Stuff I did to my 2018 CX-9

Zuman

Member
:
2018 Mazda CX-9 Signature
I bought my 2018 CX-9 in November. It was the right choice and has handled a couple of 700-mile one-way interstate trips with four people (my wife, two adult daughters, and me), daily 18-mile each way commutes, occasional third-row passenger duty, and miscellaneous hauling.

-I'm a Midwesterner, and a big believer in dedicated winter tires. I had Blizzaks mounted on the original 20" Signature rims right before Christmas and the CX-9 was solid and steady on snow and ice. I felt very secure.

-I had the original Falken all-season tires remounted on Liquidmetal Splice rims. I decided to leave the Blizzaks on the stock rims and put the regular tires on the new rims because 1) the Liquidmetal wheels are 10lb lighter each and they'll be on about 75% of the year, and 2) I think the Splice wheels look good. I switched back to the Falkens on Friday and it snowed this morning!

-I had a hitch added so I could use an aluminum (welded) tray and cargo carrier. It was absolutely necessary for our 8-day home-for-Christmas trip with our daughters.

-I bought Weathertech mats for the front and second-row seats. They smelled like cat pee when they were new, but they work great (and as you can see by the dirt, they were a good idea).

-My wife bought me the official Mazda rear cargo mat. I like it a lot.

-My brother bought me the retractable rear cargo cover. It should have been standard. I feel so much more secure if I have a briefcase or packages in the car.

-I have a radar detector that gives me peace of mind and I added a dash cam to give me more. I got a little strip of aluminum sheet and bent it into a bracket so I could mount them both by the display screen (the dashcam is the horizontal cylinder on the back side of the screen). I wired both to the rearview mirror power connector and tucked the wires under trim.

That's it for a while...I think!

attachment.php
attachment.php
attachment.php
attachment.php
attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • CX-9(wheels).jpg
    CX-9(wheels).jpg
    736.7 KB · Views: 3,712
  • CX-9(hitchcarrier).jpg
    CX-9(hitchcarrier).jpg
    714.8 KB · Views: 1,650
  • CX-9(rearWeathertech).jpg
    CX-9(rearWeathertech).jpg
    362.7 KB · Views: 1,607
  • CX-9(cargocover&mat).jpg
    CX-9(cargocover&mat).jpg
    278.2 KB · Views: 1,606
  • CX-9(radar&camera).jpg
    CX-9(radar&camera).jpg
    333.9 KB · Views: 1,684
Last edited:
I like what you've done there (cool)

I just finished up my first New England winter with my 2018 on the OEM Bridgestones, and I don't plan to go through another winter on them. I never had any issue getting started from a stop, but turning was so-so and braking was really quite bad. I'd be in ABS after only a little brake pressure. I'm going to be due for another set of all-seasons by next fall, I'm probably going with Continental DWS06s which are hopefully better than the OEMs in the snow, but I'm thinking about a set of dedicated snow tires as well.
 
Looks great. The dealer actually included the rear cargo mat, and the pull shade in our original deal and I agree, they work well. I also had the hitch installed and it really does extend what you can carry and hold.

I love your wheels and really inspires me to upgrade as well!

Well done!
 
Looks great! Love the dashcam and radar mount setup, very very clean.

You don't run into any issues with how low the dash cam is mounted? I was advised to mount mine high so the front of the car would be more visible. This is important when reviewing the footage so you can see how close a person gets when they cut you off or brake check you.
 
Those rims look nice on the CX-9. I would think it would be hard to find aftermarket that don't look too gaudy but you found them. Can I asked about what you paid for them? I may do something similar. I've got 8k miles on my 2018 GT AWD Falkens and I will be replacing those with a much better more performance oriented all season tire like the Michelin A/S3 +. I think the Falkens will be toast in 25k miles. We do a lot of high speed interstate driving and a fair amount of towing so maybe not even that much.
 
Looks great! Love the dashcam and radar mount setup, very very clean.

You don't run into any issues with how low the dash cam is mounted? I was advised to mount mine high so the front of the car would be more visible. This is important when reviewing the footage so you can see how close a person gets when they cut you off or brake check you.

Hi. I agree that the dashcam mounting position is probably not perfect in terms of ultimate image framing. However, I was willing to compromise a bit in order to get that clean look. I took a still capture today to check the closeness I can get, and I can get the complete car ahead of me in the frame with about 2/3 car-length gap between us. I use the DDPai camera and the 140 wide angle lens makes a huge difference.
 
