile. When I increased pressure to 45 psi, they feel much better.

The more I look at this car and turn a few wrenches on it, the more I'm impressed.

Click to expand...

Usually no toe kit is required at first the rear when lowering and the camber arms are minimally needed but I will be using the arms myself.

Do you have a link to the sway bar set you ordered? I want to do a set along with the 2" drop I will be doing but have only seen Hardrace bars.

Chad1140 said:

Awesome info, any links to the Enkei’s wheels or subframe parts?

Click to expand...

Thanks, I added the link to my post.

Gray5ive said:

Usually no toe kit is required at first the rear when lowering and the camber arms are minimally needed but I will be using the arms myself.

Do you have a link to the sway bar set you ordered? I want to do a set along with the 2" drop I will be doing but have only seen Hardrace bars.

Click to expand...

I don't want to take any chances getting the alignment spot on the first go around. The cost of getting several alignments and ruining a set of tires is way more than these parts. I went through this when I lowered my Accord. One and done is my motto these days.

I added links to Megan and Specialty Products in my post.

AL Cx5 said:

Thanks, I added the link to my post.

I don't want to take any chances getting the alignment spot on the first go around. The cost of getting several alignments and ruining a set of tires is way more than these parts. I went through this when I lowered my Accord. One and done is my motto these days.

I added links to Megan and Specialty Products in my post.

Click to expand...

I've seen maybe just 2 people use the toe links out of the tons of people who have lowered their CX-5s which is the only reason I mentioned it.

Thanks for the links.

I think going to an 8" wheel will help driving feel with the stock Toyo A36. I think part of the cause of their mushiness is that they are pinched onto a 7" wheel. A tire that is better supported will be a more stable tire.

Similarly, I'm going to put 245's onto a 9" wheel which should just fill out the wheel wells with the stock offset. Some people who run into fitment issues and have to play with offsets are doing so (IMO) because they went too meaty on the tire and it cost them inside clearance. At least that's my read after spending a few months on this forum looking at pictures, talking to owners, and doing measurements on my own car.

With the stiffer anti roll bars the car/tires are tracking much, much better. It seems like a perfect storm, weak bars and soft side wall tires together produce a mush ride. The body and tire roll defeat the marvelous rear IRS. Mazda AI, did you record this in your records?

By lowering the car an inch or two with adjustable dampeners will allow us to adjust the height to our liking and dial in the performance to our tastes. My experience with adjustable coilovers on an 8th gen Accord was positive. On the Honda, I installed Acura SI anti sway bars front and back. Latter changed out the bars bushings for urethane. urethane was a nice bump in performance as well.

Next week I'm going to put the CX-5 on four corner scales with and without the end links attached. This will tell us how much preload Mazda put in the suspension. If it's way out of balance, I'll get a set of adjustable end links to dial in the car. I'll be surprised if it's much if any out of balance. More of a reason to use my scales...

After inflating to 45 PSI, the A36 is a different tire over 40 PSI tire pressure. I'm no longer dissatisfied with this tire after increasing tire pressure and installing anti sway bars.

I'll look again at something wider than a 225/65R19 when the day comes. An 8" wide wheel gives us a few options. I'm not willing to sacrifice fuel efficacy, nor I'm not trying to look like a Benz or BMW.

@AL Cx5 , did you ever drive a 1st gen CX-5? Those were quite a bit firmer and more sporty.

N7turbo said:

@AL Cx5 , did you ever drive a 1st gen CX-5? Those were quite a bit firmer and more sporty.

Click to expand...

I have never driven 1st or 2nd gen CX-5s. I'm a Mazda newbie, learning as I go!

From the reviews, it seems like Mazda reduces the sporty, fun drive on each generation. Let's hope the 4th gen reverses this trend....

So far, they have kept a snappy trans. I love the way this trans up/down shifts the right time. My 8th Gen Honda trans was fine, not fun, just fine. At WOT it would close the throttle body and depower the car at the shift.

AL Cx5 said:

At WOT it would close the throttle body and depower the car at the shift.

Click to expand...

I sometimes feel that in my CX-5. It might be the 2nd to 3rd gear shift.

I wouldn't be surprised if the the TB does close some on the Mazda. Over a Honda trans, it's like a race car.

On another platform, we fought with the trans tune to prevent the TB from closing some at WOT shifts. It was complicated because the trans was calculating torque and over riding the ECU. It was protecting it's self from destruction.

I finally ripped out the factory TCM and installed a standalone. It was a struggle to get it going BUT afterwards it ripped through the gears. We upgraded the trans valve body along the way as well. The VB and standalone tuning allowed us to turn up the internal pressures on the clutches. It holds over a 1000 HP at WOT. This combo is killer fast. The car looses traction on the shifts if the ECU doesn't pull power. We have gone full circle!

Latter I replaced the OE ECU with a standalone. That was another big upgrade. We tune 8 cylinders independent of one another to optimize the air flow in and out. We have 8 EGTs to tune and protect the engine. Not a street car...LOL

Our CX-5 is not nor is it every going to be our race car. It's a huge upgrade in performance, luxury and utility over the old 8th gen Honda. I love this snappy trans and other features.

If we don't get to tune the 2024 ECU, I'm still a happy with the set up. If I want to rip down the road, I can load a coal rolling tune in my diesel. Not my style...

Interesting to see the Megan rear bar is only 19mm which iirc is only 1mm larger than stock

Gray5ive said:

Interesting to see the Megan rear bar is only 19mm which iirc is only 1mm larger than stock

Click to expand...

1mm increase in diameter is not much. We don't know if the steel bars are made of stiffer material or not. Megan's bushings are made from stiffer rubber that matches the front bushings supplied by Megan.

I drove the CX5 after installing only the front Megan bar for half a day. The rear didn't follow the front as well going over uneven pavement or tight corners. So much so my wife mentioned she didn't like the way it rode. It tracked somewhat better than before.

Now with front and rear Megan bars it feels balanced, like Megan thought through this setup.

I'll put the end links on the tighter setting on the rear only and do an A to B comparison, then only the front, then front and back. This is my first set of adjustable bars on a street car. I'm curious.

I bought a set of cheap/not race quality end links. I'll try these on the ASB stiffer settings and report back.


EDIT: Bought adjustable end links so I could use the inboard holes on the front and rear ASB. The car was a bit twitchy like a race horse ready to run until I lowered the tire pressure to 39 PSI. Now the car is rock solid and tracks very nicely.

I put the CX-5 into a couple of corners. The body roll is much, much less. The A36 tires are not up to this task.

On uneven pavement the body still rolls enough so the ride is firm but not harsh. I'm staying at the stiffer ASB settings.

Here is a link to the maXeedingrods. China stuff. Not race car quality. They have enough parts to fit the front and rear at stock height and when we lower it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

@AL Cx5 what about doing a rear bar only? I've thought about it to reduce understeer.

A rear bar would help. The front bar was a pita to install. If you want more then do the front bar.

I've ordered ureathane front and rear bushings. The Megan bushings still squeak even after putting silicon grease on them. Ureathane bushings are inexpensive. Consider putting these on with the rear ASB.

I really wanted ureathane bushing from the beginning. I dont like having to take the car apart a 3rd time. Ugh. We saw a nice improvement in handling when I put ureathane bushings on the Honda's aftermarket ASBs.

On the brighter side, my wife made a quick lane change to avoid a car drifting into her lane. The CX5 responded!

Has anyone taken pics of the CX50's 20s on a CX5? I would love to see it!