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Newb - questions on a drop/wheels

SteveO

SteveO

New Member
Newb here and 1st post! I hate to ask a question that’s probably asked a lot but I’m still a bit confused and looking for some direction on wheel size/suspension mods. I have read a ton on the various forums and came across this site and being that it’s local => cool. Again I have been reading (learning a lot) and have a basic concept as to what’s available/what I want.

I purchased a new 2010 white Mazda3 hatch a few months ago. The stock wheels are 17x7, offset 52.5, 22lbs, 205/50-17 tires etc…it’s my daily driver and won’t be racing (well…..)

My goal is to reduce the gap/improve handling, which looks great, won’t damage my fenders, and be forgiving enough to take my kids and haul my drum kit and the occasional home dept item around town without having to navigate every bump in the road and driveway. Maybe that’s asking too much, I dunno? I have nothing to really gauge a "bad" ride. Although, I have driven new Vette's and I could live with that! :)

I’m pretty sure coilovers are way overkill for me and am thinking about the Koni FSD/Eibach Pro kit package for the drop and some TSW Nurburgring 18x7.5, +45, 225/40/18 or 17x7.5 => I don’t really know/understand the pros/cons between the 18 + 17.

I don’t know the difficulty of this task (it seems pretty straightforward) and would like to do it myself but not sure though. I don’t even know who or where to ask? For the sake of conversation, what would a shop charge to install?

Any additional thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Regards:)
 
mndsm

mndsm

I'M OFFENDED!
Welcome aboard.

First things first. Your wheel choice. Two major things are there to consider. #1- 18's are going to be heavier than 17's. Heavy=baaaaad. I actually went down to a 17" from an 18 in my ms3, for the weight. And because I can get more tire under there. #2- you would be looking at slightly taller gearing across the powerband with an 18" wheel.... so you'd have a little more at the top end, but might lose a hair at the bottom. All things considered, i'd stick with the 17's. Cheaper tires, cheaper wheels, lighter, etc etc.


Second thing. Your suspension swap should be relatively cake if you elect to do it yourself. Give yourself a solid day to do it, and you should be fine. If you're not into that concept, contact Stellar Performance in Plymouth. They can hook you up. Otherwise, come talk to us sometime, we've done em before.
 
dmention7

dmention7

Hater
Totally agree on wheel size. One other thing to consider is that, at least IMO, larger wheels with a smaller sidewall tend to emphasize wheel gap, and makes the fitment of the wheel and the amount of drop that much more critical to getting a good look.
 
Picklz

Picklz

SUDO Make me a SAMCH
Welcome!

First off - 18" vs 17" does nothing to change your gearing, that's all in the overall diameter of the tire, which you can match, or nearly match, between 17's and 18's. Taking for example your stock 205/50 17's and comparing them to a 225/40/18 the overall diameter is exactly the same (25.1") though you will loose 1/2" of sidewall to make up for the 1" overall larger wheel.

Ride quality you will loose a little of the comfort going from 17's to 18's, however most generally agree you get a quicker turn-in with 18's due to the smaller sidewall so it's a trade off, as far as looks, Jay (dmention7) is right the larger wheel tends to bring out the fender/wheel gap a bit, even if the overall diameter is exactly the same, but if your planning on dropping it 1-2" I wouldn't be too worried about that.

I personally think 18's look and work great on the 3's as daily drivers, I'll give 17's credit for being a bit lighter, cheaper, and cheaper tires. As long as your buying the right wheels there isn't going to be a huge difference in weight.

As far as the suspension, plenty of people here have done springs and/or shocks/struts. I'm sure you could find peoples to help you do the install, I'll be tossing coilovers in my MS6 this summer I believe, being your car is newer / hasn't seen as many winters the fun of getting rusted bolts off should be minimal in your case.
 
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SteveO

SteveO

New Member
mndsm said:
Welcome aboard.

First things first. Your wheel choice. Two major things are there to consider. #1- 18's are going to be heavier than 17's. Heavy=baaaaad. I actually went down to a 17" from an 18 in my ms3, for the weight. And because I can get more tire under there. #2- you would be looking at slightly taller gearing across the powerband with an 18" wheel.... so you'd have a little more at the top end, but might lose a hair at the bottom. All things considered, i'd stick with the 17's. Cheaper tires, cheaper wheels, lighter, etc etc.


Second thing. Your suspension swap should be relatively cake if you elect to do it yourself. Give yourself a solid day to do it, and you should be fine. If you're not into that concept, contact Stellar Performance in Plymouth. They can hook you up. Otherwise, come talk to us sometime, we've done em before.
Click to expand...
Understood, thanks:) I am aware of the weight (unsprung) dynamic and these TSW's or whatever I end up with I will make sure they don't weigh more that the stocks (22lbs). I'm not for or against 17, 18 19 or whatever - just looking for a good fitment that's going to work with my goals.

All of these aftermarket parts - wheels, shocks, springs, exhaust et al, are there issues in so far as the OEM stuff being of better quality and is ‘matched” much better due to the engineering they put into it?
 