Last edited:
Those rims look nice on the CX-9. I would think it would be hard to find aftermarket that don't look too gaudy but you found them. Can I asked about what you paid for them? I may do something similar. I've got 8k miles on my 2018 GT AWD Falkens and I will be replacing those with a much better more performance oriented all season tire like the Michelin A/S3 +. I think the Falkens will be toast in 25k miles. We do a lot of high speed interstate driving and a fair amount of towing so maybe not even that much.

I bought the 20" Liquidmetal Splice wheels at my local Discount Tire store for $216 each. They were in stock. You can find them online for about $194.
 
Those rims look nice on the CX-9. I would think it would be hard to find aftermarket that don't look too gaudy but you found them. Can I asked about what you paid for them? I may do something similar. I've got 8k miles on my 2018 GT AWD Falkens and I will be replacing those with a much better more performance oriented all season tire like the Michelin A/S3 +. I think the Falkens will be toast in 25k miles. We do a lot of high speed interstate driving and a fair amount of towing so maybe not even that much.

I'm not sure if they're your style, but Vossen still has some wheels on closeout ranging from $700 to $1100 a set (depending on size).
https://vossenwheels.com/blog/2018-winter-closeout-sale/

The only problem is that their stock is the limiting factor. For example, the CV7 is a nice wheel, but the only size in 5x114.3 they have that will clear the CX-9 suspension is the 22x10.5. The nice thing is that the set is only $700. Just another option.
 
I bought Weathertech mats for the front and second-row seats. They smelled like cat pee when they were new, but they work great (and as you can see by the dirt, they were a good idea).

I have WeatherTech mats, too, for the front seats and rear cargo area. Mine came without the cat pee option.

Interesting your comment about the retractable cargo cover. My previous cars (X5 and ML550) both came with cargo covers as standard, but both finished up with the covers removed and permanently stored in the garage. While they are handy for hiding what is in the back of the car, they also very much get in the way a lot of the time.
 
I have WeatherTech mats, too, for the front seats and rear cargo area. Mine came without the cat pee option.

Interesting your comment about the retractable cargo cover. My previous cars (X5 and ML550) both came with cargo covers as standard, but both finished up with the covers removed and permanently stored in the garage. While they are handy for hiding what is in the back of the car, they also very much get in the way a lot of the time.

Interesting thought, I remember my Jeep Grand Cherokee (circa 1993), had one and you*re right it got in the way more than its purpose. Especially when you needed to load gear/materials. My wife says just use a dark blanket, bless her heart.

Peace and blessings,

Azeke
 
Last edited:
Zuman, I like this setup. I've been investigating the same thing for a future CX-9 purchase.

Curious, what type of hitch did you end up getting? Curt? Size? I have a feeling I may need to do the same with a "family expansion." That extra cargo capacity is nice, and avoids the roof rack boxes.

The all weather mats (Weathertech) mats stinking like piss though...uhg. I probably prefer the Mazda ones.

Curious, about the cargo cover. Is it easy enough to store internally and move if you have something oversize to place into the hatch portion?
 
The all weather mats (Weathertech) mats stinking like piss though...uhg. I probably prefer the Mazda ones.

Curious, about the cargo cover. Is it easy enough to store internally and move if you have something oversize to place into the hatch portion?

With the mats, if they smell, it's usually because of the rubber that they're made out of. Let them sit in the sun for a day or two to let them offgas, or clean them with a brush and some SimpleGreen to get rid of the smell.

The cargo cover is easy to remove if you take it out using the rear doors. If you're taking it out from the back, it's also easy if you've got long arms. If you're like me, you have to lean in a bit to reach the attachment points. Besides that, super easy to use, and you can stick it in the floor space between the 2nd and 3rd row when its not in use.
 
With the mats, if they smell, it's usually because of the rubber that they're made out of. Let them sit in the sun for a day or two to let them offgas, or clean them with a brush and some SimpleGreen to get rid of the smell.

The cargo cover is easy to remove if you take it out using the rear doors. If you're taking it out from the back, it's also easy if you've got long arms. If you're like me, you have to lean in a bit to reach the attachment points. Besides that, super easy to use, and you can stick it in the floor space between the 2nd and 3rd row when its not in use.

Awesome, thanks @sm1ke - Must say, your guides on this forum are exceptional. Thank you for sharing all you know.

As for the cargo cover, when the third row seats are flat, does the cargo cover fit nicely away inside a built-in location?
 
Back