Complete CX-5 Wheel Specs

[leeharvey418]

Yeah, except for the Tribute (which still has the right bolt pattern, though I'm not sure about the center bore) I'd bet my right arm that any five-lug wheel fitted as OE to a Mazda in the last ten years would work.

 

[Rarebit]

We get snow where I live an average of about 10 days per year but I typically make several trips into snow country every winter. I live in a condo with limited storage space and would love to avoid having two sets of wheels/tires. I'm considering replacing the stock Toyo A23s on my GT AWD with premium all weather tires.

There are two good all-weather alternatives I've found - the Nokian WR G3 in 235-55-19 (V rated) and the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 in 245-50-19 (Z rated).

I've never found a comparison test of the Nokians to anything except as a winter tire in Consumer Reports. They get lots of good press, but mostly it seems from the retailers. ;-)

The Contis are an updated version of the highly regarded ExtremeContact DWS that tops the all-weather tests in winter usage while holding its own in summer usage.

The Contis are a whopping $100 less per tire, but I'm not sure the 245-50-19 size works with zero interference. I'm not concerned about the slightly lower aspect ratio - owners of the new Extreme Contact 06 say it's smoother and quieter than the previous version of the Conti.

Is anyone running 245-50-19s tires on their GT?

Here's the full size comparison.

View attachment 211370

 

[MikeM.]

We get snow where I live an average of about 10 days per year but I typically make several trips into snow country every winter. I live in a condo with limited storage space and would love to avoid having two sets of wheels/tires. I'm considering replacing the stock Toyo A23s on my GT AWD with premium all weather tires.

You could probably find a tire shop nearby that will rent their tire rack space for a small fee. That way, you can just drive in and get the switch-aroo without having to store/load your wheels tires. Probably in/out in 30 minutes or less while you drink a cup of coffee. Or maybe they serve hot tea in Canadian tire shops?

 

[Rarebit]

You could probably find a tire shop nearby that will rent their tire rack space for a small fee. That way, you can just drive in and get the switch-aroo without having to store/load your wheels tires. Probably in/out in 30 minutes or less while you drink a cup of coffee. Or maybe they serve hot tea in Canadian tire shops?

No, coffee would be more likely . . . but predictably terrible. ;-)

My dealer offers winter tire storage, as do a few tire shops nearby. The dealer charges $78 per year plus taxes. There's also the cost of wheels to consider. And honestly, I don't like the stock Toyo tires, either, so I'd be stuck with the cost of two sets of tires and another set of wheels, plus the $78 per year. Of course, if I kept the CX-5 for long enough, the tires would not cost any more than wearing out 2 sets of all weather tires, but the wheels and storage fees would be extra. And there's the cost of having the wheels changed twice a year, too.

 

[Surfsup]

We get snow where I live an average of about 10 days per year but I typically make several trips into snow country every winter. I live in a condo with limited storage space and would love to avoid having two sets of wheels/tires.

did you ever consider to drive more slowly/carefully? The stock Toyos are fine for me. I live in Chicago and have driven through the worst snow ever last couple winters. I have AWD.

 

[MikeM.]

did you ever consider to drive more slowly/carefully? The stock Toyos are fine for me. I live in Chicago and have driven through the worst snow ever last couple winters. I have AWD.

In winter driving I have found all season radials do not fail me so much because the snow is deep (and I regularly drive to the ski area that has the world record for annual snowfall). It's certain kinds of ice that is so slippery even a good snow car with all season radials can slide off the road simply due to the slope created by the crown of the road. That is, you can be at a complete stop, on a slightly sloped piece of pavement, brakes on. You might sit there for 20 seconds or so and then, wheels still fully braked, just start sliding off towards the ditch. I've never had this happen with modern winter radials. And it doesn't get this bad very often, it requires specific temperature/humidity profiles, but clean, uncontaminated glaze ice and all season radials just don't mix while it can still be competently navigated using winter tires (albeit at slow speed).

The other problem that occurs with all season radials is as evening sets in or a cold front approaches and the pavement is wet from a fresh rain or heavy dew. The road might not be icy yet so everyone is driving fast. Hit a freshly formed layer of glaze ice at speed with all season radials and you're in the ditch. With snow tires on you might not even feel it.

I can see running all season radials if you just have a few miles of relatively level city surface streets to navigate but not if you need to cover serious miles under winter conditions or you have steep hills to deal with.

