Show me your 17s + Discussion

Sup everyone!

Lets discuss 17" wheels for the CX5. I have the GT with 19" wheels right now and I am thinking about downgrading from 19" to 17" wheels for daily use. I find the 19" wheel to be a little harsh for an SUV. Ive read some benefits being: lighter weight, better acceleration and MPG, more comfortable handling, more quiet?, more versatility with snow, cheaper tires, etc.. Only downside is looks, but I guess that is subjective.


Looking at picking up some used 17s such as...
Work emotion cr kai, 17x7, bronze


advan racing RZ, 17x7, black



Does anyone prefer to run 17" all the time? Has anyone tried to mount bronze, gold, black, colored 17s on their CX5 (preferably white CX5)?

And que MikeM....

I'm just kidding, no hard feelings Mike. Mike is a big fan of the 17" wheels over the 19's. There is a science to the wheel size, tire width, rotational weight and what works best on a particular vehicle. Some 17" tires are heavier then a comparable 19" tire so the rotational mass of the tire is heavier and further from the center of the wheel. But if the 19" rim is heavier and heavier near the outside diameter then that weight savings in negated and it's a wash.

A wider tire will provide more grip and cornering traction, but go to wide and it will be to much for the car to overcome and mpg and acceleration will suffer. Same goes the other way, go too narrow and you loose too much traction so cornering ability begins to suffer.

Personally I think if you stay somewhat close to stock widths you won't see a huge difference if you where able to run scientific tests. A 235 wide tire won't be much difference then a 225 in real world use. I think a sweet spot for the cx-5 is probably an 18x8" rim running a 235-245 wide tire. Rims should be light weight but I think a setup like that gives the best looks to performance ratio. It's all a give or take with wheels.

Would only consider moving to a light weight 17x7 wheel since that would maximize the benefits. Somehing like the Enkei RPF1 at 14.6 lbs, vs. the oem 19" 28-29lbs.

ryan4130 said:

Would only consider moving to a light weight 17x7 wheel since that would maximize the benefits. Somehing like the Enkei RPF1 at 14.6 lbs, vs. the oem 19" 28-29lbs.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's a HUGE difference!

So who runs 17s and can report back with some feedback and pictures of their ride?

I run 17 with winter tyres sized 225/17/55. The 19 wheels are with 225/19/45 summer tyres. The 17s are with a softer ride and are more quiet. They take potholes easier. The 19 are louder, have better cornering stability and the car looks meaner on them. So 17 inch winter, 19 summer for me.

Sent from my SM-G928C using Tapatalk

Here's my 17" winter setup:



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I run the OEM 17" in the summer too since I am often many miles off paved roads. I also like the better acceleration off the line and higher MPG's provided by the smaller rims.

Notice the green pavement in front of the vehicle. This is quite common around here in the colder/wetter months and is quite slippery. Winter tires have substantially more traction on this stuff than all-season radials. We also get an invisible, clear slime mold that can grow on north facing blacktop hills. It's like snot and is far more slippery than the green stuff. It grows between 33F and about 45F. It's more slippery than some black ice and looks just like bare, wet pavement. In the right light it might be noticed to be a little more glossy than regular wet pavement.

I run a similiar setup but opposite.
Summer 17x7 Motegi w 235/60/17 tires. Definitely lighter but I've forgotten the actual difference. I don't notice much of a difference with mileage but I do recall a faster acceleration when I originally swapped to the lighter wheels. I got a big upgrade in cornering and response when changing tires from OEM. Too many variables now to say which makes the bigger difference, shorter/wider tire or lighter wheel.

Winter OEM 17 with 225/65/17 winter tires