Thinking of changing my mazda 3 1.6HB tires and rims, from stock 195/55R16 to 215/45R17. Just wondering if its advisable and what would I be losing out on / gaining? I think the gap between tire and fender is abit big, thus looks ugly. Will changing size as stated above help cosmetically? Hope you guys can help, don't know much about this stuff. Thanks!

better stick to 16 , just find nice pattern rims

16 to 17 , wider tire , more traction on braking and cornering , stability on highspeed ,

down side , pay more $ , increase in FC , less comfort

maybe u can try 16/55/205 or 215 with nice rims

Is the increase in FC and decrease in comfort significant/noticeable tho? Tempted to whip on 17's to cover the gap between tire and wheel arch abit. It does help right? If the cons are pretty significant tho, I won't opt for the 17". Also tempted because theres a good looking set of rays 17" I'm interested in

definately can notice the comfort but just slightly increase of FC due to slightly heavy tires and wider tire ( need more power to more the car)

even my last mazda 3 1.5 CBU comes with 15" and it just enough for 1.6

it up to you,

why not u try any members of m3 who already upgrade to 17" then u gonna get better feel

This post has been edited by gahpadu: Aug 2 2013, 02:57 PM

Damn. Hard to decide in that case. Thanks for your feedback!

If your aim is just to reduce fender gap then the right thing to do is get a sport lowering springs. If you change rims & tires from 195/55/16 to 215/45/17 then the fender gap will be only reduced by a measly 2mm, or practically not noticeable reduction! Because the difference in radius between the 2 sizes are just about 2mm. On top of that, since your tire is much thinner, it will actually look more ugly and odd since the fender gap will look larger compared to the thin tire. then of course you'd get much reduced comfort, and also FC (this depends on how heavy the 17 setup will be).

So my advice don't change to 17' but get a lowering springs, or if got more budget get adjustable coil over.

get 17" and 205/50/17 tire
original m3 using this size as well , fender gap reduce , rim bigger 1inch , sidewall still can remain thick

after rim change only decide lowered ornot

Correct me if I'm wrong, the total diameter would be increased by about 15mm, if the mentioned changes were to take place. How much would sport lowering springs cost? Pricey?

Hmm sounds like a plan. My tires now are conti mc5, which also come in 215/45R17. Do they also come in 205/50/17? I dont know much about this, hope its not a stupid question haha

Well, you're wrong.
195/55/16 diameter = (19.5 x 0.55 x 2) + (16 x 2.54) = 62.09cm
215/45/17 diameter = (21.5 x 0.45 x 2) + (17 x 2.54) = 62.53cm
Difference in diameter = 0.44cm
Difference in height/radius = 0.44/2 = 0.22cm = 2.2mm

Or you can just compare here
http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Tire-Size-C...55R16/215-45R17


Lowering springs will depend on the brand. If local one like GAB, can get for maybe rm400 or even less.
If going for reputable brands like Tanabe, Tein, Eibach, then expect to pay rm1000-1200.
Not sure about Taiwan brands though.

Well most people make the same mistake. Should lower first before changing rims! Unless you decide to go for adjustable coil over.

Damn must've typed something wrong in my calculator just now hahaha thanks for the correction man. In that case, no doubt you're right, won't help with the gap. But if I get 215/50/17 instead? Diameter would be 2.6cm longer, which will definitely make quite a difference right? Again, correct me if I'm wrong hahaha.

Are the local lowering springs okay to use? I DEFINITELY cannot afford both rims and reputable branded springs. If so, any recommended place to purchase and install? Thanks again for your help! Appreciate it

for TS case , after rim change if the fender gap are acceptable then y still need lowered?

For the size I mentioned, there was a negligible difference in total size of the tire, so fender gap wouldn't have been improved. If I were to change to a size where the gap would be smaller, then dont need to be lowered. Thanks for your input! If I decide to change to 17", I'll see how it looks first then decide on lowering

Guys, just found out from my dealer that lowering springs will void the suspension warranty. :/ such a bummer, as I'm really keen on shortening the wheel arch tire gap. Any way to get around it? If problems occur, can just reinstall the old springs and go claim warranty? Or if I send for servicing with lowering springs, they would know and warranty will be voided even if I change it back (before sending to them to claim warranty given my suspension is faulty)? Really hope I could get your insight

When changing rims & tires actually should always try to maintain the same overall diameter with variations less than 3% compared to std setup. Changing to 215/50/17 will increase diameter by >4% so this is not recommended since it will make your car noticeably slower and braking also longer. So changing rims should not have any significant effect on fender gaps. Therefore if want to reduce fender gaps the only proper way is by lowering the car, and that has to be done first before choosing rims & tires to make sure that the rims & tires you choose would be perfectly fit with the lowered ride height.

I don't know about local brands quality, never used before. But GAB seems quite popular.

Yes, it can void your warranty with regard to suspension parts.

This post has been edited by 6UE5T: Aug 3 2013, 03:43 PM

most people practice it. Back to factory ones before claim any warranty.

They won't know right? They're not going to have some record somewhere that I lowered the car right? Abit paranoid

some SC can close one eyes. start keep fren with them

So far haven't seen any horror stories about GAB, so I think I'll settle for it if I do lower my car. What lowering springs have you used? And how much did you pay for them? do you know of a good cheap place to buy and install? Lastly, if I use the lowering springs and SC see it when I send for service, would they note it and thus void my warranty even if I do change back to ori springs upon claiming warranty? Possible to just change back, god forbid anything goes wrong?