 

[Rarebit]

did you ever consider to drive more slowly/carefully? The stock Toyos are fine for me. I live in Chicago and have driven through the worst snow ever last couple winters. I have AWD.

I do drive carefully - 49 years driving, no accidents (and I know part of that is luck), but mountain passes with 4,000 foot elevation gains require tires that bear the winter symbol and really work in the worst conditions.

 

[Ride92]

I picked up some new rims for winter use today. They are sport edition F2 17x7 with an offset of 35. The offset is a 15mm difference then the 19's on the car right now. The guy miss stated the offset in the CL add but driving an hour to pick them up I decided to take then anyhow. I hope I didn't make a mistake in buying them. They cost $50 per wheel and are in good shape. Do you guys think the different offset will cause problems for me do you? Is the higher offset going to hurt anything suspension wise? Is anyone running a similar setup?

 

[leeharvey418]

Do you guys think the different offset will cause problems for me do you?

Not in the slightest.

Is the higher offset going to hurt anything suspension wise?

No. Until you start getting into wildly low offsets, the load path to the suspension isn't really changing. If anything, the shorter scrub radius will put less load on your steering links for a given wheel slip angle.

Is anyone running a similar setup?

It's not exactly the same, but a lot of people run wider wheels with a similar offset, meaning that your mounted tire would fit within the envelope of the tires that they're using. So, at the end of the day, your setup is more conservative than what many use without a problem.

 

[Ride92]

Not in the slightest.



No. Until you start getting into wildly low offsets, the load path to the suspension isn't really changing. If anything, the shorter scrub radius will put less load on your steering links for a given wheel slip angle.



It's not exactly the same, but a lot of people run wider wheels with a similar offset, meaning that your mounted tire would fit within the envelope of the tires that they're using. So, at the end of the day, your setup is more conservative than what many use without a problem.

Thanks for the response! I appreciate the feedback and feel confident that these wheels will work for me. I like the look of them, simple 6 spoke design, which is easier to clean then the factory 19's by far. There is a bit of curb rash on a few of the wheels, nothing major but I either need to respray them in silver or black paint or use some plati-dip. My cars, meteor grey and I like the look of black wheels in the winter. Am I wrong in wanting to dip them? Will the dip hold up thru the winters?

 

[Kegelhoff]

After reading through a lot of these posts I'm confused if I did my calculations correctly ?? Basically I want to purchase 20" wheels and mostly likely will go to a 8.5" wide rims. In using the "Will they fit" online calculator I get the following results:
Tire = 245/45/20
TSW wheel is 20" x 8.5" with 40 ET.
Calculations say: Compared to your existing wheel, this new wheel will have an inner rim which is 9.1mm closer to the suspension strut. The outer rim will poke out 29.1mm more than before.
29.1 mm (1.145") will make the tire stick out beyond the fender about 0.25" from what I can tell. It seems to me that I should really try and get a 45 ET wheel to get closer to flush as the calculator says it would be 0.95" inches further. That even seems to be pushing it.

Can anyone with 20 x 8.5 and 40 or 45 ET confirm how flush the tires are ?? Christopher with the 15 ET seems to blow all the calcs out of the water ??

Thanks
Kevin

 

[MikeM.]

Basically I want to purchase 20" wheels and mostly likely will go to a 8.5" wide rims.

Please consider this;

Even if you spend a bunch of money buying the lightest 20"x 8.5" rims you can find, they will be significantly heavier than the OEM wheels and (more significantly) will have much higher rotational inertia. This will make your car slower to accelerate and consume more fuel. You will also lose a little nimbleness in the corners.

If you are after more corner grip and shorter braking distances you will have better results with tires that are more sport-oriented.

 

[ClangClang]

I picked up a set of stock size Blizzaks ((225/65r17)) and now I'm looking for a set of rims for my 2015 AWD Touring. I'm looking to see what I find on the used market first. There are two potential options I've found locally:

• Stock size wheels (17x7) but with an offset of 60mm. (OEM from an older Mazda 6)
• 17x6.5 with an offset of 52.5mm (OEM from a Mazda3)

Can I run the 60mm offset? Or alternatively, can I mount the above Blizzaks on a 6.5" wide rim?

 

[LarryNH914]

I picked up a set of stock size Blizzaks ((225/65r17)) and now I'm looking for a set of rims for my 2015 AWD Touring. I'm looking to see what I find on the used market first. There are two potential options I've found locally:

• Stock size wheels (17x7) but with an offset of 60mm. (OEM from an older Mazda 6)
• 17x6.5 with an offset of 52.5mm (OEM from a Mazda3)

Can I run the 60mm offset? Or alternatively, can I mount the above Blizzaks on a 6.5" wide rim?

