Dont forget about wwww.wheelmax.com - great selection and prices

 

No offense intended, Dog, but I've checked out that site and I think you get what you pay for.
Prices good, yes, for some. Tires prices are not that different than the big guys and selection both quality and size is VERY limited.
Wheels are priced well too but again, not much info for (many) no-name wheels.

From the Tire Rack, which I do not endorse per say, I received free ("free?") mounting, balancing, centering (concentric) adapter rings, aluminium valve stems (in my case 8 of them, 2 per wheel)and a set of Gorilla tuner lugsw/socketincluded in the price... which was not cheap, but worth it, imo. They were ready for installation the minute they hit my door.

And oh, BTW: I checked out a few of the wheels that they carry that I know others are running (5Zigen's to be exact) on the 3 series and they don't have the correct ones to fit.

Sizzlin, when choosing wheels for your car remember that the OE off-set is -52.5mm and try to stay as close to that as you can.I wouldn't go any less that -48mm myself.-45mm in a pinch. -42 and less are a no-no, imo.This is important to handling, tracking and braking as well as tire wear. Others may tell you that a lesser offset will fit, and it very well may, but you will run into all kinds of problems now, or in the future using them.

 

hey sizzlin. my mz3 is silver, but its a wagon...

imo, gunmetal, silver, or graphite would be the way to go to compliment the color of the car.

my stock wheels are 17 x 6.5 with 215/50 bfg traction t/a all-season tires. they fit, look, and ride nicely althought there is some rubbing when the wheels are turned all the way to either side...no big deal though.

[IMG]local://upfiles/339/1E6897FF2C6449DD9E355BE14D0DC453.jpg[/IMG]


my aftermarket wheels are 17 x 7 gunmetal falken torque 5 with 215/45 falken azinis performance tires. no rubbing issues, they look great, and the rubber is inexpensive and sticky with a long lasting life.

[IMG]local://upfiles/339/C7F406A60E4F46E688F6ED46D87BE39B.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/339/ABFC201CDDB64C96B50C1ED94E0A31C4.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/339/EE1FF566E0824B2E9EA90E8789E73A14.jpg[/IMG]


good luck with everything!

 

You can also use this to figure out the difference http://marksink.com/tire_wheel_offset/offset.html.
You already have the 52.5 mm offset with the 6.5 wheel

 

Because off-set is always measured using the center of the wheel as a guideline (standard,) it has little to do w/back-spacing and should alwaysfall w/in (or near) OE specs. It's true that the wider the wheel the less the back spacing within a given offset (i.e. 17x7x -52.5=141.4mmbackspacing vs. 17x8x -52.5= 154.1mm backspacing, or in other words an additional 0.5" of wheel behind, and in frontthe centerline) but the offset should still remain the same, or as close as possible.
What these ppl are trying to sell is back-spacing which has little to do w/proper off-set, and the affect it has on handling, bump steer, braking dive, etc....
Please don't confuse the two.
7.5" wide wheels w/OE offset or near should fit w/o an issue and fit the widest tire you could possibly want on a 3 series. 225's are safe 235's... ????

 

just an fyi, at Canadian tire, its $40 to install, mount, balance and install 4 new tires. and that includes de-installation of your old tires.
chrome tire valve sleeves and caps are an extra $5 for all 4.

im sure its around the same price, if not cheaper, in the states.

 

Virgin, you have blue bulbs in your fog and turn/park light, what are they? model numbers? Like the burgandy color you got for your fog housing and for your emblem as well (in another picture).

________
condo Pattaya

 

Actually, the fogs and headlights are blue RockBlockers, but the 1157CA running/turn bulbs are chromed/amber (CA)SilverStars. They only look blue in the light. Surprisingly, when lit they are actually brighter than the OE's.
The burgundy is a combination of primer, color coat and clear coat and is a pain in the butt to do and maintain, but I do like the look also.
Thanks for the compliments Win.

 

Virgin, going back to tires, I was browsing tirerack.com, it seems even with the same sized tire, different brand often has different revs/mile ratings......should this be a concern? what's the "standard" rev/mile on mazda3 if there is one.
mazda recommends tires from 15in to 18in , P195/65/15 89H, P205/55/16 89H, P205/50/17 88V, and 215/45/18 93Y.

________
New Age Compassion Care

 

I'm not an expert (I just play one on TV )but justdo my best to stay within accepted tolorances.
Tread depth and shoulder design will affecta tires revs/mile. All manufacturer's have different ideas of what they want their tires to be.
Twonew tires of the same size: One has a lot of tread depth, say 9/32" when newand a soft-shoulder design might offers fewer R/Mthan another one with less tread (7/32") manufactured into it and that has a harder edgedshoulder.
I use a calculator to determine revs/mile to be used as a guide when choosing a new tire size. But as any good engineer will tell you (I'm sure,) theory does not always match the reality, it only resembles it.
Also, as the tire's tread wears down, the R/M factor would naturally go up. So it's not an exact science.