Thinking: Motegi Racing MR126 & Mich Premier A/S (225/60-18)

G

Guest2019C20

I don't like the harsh ride of the Toyo A23's. Love the look of the stock 19" wheels.

In 18" size, the MR126 and Premier would weigh 44.9 pounds, vs 58 stock. That's 78% the weight of stock.

I'd get better, quieter ride, and (I assume) much better wet and snow traction. I once converted a dirt bike to tubeless. The increase in ride and handling quality was HUGE. Too bad the tires leaked air thru the carcass... :)

Anyone have any thoughts on these products?
 
It looks like a good combination. My only reservation would be about running a wheel with a machined accent on Wisconsin roads in the winter - If the clear coat on the wheels isn't all it should be, you can get corrosion pretty quickly.
 
I've got winter tires from 2000, mounted on a 2012 Outback. They look pretty awful. It's the wife's car, so no big deal! :)

I think I'd get the extra snow traction with the Premiers, I wouldn't need specific winter tires (I don't drive much). If I put Premiers on the 19's, I'd get better ride. With the 18's, I'd expect noticeably better ride, plus the performance benefits of 13 pounds less rotational/unsprung mass, too. If the wheels were as pretty as the stockers, I'd already have these ordered...

Wish I knew how much the stiction of the suspension will drop as the car breaks in...
 
I determined (after a drive on country roads that were ice and packed snow covered) that I needed serious winter tires. So I ordered up Michelin X-ice Xi3's on the MR126's.

These are seriously gorgeous wheels. I really wanted to keep the stock wheels, which I love the look of, but in person, the Motegis look menacing. :D 225/60-18 tires on 8" x 18" wheels, ordered from my standby Tirerack.com. Tirerack supplies centering rings, 12-spline lug nuts, and a hardened lug nut socket. Tires were also mounted and balanced, with nice black stick-on weights.

The original 19" wheels and Toyo A23 225/55-19 tires weighed 59.5 pounds. The snows weigh 47.6, which is slightly higher than estimated on the tirerack site (numbers supplied by the manufacturers, I'm sure).

We are in the midst of a sleet and snow storm, so tomorrow should be a great day to test out my new track shoes.
 
I have the X-ice's and they are quite amazing. We've had a week of compacted snow and ice and the grip and braking performance has been outstanding. I'm a long time believer in winter tires and have used the Michelin's throughout their evolution from the original X-ice. Add the CX-5 AWD to the mix and I'm just blown away by how good they are. I hope you find them the same...

Gary
 
Wish I knew how much the stiction of the suspension will drop as the car breaks in...

For those searching on CX-5 suspension harshness, stiffness, roughness, hard ride, stiff ride, stiction, etc.

I can happily report that with 925 miles on my CX-5, the suspension's harsh ride at 25 to 35 mph on rough roads is finally greatly diminished. I'm now starting to understand how others could say the ride was good! Note: this is with Michelin X-Ice 3's on 18" rims, 225/60 18's.
 
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