Looking good. One of the perks of not getting the "premium" 18" wheels is the freedom to do this kind of stuff without needing to buy a new set of wheels to match the smaller diameter required by the tire. I also love how this became an offroading thread over time from wheels to roof baskets, mud flaps, light bars, and soon to be front bar with rally lights.
Hi everyone, just asking if someone has gone a little far with the off roady set up.
Thinking about going 215 x 75 but in 15" rims. It´ll gonna be just above the 3% recommendation but actually I replaced the 215x50 R18 stock tires with 225x55 R18 and everythig is going good.
Now dreaming with a long travel in gravel and mud roads (south of Chile...) for 20 days so looking for something more off road.
Any comments?
Your setup for the 15 is very similar to outer dimensions of my 16 specs but just a tiny bit larger. Theoretically it should be doable with minimal risk of rubbing but my initial test fit of a 15" wheel was very very tight. However my test wheel did not actually fit the bolt pattern so I could not get a definitive answer but it came very close to not fitting based on some experimenting and mocking of the inner diameter covered so I did not risk it. It either will not fit or might come within a few millimeters of it clearing but in my experience I would require a little more air space so I went with 16s. I would have loved to do 15s but unfortunatly I was not willing to spend money on a tire+wheel just to 'maybe' fit.
These off road/all terrain wheels will help with traction in certain circumstances but one of the biggest factors you will have to take into consideration is clearance. For normal dirt/gravel/slightly muddy roads you should be good. For really rough terrain with massive bumps/mounds you will have some difficulty (can confirm from experience lol) Unfortunatly the cx-3 is very deceptive in its height with the lower black trim making the car look higher than it really is.
If you do end up getting a 15" proper fitting wheel may I ask that you report back and let us know because I am sure many of us would be curious to downsizing opportunities with larger sidewall wheels
I remember once that a friend of mine who had another older car tried downsizing and actually could have cleared it but the little stick on tire weights they put on the balancing process made contact. I feel like we would be unfortunate enough to have this happen to us as well lol.
If you got steel wheels you could get the smack on style wheels weights that go on the Edge of the rim. Not as nice looking but will get the job done I would try this stuff out at my shop but it has to be done in my down time.
Hi everyone, just asking if someone has gone a little far with the off roady set up.
Thinking about going 215 x 75 but in 15" rims. It´ll gonna be just above the 3% recommendation but actually I replaced the 215x50 R18 stock tires with 225x55 R18 and everythig is going good.
Now dreaming with a long travel in gravel and mud roads (south of Chile...) for 20 days so looking for something more off road.
Any comments?
Do the 225/55/18 rub or have given you any problems? I am looking for extra ground clearance - just a tiny bit, and putting 225/55/18 should give me close to an inch in height.
It is working fine, is just 3% taller than the oem tires.
After reading and measuring the caliper I`ll go for 16" rims, and maybe 235/60R16 tires Dunlop Grantrek AT3. It is just above the 3% tolerance but it look that there still will be room enough for suspension and steering clearence.
Hey CVJ, I’ve got a few questions with regards to your coilover setup. Do you have any info with regards to mounting of the rear shocks? Slycooper is trying to piece together a lift kit with spacers. However, can’t seem to find the location of the rear shock mounts. Presumably they’d be inside the car usually in the trunk. Or are they underside mounted? Any info would be great or even info with regards to who did your coilover setup if it wasn’t yourself.
(Dont mind the over explaining if you already knew most of it, Im posting it for future reference to people who might have similar questions without knowing how things will work)
On your previous post you mentioned doing 225/55/18 for about an 1" lift but in reality it would get you maybe 1/2" lift under extremely overinflated tires which isnt recommended for other reasons. The sad reality of this type of "lift" is that unless its a substantial vertical change, its almost negligible because tires have a tendency to "squish" or compress enough under the middle point of the wheel where the main weight is applied downward. Similarly getting a wider width tire but keeping stock oem wheel width isnt going to be a direct vertical sidewall height increase but more of a slant measurement (similar to how a 40" tv is not 40" high although this is an extreme example).
Going even further to 235/55/18 (not sure if you meant 225 as previously mentioned in the page before) would push those dimensions even further. You would have to take into account new sidewall height which is about 6mm higher after all calculations from the 225 because the middle value, the 55, is a percentage of the width to calculate sidewall so higher percentage or higher width = "bigger" sidewall (not the same as taller/straight vertical height).
Taking most of the dimensions into consideration you would *MOST LIKELY* be ok with 235/55/18 city driving but hitting bumps(possibly potholes) or maximum wheel turning could make contact unless you crawl through it. When I measured my new 16 wheel specs and the tire size in the first post I came close to contact but was able to clear most extreme tests I ran such as hitting low curbs at certain speeds/ sharp turns over bumps/ driving on sand like an idiot etc. Granted its unlikely that anyone will be doing these things for daily driving, but when you decide to go offroad, in certain conditions, city rules and clearances dont apply. You will almost always make contact if you take it through abusive terrain with 235/55/18.
