hey guys I hope this is the correct place to post..if not im sorry..

Well I've got a completly stock Black 2004 Mazda 3 4door sedan. It's a 2.0L 4 cyl. The only thing i asked the dealer to add was a spoiler on the back, but thats really nothing special at all.

I have a variety of things i'd like to do to improve the appearance of it, and then maybe later some modifications under the hood.

as far as appearance goes i'd like to go ahead and get some black rims on the car. I know its not a very original idea but i love the way it looks. I'd like for them to be probably 18 inches, but im stumped as far as what tires to get. Im not so concerned with whether they are "racing tires" or w/e. Im concerned with the tire profile if thats the correct name. I'd like if there was not too much tire showing, but im not sure about safety or whether i'd need to upgrade brakes for the new rims. If anyone here could point me in the right direction as to where to obtain a good set of rims with maybe a rim/tire package, i'd be very grateful. I've seen a lot on Ebay, and they alll look very cool, but im just not sure if that is a safe place to buy from. Someone please help me...!!

As far as under the hood, i explained earlier that it is only a 2.0L 4cyl. I'd like to add just a little more power. Im not looking to race, but i'd like the performance to be a little higher as far as horsepower and or torque goes. I've researched cold air intakes and short ram intakes. I've also looked at performance exhausts. Which of thoses two things would have the most immediate and most beneficial effect on my horsepower?? I'm not looking to overhaul my engine or add any real major parts or upgrades, but those two things would be in my price range.

My most immediate concern would be the rims/tires but i'd love to have more information on the intakes/exhausts. I love my mazda but i just want to change it a little bit.

Thanks a bunch!

 

wow!! thats one hell of a first post!!

ok, lets start with tires.
if you want 18's, you will most likely need a 40 series tire, which means the sidewall of the tire (the part that you see from the side) measure 40mm's... and probably 205-215 wide
so a 205/40/R18 (the R18 is the radius if the tire, and the rim size)
or a 210(or 215)....
you dont want to go too wide, or else the tire may rub on the fender.

tires are one of the most important mods you can do to a car, that and brakes.
so make sure you get something somewhat high performance.
i have a set of Kumho Ecsta tires on my car (205/50/R17) and i think they cost me ~100 cdn each. they are alright, but suck in the wet. oh, and these are summer tires only.

try to stay away from ebay. most of the rims appear to be stolen, and the shipping and customs and all is more than the rims themselves.
your best bet would be to find a local tuner shop (we have sound image, underworld customs, and streetwyze customs in Burlington)

and as for the performance upgrade.....
so far on my car, i have a Fujita intake, and Magnaflow exhaust, and i love them both. i'd say those 2 mods made me ~15-20 whp, if im lucky....

once again, if you talk to your local tuner shop, they'd be able to answer all of your questions for you!!

oh, and have you thought about lowering your car too?? once u put rims on, you have an ugle wheel gap (the space between then tire and fender) and lower your car reduces that, and makes ur car look ALOT nicer, plus it increase ur handling, which is always a plus.

i wouldnt worry about adding larger brakes with just 18's....i take it ur not racing, and ur stock brakes will do just fine.

oh, and welcome to the forum!!!!

-Adam

 

here, take a look at my car, just for an idea....
i have my car lowered, and i painted my calipers red to make the wheels stand out more....



oh, and feel free to pm me about anymore question you may have!!

 

adding 15 to 20hpmight be a bold estimate with intake and exhaust only- especially if you have the 2.0.

Expl11 - id recommend looking at the dynocharts that some of these performance websites give you when you add an intake or an exhaust....using a K&N typhoon as an example, K&N shows that it makes somewhere around 5 whp. And using a magnaflow catback system, it shows on a dynosheet that it adds 6 whp, and 6 tq. I always thought it best to be conservative when it comes to estimating hp gains - keeps your expectations at the right level.