Feedback Regarding 20 in. Wheels

7380 Views 44 Replies 16 Participants Last post by ccollins.krvv, 1 d ago

MJS CX50

Discussion Starter · 9 mo ago

My CX has the 20 inch rims. I am debating weather to get better tires on this size rim or try and find aftermarket rims in 17 or 18 inch.
Any input would be appreciated.
I rarely go off road, mostly highway and suburban driving with an occasional trip into the city (Philadelphia).
I was going to try the Vredestein Quatrac Pro. Maybe.

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FLCX50

· #2 · 9 mo ago

I've got a few hunder miles on mine and have been pretty happy with them so far. Road noise is no more than the Outback XT I traded in.

What are you looking to gain with sizing down?

I will say...I will certianly be going to Michelins Primacy Tour's when I wear out the current tires some. I've always had good luck with Michelins in tears for ride, tread life and MPG.

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MJS CX50

Discussion Starter · #3 · 9 mo ago

FLCX50 said:
I've got a few hunder miles on mine and have been pretty happy with them so far. Road noise is no more than the Outback XT I traded in.

What are you looking to gain with sizing down?

I will say...I will certianly be going to Michelins Primacy Tour's when I wear out the current tires some. I've always had good luck with Michelins in tears for ride, tread life and MPG.

Same here mileage wise. I figure that by going down to an 18 inch wheel and picking up some side wall highth it would help with the following:
1:Smoother ride.
2:Better selection of tires.
3:A more durable set-up for PA potholes.
I come from a motorcycling background.
I think tire size greatly effects ride and handling...

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FLCX50

· #4 · 9 mo ago

MJS CX50 said:
Same here mileage wise. I figure that by going down to an 18 inch wheel and picking up some side wall highth it would help with the following:
1:Smoother ride.
2:Better selection of tires.
3:A more durable set-up for PA potholes.
I come from a motorcycling background.
I think tire size greatly effects ride and handling...

You'll certianly get a smoother ride with the smaller wheel. My outback was running 18 and the bit of extra rubber soaked up rougher roads better. But, I feel with how the trend in wheel sizes has increased we now have better options with tires then we did even a few years ago. I.E. Michelin has the Primacy Tour tires that will fit the CX-50. These are a quiter tire with better tread life, durable and at $279 a tire with 55k tread life warranty, its not toooooo bad.

To the PA potholes point, I know extactly what you mean. I lived in MD and was in PA often. If we were talking about an Audi, with the 20 inch sport five spoke wheels....which I have had and destoryed many with Dallas potholes. I would say size down. But I have more confidence in the Mazda design with there being less open area to get bent...easily. But PA potholes are pretty aggressive. For more confience I would say go to an 18 or 17 then.

Luckily Mazda used the same disc size accross the line, we know for sure 17 would fit.

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MJS CX50

Discussion Starter · #5 · 9 mo ago

FLCX50 said:
You'll certianly get a smoother ride with the smaller wheel. My outback was running 18 and the bit of extra rubber soaked up rougher roads better. But, I feel with how the trend in wheel sizes has increased we now have better options with tires then we did even a few years ago. I.E. Michelin has the Primacy Tour tires that will fit the CX-50. These are a quiter tire with better tread life, durable and at $279 a tire with 55k tread life warranty, its not toooooo bad.

To the PA potholes point, I know extactly what you mean. I lived in MD and was in PA often. If we were talking about an Audi, with the 20 inch sport five spoke wheels....which I have had and destoryed many with Dallas potholes. I would say size down. But I have more confidence in the Mazda design with there being less open area to get bent...easily. But PA potholes are pretty aggressive. For more confience I would say go to an 18 or 17 then.

Luckily Mazda used the same disc size accross the line, we know for sure 17 would fit.

I appreciate your thoughts. Pretty much what I was thinking. I was interested in your comment about disc size... So you think I will not have a problem going down to 17 or 18? I'm leaning towards 18's...

FLCX50

· #6 · 9 mo ago

MJS CX50 said:
I appreciate your thoughts. Pretty much what I was thinking. I was interested in your comment about disc size... So you think I will not have a problem going down to 17 or 18? I'm leaning towards 18's...

Coming from the Subaru world. The lower trims would have smaller disc compared to the upper. If you would try and put a smaller wheel on to the upper trim you may run into an issue with the capilber hitting the inside of the rim. But with Mazda the whole trim lineup is using the 12.8 disc, with 17 being the smallest wheel offering I dont think there will be any fitment issues with sizing down to 18 or 17.

cashmonee

· #7 · 9 mo ago

MJS CX50 said:
My CX has the 20 inch rims. I am debating weather to get better tires on this size rim or try and find aftermarket rims in 17 or 18 inch.
Any input would be appreciated.
I rarely go off road, mostly highway and suburban driving with an occasional trip into the city (Philadelphia).
I was going to try the Vredestein Quatrac Pro. Maybe.

Do you have issues with how the car rides now? Is it too harsh? If you are fine with the current ride quality, I would see little reason to spend money swapping wheels and tires. Even if you are mostly ok with the ride quality, I would wait it out a bit to see how you adjust to it.

I myself have had some ride quality issues with the 20" wheels, but I am waiting to see how I adjust before I spend money on replacing the wheels and tires. Unless you can find someone to trade from a lower trim level or find some takeoffs for cheap, you are talking about thousands of dollars. Good tires for 18" wheels are going to run you close to or over $1000 on their own. If you go OEM wheels, you are probably looking at another $1000-$2000 on top of that. Even aftermarket wheels are going to be a couple hundred each. The one person on this forum that has swapped to smaller wheels only reported a small improvement in ride quality.

