What size wheel :)

[Clappy]

Thank you Bruce! finally, i understand offset.. I owe you...

[don_don]

17"s are good but.....

i have 17x7.5 w/40mm offset and a 1.8 lowered stance and i like them actually they are for sale for about 900can. im going to put on 18 or 19s havnt made up mind yet. the tires are ventus 205/40/17 just to give u a idea. ill try and post pics(its not lowered in pic its old):

[lowpro98]

teag i have 17's on my car i dont think cars should have 18's or up on them make them look wierd but when my car gets the 1.8 drop all around they will look nicer

[bruce95fmla]

6. I know what your next question is..... Tires?

No, want kumho's

You really should search, before you post. I know this has to be posted somewhere on this board. Or at least all of this has been explained.

umm Okay.....

Don't worry your getting newbie treatment from me lol .... All the other guys have been swayed by your beauty... Dem Suckers.

anyway ..
yeah khumo's are cool ... But here is my problem with them. I used to have them on my Protege and I sware to you ... I had 16" rims with 205/45/16's ... The stupid tires were so damn bulky , for some reason khumo makes there dang nabbing side walls bigger than every other tire company. So you end up with a side wall that makes your rims look smaller than they actually are.

The wet traction is pretty good though. The dry traction is not far behind the wet.

My next set of tires however won't be khumo's. They will be a set of Yokohama's . But I am installing 15" lightweight wheels, because I want my car to be quick off the line and overall.

Honestly. I have to say this. 16's are heavy , 17's are no better. They look nice.. and that's about it. See you also have to remeber that the protege does not have the type of wheel hp to support 17's. When I say this I mean that it's not like our cars are turbo or have 190 hp. If we had 190hp it would not be a big deal to spin the 17" wheels.

If you look at xprotege323's car. He has a GTX motor in his car and running 15+ lbs of boost. He has 17's on his car also. But the thing is he has close to 200 whp in his car and the motor has more than enough power to spin the rims. On the other hand we have 122 or 92(1.5) so putting 17 inch rims will hurt our performance. Especially on the top end. 90+ mph...

yeah I know I am typing a lot ...
but you should know what your getting into.

When I had my 16's I had a hard time reaching 105mph. I mean the car would take forever to get up to speed. The car did look nice however, but it took forever to get up to speed. When I took the rims off and put on my 13's ..The difference was frigin night and day. The car was much more responsive, It would accel a lot better but didn't grip as good as the 16's .. Which can be taken care off when I get my 15's ...

Well at least you know the down low about rims. These are some things that some people may not notice, but I have had my car so long and have gone through so many transitions with it, that I tend to remeber every little odds and ends.

Any definetly look into another tire aside from the khumo ...
There are some better ones that may run you like 10 bucks more or so ... and they would have a stiffer sidewall.
Bruce

my 16's

[FastTrackGirlie]

Well then, heck 15's would be cheaper than 16's over all so if it's going to give me more speed that would be nice! So from what you said, I took this,
I guess I always just figured bigger was better....oh wow isn't that and overstated statment? bwahahahaha It's not the size that matters it's how the car can handle it or something right? "

Thank you for clearifying that for me... :0) Much appreciated!

Michelle

[bruce95fmla]

Well then, heck 15's would be cheaper than 16's over all so if it's going to give me more speed that would be nice! So from what you said, I took this,
I guess I always just figured bigger was better....oh wow isn't that and overstated statment? bwahahahaha It's not the size that matters it's how the car can handle it or something right? "

Thank you for clearifying that for me... :0) Much appreciated!

Michelle

I am not even going to use my dirty mind and respond to that one ....

[asylum24]

bruce you are supposed to think dirty... the female is talkin dirty to ya... like it

[Gino]

Bruce says: Some of the newer protege's use 5x115s. Make that bolt circle 5x114.3 (mm). Gen 3 ESs run this size with a 195/50 tire. Assume you have 4-bolt pattern. There are a lot of excellent wheels available for your car with a 4x100mm bolt center.

He also says his car was quicker with 13" (?) wheels than 17s. It would be because the overall wheel/tire diameter is smaller; it's like putting a higher a final driver gear ratio in the car.