(Dont mind the over explaining if you already knew most of it, Im posting it for future reference to people who might have similar questions without knowing how things will work)
On your previous post you mentioned doing 225/55/18 for about an 1" lift but in reality it would get you maybe 1/2" lift under extremely overinflated tires which isnt recommended for other reasons. The sad reality of this type of "lift" is that unless its a substantial vertical change, its almost negligible because tires have a tendency to "squish" or compress enough under the middle point of the wheel where the main weight is applied downward. Similarly getting a wider width tire but keeping stock oem wheel width isnt going to be a direct vertical sidewall height increase but more of a slant measurement (similar to how a 40" tv is not 40" high although this is an extreme example).
Going even further to 235/55/18 (not sure if you meant 225 as previously mentioned in the page before) would push those dimensions even further. You would have to take into account new sidewall height which is about 6mm higher after all calculations from the 225 because the middle value, the 55, is a percentage of the width to calculate sidewall so higher percentage or higher width = "bigger" sidewall (not the same as taller/straight vertical height).
Taking most of the dimensions into consideration you would *MOST LIKELY* be ok with 235/55/18 city driving but hitting bumps(possibly potholes) or maximum wheel turning could make contact unless you crawl through it. When I measured my new 16 wheel specs and the tire size in the first post I came close to contact but was able to clear most extreme tests I ran such as hitting low curbs at certain speeds/ sharp turns over bumps/ driving on sand like an idiot etc. Granted its unlikely that anyone will be doing these things for daily driving, but when you decide to go offroad, in certain conditions, city rules and clearances dont apply. You will almost always make contact if you take it through abusive terrain with 235/55/18.
Thank you for all your input and tips. I mentioned 225/55/18 because that was the size that was mentioned before. I will be using the car once or twice a month offroad with sharp rocks and irregular terrain, so I need the most ground clearance I can get without having to add spacers or any other crappy modification to the car. I know it is not the ideal car to do so, but I don't have a choice at this point.
I was thinking of getting the YOKOHAMA GEOLANDAR A/T G015 225/55/18. I don't want to swap my 18 oem rims for 16s. I know the 225 is not going to give me more lift than the 215 (maybe 1 mm or 2 mm), but going from 50 to 55 should give about 1".
On paper, 215-50-18 vs 225-55-18
Diameter 26.5 27.7
Width 8.5 8.9
Sidewall 4.2 4.9
My speedometer would read 70 when I would actually be going at 73.2
Like you said, on paper there is some difference, but maybe not as much in real life because of the reasons you explained. However, any ground clearance gains is better than nothing, so I am willing to give it a try, but I don't want to end up rubbing my inner fender every time I hit a deep bump or are under heavy load.
The 16 in wheels are a better setup than the 18 in, but my wife would kill me if I swap the 18s for 16s. Do you think you could have fitted 215/70/16 in your car?
The 16 in wheels are a better setup than the 18 in, but my wife would kill me if I swap the 18s for 16s. Do you think you could have fitted 215/70/16 in your car?
I honestly have no idea. I wouldn't mind the height increase but I'm not interested in finding out how that big a difference in rolling diameter would screw up my computer and god knows what else. I can almost hear the dealership saying "Well, normally that would be covered under warranty, but...".
Finally pulled the trigger on my tires! I went with the bfg G Force Comp 2 a/s. I was on the fence between these and the ko2’s but I wanted a wider tire which wasn’t available with the ko2. I went with a 245/50r16 on the stock sport wheels. Did some snowy mountain driving today and it made a world of difference caompared to a rock tires!! Very happy with my choice
I finally jumped the gun the new tires. I am looking to get the most ground clearance as possible. I need the clearance for some trails that I go often down in Mexico. The ride is a lot smoother, but slightly noisier during highway speeds. I now need to sale my 215/50/18 with 10k miles. Special...
Update Feb 2020
New forum website changes have changed the number of posts per page so the lift spring portion begins on page 4 now not as its stated below.
==========================
Update: Sept. 2019
Lift has been achieved! Page 8-9 for reference
Spring have been used instead of spacers...
I was changing over to summer tires when I broke one of the bolts on the rear wheel. I can probably replace it myself rather than paying a garage several hundred dollars. Just the same, I can't seem to find the details of the actual bolt size. I know the lug nuts are M12x1.5, but I don't know...
With the CX-3's AWD system, if I happened to get a flat and the other three tires were about half-way through the tread, would I have to replace all tires to not screw up the system? I know on some AWD systems this is the case (Subaru). Was wondering if it's the same for every AWD vehicle.
Hi,
Did you notice your rear to jump too much if pass uneven spot (sewage drainage) with speed over 90km/h?
Something like this:
https://www.carmag.co.za/news/watch-facelifted-mazda-cx-3-fall-short-in-moose-test/
I wonder what is the best approach to make suspension stiffer. 4ps sport...
A forum community dedicated to Mazda CX-3 owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!+
now to just paint these wheels black
now to just paint these wheels black
SlyCoopers · updated 
kingarthas · updated 