From what I read, and from TireRack, you can put these (225/65r17) tires on either rims. I did a search for wheels, and you can see the rim widths. 6.5 inch seems to be the minimum wheel width for these tires (up to 8"). When I choose a winter tire package with 225/65r17 tires, I get a choice of rims from 6.5 to 8 inches. A choice of offsets from 35 to 50mm.

I have some 17x6.5 with an offset of 52.5mm (OEM from a Mazda5).

If I choose just wheels, I do see a 55mm offset for 17X7.. So, not too concerned about 52.5 offset, but 60mm I would do more research on.

But, for me, these tires seem to be too wide for snow in general, so I am perhaps going with 215/70R17 tires (the 225 is the width, so both 17 and 19 inch tires are the same width) which are actually closer to 19 inch OEM tire diameter than 225/65R17.

 

[Numbercruncher]

I have a very basic question. The inside door panel on my totally cool brand new 2016 CX5 says the wheels are 7" wide. When I go to Tirerack.com they claim they are 7.5" wide. Anyone know why there is a discrepancy? While shopping locally for tires I did see where one brand's 215 size tire appeared to be at least the same width as another brand's 235 size tire. Now I know that the large tire won't necessarily be 20 mm wider to my eyes but I was surprised to see the 215 appear to be actually bigger. One brand's 215 being visually similar to another brand's 205 or 225 maybe but two sizes? That doesn't make sense.

Love the new CX-5. Definitely recommend the Bose sound system.

NC

Edit: I should say that Tirerack recommends replacement wheels that are 7.5" wide. They are not indicating the stock width is 7" just that 7.5" would be the replacement. That is why I want to make sure whether I should order a 7" wheel or a 7.5" wheel.

 

[leeharvey418]

When did Tire Rack start publishing stock wheel widths? Not that I doubt that they do... it's just news to me, and I'd be very curious to know how to find it. Either way, trust your door jamb sticker.

As for the apparent size discrepancy - I'm not at all surprised. I know that a typical 205/50R17 will be almost exactly the same dimensions as the same model in a 225/45R17 when they're mounted on the same wheel width. The 225- will have squarer shoulders, but the total section width will be practically identical.

 

[Numbercruncher]

I got it wrong. I meant to say that Tire Rack wants to sell me wheels that are 7.5" wide as opposed to 7" which is what is causing my confusion.

NC

When did Tire Rack start publishing stock wheel widths? Not that I doubt that they do... it's just news to me, and I'd be very curious to know how to find it. Either way, trust your door jamb sticker.

As for the apparent size discrepancy - I'm not at all surprised. I know that a typical 205/50R17 will be almost exactly the same dimensions as the same model in a 225/45R17 when they're mounted on the same wheel width. The 225- will have squarer shoulders, but the total section width will be practically identical.

 

[leeharvey418]

Tire Rack will sell you a bunch of different wheel widths, so it's probably that the particular wheel you want is only available in the 7.5" width.

All else being equal, I'd probably go with a 7.5" over a 7" anyway - They're generally not going to be a whole lot heavier, there aren't many good tire options that will go on a 7" wheel but not on a 7.5", and there are a few good tire options (should you ever want to re-purpose these wheels for another vehicle) that will mount on a 7.5" but not on a 7".

 

[CX5_QC]

I'm getting the 2016 GT AWD version with 19" wheels but looking to put 17" for winter.

I have wheels from my Juke and I was wondering if they would fit since the offset is different and I'm no expert.

Wheel size is 17"x7.0J
PCD 114.3x5
Offset 47

Would I be able to just pop out the center cap and put them on my cx-5 ?

As you can see I would be ridding in style even during winter!

Thank you in advance for the help (canada)

 

[optical_man]

I'm getting the 2016 GT AWD version with 19" wheels but looking to put 17" for winter.

I have wheels from my Juke and I was wondering if they would fit since the offset is different and I'm no expert.

Wheel size is 17"x7.0J
PCD 114.3x5
Offset 47

Would I be able to just pop out the center cap and put them on my cx-5 ?

I'm not certain, but I think the Juke wheel might not fit because I've read that the center bore is only 66.1mm, whereas Mazda wheels are 67.1mm.
So close!