Been thinking about buying rims for my 3...17 inch glossy black with polished lip or gunmetal but what colors would you guys suggest for it? I got the strato blue. And what do you guys think about 205/40z/17 low profile tires on the car? Will I come to any problems with the tire pressure sensor going off? For you guys with rims what would be the best tire size for 17's ??

 

TireRack.com recommends 50 profile tires for 17 inch rims on the Mazda3. I have the 16s so I'm not much help with your other questions but...40 profile is a damn tiny sidewall. Just know that you're guna feel every crack in the road, you run a big risk of cracking/bending your rims if you hit a pothole or other debris in the road, and you will get horrible snow traction. Id keep an extra set of rims with snow tires on it (if you live ina snowy area that is)

 

I think you'd be better off running a 225/45ZR17. The sidewalls of our tires are already small enough where they are very stiff, so I think you'd yield better handling by increasing the contact patch to the road. You also wouldn't sacrifice any drive quality this way. (BTW....I run 225/45ZR17 on 17x7 wheels, 60mm offset and they work great. Anything from a 45-60mm offset in a 17x7 should fit.

 

Alright. thanks! I asked about the low pro tires cause i was gonna get a deal on them 180 for all 4 with about 80-90% life left. I guess I will go with the 225/45ZR17. Thanks again..

 

i have 215/35z/18 on my 3 and they are awesome

 

on stock 17"x7" wheels im running BFG 215/55 all-season tires which are great!
on aftermarket 17"x7" wheels im running Falken 215/45 summer tires which are even better!

no rubbing problems with either tire.

 

Your tire pressure monitor will go off...no biggy unless alittle flashing light bugs you...here is a pic of my car,..it sounds like what i have is sorta what your looking for. If so let me know and i'll tell you all the details. My tire pressure sensor does flash at me...i just ignore it...it's no biggy, and no harm will come to the vehicle...

[IMG]local://upfiles/2968/7C789F11474849F4AB17496A5893E946.jpg[/IMG]

 

falerios,
Yea I actually saw your car on one of the previous threads here and liked how the gunmetal looked with the lip. I was thinking more of a 5 spoke tho. How do you think it would look on the strato blue?

BTW...Check out this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QotOS...arch=mazda%203

Is that your car?

 

hahaha no thats not my car,...sure does look like it tho ,..kinda,..my windows are limo tinted in the back..and my rims are alittle bit different....i had to pause the video tho to make sure my car hadn't been stolen

The new look thats in for rims and cars, is the black, or gunmetal rim with a polished or chrome lip....even all grey or black is lookin' good to. I think the rim you are describing would look awsome on your car. Tinting the windows would look nice too. When shopping for rims,..find the rim you like...if it is too expensive,..look around more..there are sooooo many wheel manufactures it's crazy,..and many sell rims that all look alike. If there is a wheel you like and it's too expensive, i guarantee there is another wheel thru another company that looks the same or very close for half the price. When buying rims make sure you check on the back spacing...you can't just see a wheel ...check to see if the lug fits,..then buy it...the thing could end up stick 3 feet out from the car,..thats where you have to make sure the back spacing is correct. My wheels are Nitto NT-555 in a 225/40/ZR18. When buying tires, you want to check the tire wear rating, traction rating, and tempature rating. Treadwear ratings are in numbers...220-250, 300 etc... the traction and tempatures are rating in a letter..B,...A...AA.. etc. The lower the treadwear number is,..the high traction you ussually will have,..the higher the traction,..the quicker those suckers are going to wear out,..but the more grip you willl have when flying thru the corners. The treadwear on my Nitto's is 300 and traction and temp. are both "A".
My tires are a very good tire, with great grip and moderate longgevity with wear,...it's a trade off...you want to find a tire that wears down with the kind of driving you do. I wanted a sticky tire, but not so sticky that i'd have to be buying new ones every 15K miles. Plus my Nitto's were moderately priced, compared to some of the really higher end (grippier) tires. Hope i was of some help to you. If you have any more questions please feel free to e-mail me: lawdog805@msn.com

Kevin-

[IMG]local://upfiles/2968/DE85E8453BF7413FB2CAB40437F369B7.jpg[/IMG]

 

WILL DO!! and yes you have helped out a lot. thanks.