SteveO

SteveO

New Member
dmention7 said:
Totally agree on wheel size. One other thing to consider is that, at least IMO, larger wheels with a smaller sidewall tend to emphasize wheel gap, and makes the fitment of the wheel and the amount of drop that much more critical to getting a good look.
Click to expand...
That's kinda my dilemma, I'm not into the super low 35 series etc.. so it would appear 40 or 45 are the options (obviously) and deciding on which size (wheel+tire) is directly related to the "type" of drop, correct? meaning:
- Just springs (prokit)
- FSD/Prokit package
- Prokit/Koni sports
- The multitude of other combination's available

However I have never done anything like this before so I'm a bit confused.

I'm liking this type of setup (granted these are 19's w/ 35's)


Thanks!:)
 
SteveO

SteveO

New Member
Picklz said:
Welcome!

First off - 18" vs 17" does nothing to change your gearing, that's all in the overall diameter of the tire, which you can match, or nearly match, between 17's and 18's. Taking for example your stock 205/50 17's and comparing them to a 225/40/18 the overall diameter is exactly the same (25.1") though you will loose 1/2" of sidewall to make up for the 1" overall larger wheel.

Ride quality you will loose a little of the comfort going from 17's to 18's, however most generally agree you get a quicker turn-in with 18's due to the smaller sidewall so it's a trade off, as far as looks, Jay (dmention7) is right the larger wheel tends to bring out the fender/wheel gap a bit, even if the overall diameter is exactly the same, but if your planning on dropping it 1-2" I wouldn't be too worried about that.

I personally think 18's look and work great on the 3's as daily drivers, I'll give 17's credit for being a bit lighter, cheaper, and cheaper tires. As long as your buying the right wheels there isn't going to be a huge difference in weight.

As far as the suspension, plenty of people here have done springs and/or shocks/struts. I'm sure you could find peoples to help you do the install, I'll be tossing coilovers in my MS6 this summer I believe, being your car is newer / hasn't seen as many winters the fun of getting rusted bolts off should be minimal in your case.
Click to expand...
Sweet, you're volunteering to help me, that's mighty nice of you. I'll give ya a call in a couple months! Kidding of course. I would be up for someone with experience on this wanting to help as I would like to do it my self, just for the experience. Gotta start somewhere.

I know ride quality will change, I guess I'm looking for that middle ground for a daily driver.

Also, never thought of this, but by performing one of these standard drops will the stock wheel/tire be adversely affected when I put them on for the winter (e.g. rubbing, camber or whatever)?
 
dmention7

dmention7

Hater
He wasn't joking about helping with the install. If there is a case of beer, some pizza (and a warm garage if it's winter), you'll have no trouble getting a few sets of helping hands for the install!

As far as wheel/tire fitment after the drop... that all depends on how much of a drop and the combination of wheel width/offset, and tire size. As a pretty loose guide, every 1 mm lower in offset is going to push the edge of the tire out by 1mm. And every 10 mm increase in tread width will push out the edge of the tire by 5mm. So, if you go from a +55 offset to a +48 offset and from a 215 tire to a 225 tire, you're going to reduce the clearance between tire and fender by 12mm or so.

Camber all depends on the drop too. Generally if you go 1.5" or less, you won't have to worry about anything a standard alignment cant fix. 2" or more and you need to start looking at more major adjustments to the suspension geometry. Not terribly familiar with the newer 3s though, so take that with a grain of salt.
 
SteveO

SteveO

New Member
dmention7 said:
He wasn't joking about helping with the install. If there is a case of beer, some pizza (and a warm garage if it's winter), you'll have no trouble getting a few sets of helping hands for the install!

As far as wheel/tire fitment after the drop... that all depends on how much of a drop and the combination of wheel width/offset, and tire size. As a pretty loose guide, every 1 mm lower in offset is going to push the edge of the tire out by 1mm. And every 10 mm increase in tread width will push out the edge of the tire by 5mm. So, if you go from a +55 offset to a +48 offset and from a 215 tire to a 225 tire, you're going to reduce the clearance between tire and fender by 12mm or so.

Camber all depends on the drop too. Generally if you go 1.5" or less, you won't have to worry about anything a standard alignment cant fix. 2" or more and you need to start looking at more major adjustments to the suspension geometry. Not terribly familiar with the newer 3s though, so take that with a grain of salt.
Click to expand...
Case 'O beer and pizza NOT a problem....EVER! :)

I'm looking at the Prokit w/ shocks so that should be 1.5" or less. With that in mind am I correct that that these are the two sizes that will work best w/o messing with the speedo, enough clearance etc..>225/40/18 or 225/45/17?
 
AJ

AJ

110 HP of FURY!
Between SteveO, JT, and myself, maybe a weekend at BAG for suspension.

Wasn't Picklz thinking of a fender roller as well. Be a nice addition.
 
Picklz

Picklz

SUDO Make me a SAMCH
AJ said:
Between SteveO, JT, and myself, maybe a weekend at BAG for suspension.

Wasn't Picklz thinking of a fender roller as well. Be a nice addition.
Click to expand...
I'm planning on doing fender rolling ans coilovers this spring or summer might buy a roller
 
JohnnyT

JohnnyT

New Member
I guess I just volunteered for this...

I'll remember that when it comes time to put coils on the 'vette.
 
mndsm

mndsm

I'M OFFENDED!
MNMazda's owner has reportedly ordered a complete Eastwood kit (roller, heat gun, fender finisher) for his own that he'd probably loan out for the right price.


>.>

<.<
 
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