If you match the rolling diameter of the bigger wheel/tire combination as closely as possible to stock, the car will maintain its 0-60 time and top speed. My 215/40/17s perform as well as my original 195/50/16s.

As far as "heavier" wheels, check out the weight of your stock wheel and shop for an alloy that's lighter--they're out there. The tire weight will take care of itself.

As for tire size, wider isn't necessarily better. Tire pattern and sidewall rigidity as well as compound can alter handling and roadholding, wet and dry. Take a look at www.tirerack.com for comparison reviews of a number of tires and you'll get the idea.

BTW, the Mazda factory manual calls for a +50mm offset with 17" wheels, even though +40, +45 seems to work--depending on how much of a drop lower springs bring iit down--and also works with a 16, the +40 being the offset on factory 16" alloys.

If you're installing aftermarket big brakes with larger calipers, be sure to check wheel clearance from back of wheel to caliper. Many big brake installations require spacers to allow wheels to clear calipers.

[Kelly]

forget about pep boys. being in florida i bet you can find somebody selling an extra set with tires....i bought one set brand new and will never do it again...youll only waste money that can go toward your other goodies.

[bruce95fmla]

Bruce says: Some of the newer protege's use 5x115s. Make that bolt circle 5x114.3 (mm). Gen 3 ESs run this size with a 195/50 tire. Assume you have 4-bolt pattern. There are a lot of excellent wheels available for your car with a 4x100mm bolt center.

He also says his car was quicker with 13" (?) wheels than 17s. It would be because the overall wheel/tire diameter is smaller; it's like putting a higher a final driver gear ratio in the car.

If you match the rolling diameter of the bigger wheel/tire combination as closely as possible to stock, the car will maintain its 0-60 time and top speed. My 215/40/17s perform as well as my original 195/50/16s.

As far as "heavier" wheels, check out the weight of your stock wheel and shop for an alloy that's lighter--they're out there. The tire weight will take care of itself.

As for tire size, wider isn't necessarily better. Tire pattern and sidewall rigidity as well as compound can alter handling and roadholding, wet and dry. Take a look at www.tirerack.com for comparison reviews of a number of tires and you'll get the idea.

BTW, the Mazda factory manual calls for a +50mm offset with 17" wheels, even though +40, +45 seems to work--depending on how much of a drop lower springs bring iit down--and also works with a 16, the +40 being the offset on factory 16" alloys.

If you're installing aftermarket big brakes with larger calipers, be sure to check wheel clearance from back of wheel to caliper. Many big brake installations require spacers to allow wheels to clear calipers.

I had 16's on my car not 17's . I also have 205/45/16 tires.
If your going to tell me that 16" rims with tires of this size are as light as a 13" steel wheel . Well then I have nothing to say about that.
The 16" combo I had weighed about 21 to 23 lbs a wheel and tire. ( I weighed them once) . I never weighed the 13's but by lifting the two you can definetly feal the difference.

My car was quicker, not faster.
I could get off the line quicker but I had more top end with the 16's ..
That is what I was explaining to her. The 13" rims allowed me to accelerate much faster than the 16" wheels. I mentioned nothing of the final gear ratio (or top speed) .

And if you think about ... Who wants to run a 50mm offset on a Protege that's dropped .. with 205/40/17 or a 205/45/16. I definetly could see this offset rubbing on the strut.
When I had my 16's on my car. In the rear from the tire to the strut. There was about this much room I-------I or 1.5 fingers.
I would actually like to get a 35mm offset. I want my tires to stick out a bit. Look at mazdaracers car. He has 35mm offset rims on his car in 15's to ... sweet if I may say so...