Thanks for your feedback, really helps alot.

Oh no. My SA told me they have markings on the bolts and nuts, so they'll know if I've taken it out before. Guess lowering is not an option anymore :/ just the rim change then HAIH

dont forget even the sidewall thick around the same with ur stock but ur rim ald bigger by 1inch
thats make different

if wan mod really dont care about the warranty ald
u still can do the same thing but try go different service center and try ur luck lo'

Yes, many bolts already have markings from the factory so it would be obvious if already opened. Then just don't do anything, not even change rims as it won't reduce your fender gaps and it would make it look weird IMHO (due to still big fender gaps but will then coupled with thin tires). FYI, even if you only change rims, the SC can also make it as an excuse to void your warranty since the rims are not as per std spec. They can say that your rims are heavy, not the correct offset, too big/wide, etc hence makes the suspension works harder (which is true to a certain extent).

I was planning to change rims anyway. I think my standard ones are really ugly. Already checked, 1 inch increase no problem. Extremely out of topic but if I change air filter and keep my stock one, they won't know if I send it to them with the stock one right?

Heres a pic of my car. Wondering which rims everyone would choose between these two. Thanks



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Air filter they won't be able to detect. I've also changed with after market ones, and every time I come for service I put the original back. But in time I think they would suspect why the ori filter never gets dirty!

As for the choice of rims, I'd pick which ever is the lightest one, so bring a weight scale when you choose your rims! That's what I normally do.

Out of curiosity, what car do you drive? I've seen great feedback on the k&n air filter on the forums, but I stumbled upon a video ytd showing there's no dif in the run with the k&n and stock filter hahah
Would these taiwanese rims usually be light or heavy tho? Would they be lighter than my current alloys? Hahaha will contemplate bringing a weighing scale

This post has been edited by changeplate: Aug 4 2013, 01:06 PM

I'm currently driving Toyota Mark X 250G.

Don't get your hopes up on air filter, there'll be no noticeable difference! I only change just to save money cuz don't need to change anymore, just keep cleaning it. If got any small gain it's just a bonus for me (but unfortunately no).

Currently many TW rims are already very good quality and pretty light too. Std alloy rims are heavy so finding lighter ones than the std is very easy these days! I suggest check out Advanti as it's using using technology from Enkei so it's good. Another decent one is Lenso, also got good designs and relatively light.

Oh. The way I saw some ppl talk about it really made me think it'll help. Guess I'll stick to my stock filter, since there's warranty. The two rims I posted, I dunno what kind of weird brands those are. The nicest ones in my opinion in hin leongs shop. Rm1200, after trade in rm800. Is Rays good? I'll be getting a set if I do decide on the upgrade to 17", unlikely tho.

Rays is one of the best & expensive rims but I'm talking about the original Rays, not those replicas. I don't know how good those replicas are, maybe sufficient for normal daily use.

You mentioned advanti as well, aren't those pretty expensive as well? I've seen a few, but I assume they're replicas.? Ahah yeah replica Rays, damn stylish tho.
Mind me asking, are there any other ways to lower the car?

Advanti is cheap, also made in Taiwan.

No other way if you're talking the proper way! Either change to sport lowering springs (which is the cheapest way), or adjustable coil over or air suspension. The other cheaper 'ways' or 'tricks' like cutting/hot pressing/modifying original springs or using springs meant for other cars are the wrong way!

there are some advanti made in malaysia already and that's not surprising before because:
http://www.advantiwheel.com/about.cfm

http://www.yhi.com.sg/

Do you know where to find a decent variety of Advantis? Went to ah kit and hin leong, dont remember really seeing them. Even at lim tayar I don't recall seeing. :/ on the website it says ranges from 17" to 22"? If so have to upgrade size. Thanks for helping out yeah!

neh nestum deals with a lot YHI products, basically Yokohama/Advanti lol

Thanks! pm'ed him.

Ya'll know of Evo rs rims? Good? Or better to fork out extra 400-500 for advanti?

Lim tayar had a set of 17" rays I liked, first offer rm1850, I called they said original. Is it ori or replica?

that price for original, i highly doubt.

Yeah, maybe he said he has ori Rays but the one I picked wasn't. Hope the replicas are of good enough quality

Hi TS, sorry to use your thread.

Guys, may I know if we change to sport spring and using original absorber what will hapen during the ride?

Why people change sport spring and absorber?

I think sport springs are built to go with their corresponding absorbers, so it'll wear out the stock absorbers faster, hence the absorbers would have to be replaced after a year or so. This is what I was told

Sport spring is using for riding fast at corner and high speed on the flat road will be very stable. But there is drawback, in rough road will be bumpy.

Hope it helps.

Hope not 2 late to reply yr tread.

To me, my ori CBU size is 205/50/17, CKD is 215/45/17. To me I prefer thicker side wall, due to our m'sia road.

There is a few choices of 205/50/17, namely PS3, C drive2, CPC2 and Toyo Teo Plus. very limited.

of coz the cheapest will be CPC2 follow by C drive2, Teo Plus and lastely PS3 sit top of the league.