What have you done to your CX-5 today?

Wouldn't spacers put stress on the wheel bearing and suspension components since you are changing the geometry? Also, wouldn't a tire that sticks out further cause more rock chips since it will be flinging rocks onto the body panels?
It is possible for more stress but the components, but they seem engineered strong enough to take it, as witnessed by the millions of cars with aftermarket wheels and the much more negative offsets (simulated by my spacers) without negative effects. I have serviced many car wheels bearings and ball joints in my career (they seem the most common replaced FE parts on late model cars), both with factory wheels and aftermarket wheels, so I haven't seen a correlation between different offsets/stock offsets causing excessive front end wear. I've seemed to have serviced more cars with OEM wheels, but that could be because there are simply more cars with OEM wheels than aftermarket.
As far as rocks, again it's possible to fling more than tucked in. But rocks on my body? Not unless the rocks can curve like bullets in the movie "Wanted". And again, I haven't seen a correlation of aftermarket wheels with any more body damage than OEM offsets. Also, sport cars like Porsche, Ferrari, even Audi with near flush wheels would show body damage if rock damage due to flush wheels was the case.
My spacers will put the wheels flush, not sticking out of the fenders, so rock damage control should be fine. But just in case, don't tailgate me [emoji6]
Those look great! Post pics/info on the spacers you end up with. I've been wanting them for the rear as well bc the wheels just look so tucked in to me.
I agree Jayhawker, they really are tucked in too much for me, too, it's a Mazda thing. This is basically the info and idea I used to get mine, thanks to forum member Mondo- www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123850083-spacers-for-stock-19in-wheels-sizes
 
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Wouldn't spacers put stress on the wheel bearing and suspension components since you are changing the geometry?

Yes, a little more stress on the wheel bearings than without the spacers. And the spacers reduce the effective spring rates of the suspension. Because the leverage on the springs is so different comparing the front with the rear, the reduction in effective spring rate is lopsided. This means, if the springs are not changed to suit, the car will no longer be evenly sprung front to rear.


Also, wouldn't a tire that sticks out further cause more rock chips since it will be flinging rocks onto the body panels?

Yes, obviously the placement of the wheel wells is designed to catch debris flying off the treads. That is why the wheels appear "tucked in" (because they are) (spin)
 
Nice!
Which are those chrome trims, around the fogs?

Thanks Tibimakai! Those chrome trims are my little twist on the aftermarket triangular chrome fog trims sold on the Internet and found all around this forum.
I found the chrome triangle was a little too much for me, so I customized it by taping it off and blackening the areas off with black (non permanent) plastidip. It's a little more unique to me but adds just a little more pop to the somewhat dull front end. It matches the chrome trim of the grill, too🖖🏽
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Would reducing rolling resistance (lighter rims and tires) make the car slightly faster and get better MPG? If so, then heavier rims and tires would decrease the cars speed and drop the MPG, right?
 
Would reducing rolling resistance (lighter rims and tires) make the car slightly faster and get better MPG? If so, then heavier rims and tires would decrease the cars speed and drop the MPG, right?

Lighter wheels and tires do not reduce rolling resistance (at least not to a measurable degree). Any small reduction in vehicle weight will cause a miniscule reduction in rolling resistance but the effect is so small it is not worth considering. Lighter wheels and tires can cause a considerable reduction of moment of inertia (or rotational momentum which is perhaps an easier way to say the same thing). This makes it take less energy to change speed thereby improving acceleration and reducing the wear on your brake pads and rotors. Your mpg on a long trip will not be affected significantly but your city mpg will benefit as well as 0-30 mph times. 0-60 mph will also benefit to a somewhat lesser degree.


Heavier tires/wheels will not change the cars top speed, it will just make it take more gas and more time to get there.
 
Can't see the difference between spacers and aftermarket rims with different offset. Been putting spacers on my cars for over 25yrs... never had a wheel bearing issue. Maybe if you were going extreme, like 3inches or more (4X4)..
 
That is what I would like to do with mine as well, except I would like to leave the chrome on the top horizontal edge as well.
 
That is what I would like to do with mine as well, except I would like to leave the chrome on the top horizontal edge as well.
Dang I could have sent you my old tires when I bought new ones so you can mount those fabled wheels you have.
 
That is what I would like to do with mine as well, except I would like to leave the chrome on the top horizontal edge as well.
If you were talking about the chrome fog trims, that's the cool thing about painting it. You can try different configurations. That's why I chose plastidip, so if I didn't like the vertical chrome, I could rip it off and try something else. If you do it, post some pics, I'd like to see what a "C" or upside down "L" chrome strip will look like.
 
Not today, but over the weekend, ordered hitch and bike rack for the CX-5. Getting the hitch installed on Saturday.
 
I received my (2) 20mm aluminum front, and (2) 25mm spacers for the rear. They are the type has it's own studs built in. It may be hard to tell from the pics, but it totally changes how the CX-5 stands, and they're very flush to the wheel wells. It's almost like my CX-5 swallowed a... errr, a certain blue pill like in the Fiat 500XL commercial!
I test drove it to about 75mph and it feels no different than stock with no vibrations. Then I retorqued the lugs to specs. Shout out to Mondo for his thread and suggestion!
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Well, after resetting averages and the wife driving back and forth to work all week, changing the rear diff and xfer case oil improved mileage better than I had hoped. Previous average 29.3 mpg, new average 32.7 mpg. No changes in route, gas, etc. A pretty significant increase and further proof of the vastly reduced friction and heat with the RedLine oil. This was after only one week, so I expect a little more mpg to be squeaked out.
 
First mods complete .. Blacked out Mazda badges, debadged the rest of the rear gate.
 

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Well, after resetting averages and the wife driving back and forth to work all week, changing the rear diff and xfer case oil improved mileage better than I had hoped. Previous average 29.3 mpg, new average 32.7 mpg. No changes in route, gas, etc. A pretty significant increase and further proof of the vastly reduced friction and heat with the RedLine oil. This was after only one week, so I expect a little more mpg to be squeaked out.

I am intrigued. I didn't know that my car had a transfer case. I thought that was just part of the transmission. You have me wondering if I should check my differential. Where did you get the special oil?
 
I am intrigued. I didn't know that my car had a transfer case. I thought that was just part of the transmission. You have me wondering if I should check my differential. Where did you get the special oil?

Mazda calls it a pto (power take off), but it's similar to a transfer case in that it's a way to get torque to the rear tires, if you have an awd model. The pto engages splines in the tranny and bolts directly to the side of it. The difference from a conventional transfer case is that it's always engaged and therefore the driveshaft is always spinning. When the system detects a difference in wheel speed front to rear, it engages an electromechanical clutch bolted to the front of the rear diff and you are in awd. The oil used is not as nearly as good as a high quality gl5+ full synthetic in reducing friction, heat, oxidative stability, etc. When I changed mine it was definitely at the end of its useful life and the diff and xfer case where less than half full. I'm not going to get in a big debate over which oil is best but I've been using both redline and royal purple for over 20 years in high performance sports cars, daily drivers and trucks and suv's with great success. You can find a high performance oil like these from amazon, Summit, Walmart, etc.
 
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