Your right though she should check out tirerack.com. They give you some good info on tires.
thanks
bruce

[protegewill]

hey all... i'm being cheep... for now at least i bought a set of rims off of a 1990 miata. i figured that they'll do me for this summer comming at least and only $250

[dipsetpimp713]

well maybe u aint the biggest kuhmo fan but my 17s work and look great i got 205/40/17 and the dont look weird or nothin not to mention the tires grab excellent on dry pavement i havent heard a squeal out of em yet and ive had em since sept with all those windin roads where people wont dar do 50 aound i will hit 75 with ease no squeelin unline my friends pesky civic haha well im a fan and the way i see it size matters 15s arent my idea of big enuff u can get 4 rims for 250 wha will cost u is the tires but hey patience u dont wqanna go with 15 and later wanna get bigger right then it wouldve all been a waste

[JesseSays]

well maybe u aint the biggest kuhmo fan but my 17s work and look great i got 205/40/17 and the dont look weird or nothin not to mention the tires grab excellent on dry pavement i havent heard a squeal out of em yet and ive had em since sept with all those windin roads where people wont dar do 50 aound i will hit 75 with ease no squeelin unline my friends pesky civic haha well im a fan and the way i see it size matters 15s arent my idea of big enuff u can get 4 rims for 250 wha will cost u is the tires but hey patience u dont wqanna go with 15 and later wanna get bigger right then it wouldve all been a waste

Dude, try to use complete sentences. PLEASE. That is so hard to read.

And 712's not squealing? hahaha...ok.

[Gino]

Response to Bruce

If you're going to tell me that 16" rims with tires of this size are as light as a 13" steel wheel, well then, I have nothing to say about that. The 16" combo I had weighed about 21 to 23 lbs a wheel and tire. (I weighed them once). I never weighed the 13's but by lifting the two you can definitely feal the difference.

I didn't say a larger wheel/tire combo was lighter than your 13s. I said: As far as "heavier" wheels, check out the weight of your stock wheel and shop for an alloy that's lighter--they're out there. The tire weight will take care of itself. Assume the wheel/tire combo larger than the 13" stock wheel/tire combo does weigh a few pounds more. In my experience, the weight factor has less impact on acceleration than vastly altered wheel/tire diameter.

My car was quicker, not faster. I could get off the line quicker but I had more top end with the 16's. That is what I was explaining to her. The 13" rims allowed me to accelerate much faster than the 16" wheels. I mentioned nothing of the final gear ratio (or top speed).

Let me try again: a car with the 13" wheel/tire combo, which is smaller in overall diameter, is going to be quicker, not faster, than a larger wheel/tire combination on the same car because the rolling diameter is less. I mentioned final drive ratio simply as an example: a 4.30 will give quicker acceleration than a 4.15, but the 4.15 will give a higher top speed for the same number of engine revs with the 4.30--this is the same situation if you mount a tire/wheel combo of substantially greater diameter; the smaller diameter is quicker, with less top speed. The bigger diameter is not as quick, but has more top end as you noted.

Who wants to run a 50mm offset on a Protege that's dropped with 205/40/17 or a 205/45/16. I definitely could see this offset rubbing on the strut. When I had my 16's on my car. In the rear from the tire to the strut. There was about this much room I-------I or 1.5 fingers.

You're right that the dimension from rim bead/tire sidewall to strut is crucial, as is the sidewall/tread clearance to wheel openings when turning so front tires don't contact body metal under heavy cornering. This is the reason I always have a proposed change in a wheel/tire combo mounted on the car front and rear before I buy it to make sure there's clearance at all four corners.

I would actually like to get a 35mm offset. I want my tires to stick out a bit. Look at mazdaracers car. He has 35mm offset rims on his car in 15's to ... sweet if I may say so.

As for offset, I was quoting from the factory service manual for a 17x7.5 wheel. It calls for +40-45mm offset with 15" or 16" wheels. My research, however, tells me 35-45 will work well, depending on wheel make/tire width combination, with 40 being an excellent working number.

Agree that Racer's car is a kewl view.

[dipsetpimp713]

actually its 711 and not 712 but they will grab great on any and everyroad...look at all the tickets ive gotten...thanx god im related to the D.A i wouldve lost my lisence if not.but ive raced many cars and come str8 aways i loose to many of my friends cars..but put me on a windin road money says imma take any of my friends ive beat all of em but i havent raced my friends z24 yet but itll come once snow clears off...ive squelled pullin off,but never from a turn ...never so u b da judge but comin from sum 1 who luvs testin his car on these lil windin roads. the tires grab great and thas it not if,ors,or buts about it...1