Personally, I would wait it out until I know I will not adjust and it is causing me to dislike the car, and I had evidence of people making the swap and reporting improved ride quality. While more sidewall should improve the ride, there are a lot of variables involved that could make that improvement minimal.

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Litfuse

· #8 · 9 mo ago

Yeah, the 20” inch wheels don’t help, but they still have enough sidewall where it’s not punishing. The ride quality is coming from the stock springs.

MJS CX50

Discussion Starter · #9 · 9 mo ago

cashmonee said:
Do you have issues with how the car rides now? Is it too harsh? If you are fine with the current ride quality, I would see little reason to spend money swapping wheels and tires. Even if you are mostly ok with the ride quality, I would wait it out a bit to see how you adjust to it.

I myself have had some ride quality issues with the 20" wheels, but I am waiting to see how I adjust before I spend money on replacing the wheels and tires. Unless you can find someone to trade from a lower trim level or find some takeoffs for cheap, you are talking about thousands of dollars. Good tires for 18" wheels are going to run you close to or over $1000 on their own. If you go OEM wheels, you are probably looking at another $1000-$2000 on top of that. Even aftermarket wheels are going to be a couple hundred each. The one person on this forum that has swapped to smaller wheels only reported a small improvement in ride quality.

Personally, I would wait it out until I know I will not adjust and it is causing me to dislike the car, and I had evidence of people making the swap and reporting improved ride quality. While more sidewall should improve the ride, there are a lot of variables involved that could make that improvement minimal.

I appreciate your thoughts and get where you are coming from.
My main concerns are potholes and a bit better ride quality.
That said I probably should wait a bit as I have less than 1000 miles on the car.
Makes me wonder if a better tire in the same size might help..,
I like the Vredestin Quatrac Pro.

cashmonee

· #10 · 9 mo ago

MJS CX50 said:
I appreciate your thoughts and get where you are coming from.
My main concerns are potholes and a bit better ride quality.
That said I probably should wait a bit as I have less than 1000 miles on the car.
Makes me wonder if a better tire in the same size might help..,
I like the Vredestin Quatrac Pro.

I have asked around in some of the mechanics subreddits if a different tire the same size would help and the response has ranged from it possibly helping a bit to not helping. It’s difficult to know. The tire that comes on the TPP is already a touring tire built to provide a comfortable ride. Having said that, the tire does get pretty poor reviews.

I myself am struggling with this question. I am getting real close to just selling the car at a loss and moving on. It’s freeway performance in my area is not acceptable for a $43k CUV. At this point I am planning to have Mazda take a look to make sure there isn’t anything wrong and from there hoping I can just get used to it.

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MJS CX50

Discussion Starter · #11 · 9 mo ago

cashmonee said:
I have asked around in some of the mechanics subreddits if a different tire the same size would help and the response has ranged from it possibly helping a bit to not helping. It’s difficult to know. The tire that comes on the TPP is already a touring tire built to provide a comfortable ride. Having said that, the tire does get pretty poor reviews.

I myself am struggling with this question. I am getting real close to just selling the car at a loss and moving on. It’s freeway performance in my area is not acceptable for a $43k CUV. At this point I am planning to have Mazda take a look to make sure there isn’t anything wrong and from there hoping I can just get used to it.

Sorry to hear that the CX is not working out for you. I'm not sure what it is that you dislike most about the car.
Could you explain further?
It seems to do a pretty good job all around.
I'm not real crazy about the looks of the 20" wheels and I'm concerned about the durability on rough roads.

cashmonee

· #12 · 9 mo ago

MJS CX50 said:
Sorry to hear that the CX is not working out for you. I'm not sure what it is that you dislike most about the car.
Could you explain further?
It seems to do a pretty good job all around.
I'm not real crazy about the looks of the 20" wheels and I'm concerned about the durability on rough roads.

The only major issue I am experiencing is the ride on certain stretches of freeway I drive daily. The freeway is concrete and the way the suspension seems to interact with these stretches produces a constant bouncing. The bounce can be so bad that it actually can force the choppy effect in someone’s voice as though they were beating their chest while talking. The ride quality on every other surface is really good. But for some reason the suspension does not interact well with California freeways. For those that know California, I have experienced this in the Central Valley on I-5, 99, 41, and 180 in various spots. It isn’t the entire freeway, just stretches of it. I am going to Mazda tomorrow to have them check the suspension just in case, but I suspect everything is fine and it’s just a bad match between those road surfaces and Mazda’s tuning of this suspension.

MJS CX50

Discussion Starter · #13 · 9 mo ago

cashmonee said:
The only major issue I am experiencing is the ride on certain stretches of freeway I drive daily. The freeway is concrete and the way the suspension seems to interact with these stretches produces a constant bouncing. The bounce can be so bad that it actually can force the choppy effect in someone’s voice as though they were beating their chest while talking. The ride quality on every other surface is really good. But for some reason the suspension does not interact well with California freeways. For those that know California, I have experienced this in the Central Valley on I-5, 99, 41, and 180 in various spots. It isn’t the entire freeway, just stretches of it. I am going to Mazda tomorrow to have them check the suspension just in case, but I suspect everything is fine and it’s just a bad match between those road surfaces and Mazda’s tuning of this suspension.

The ride is a bit stiff. I'm not sure how much smaller wheels (more tire sidewall) might help with that. But it would help some.
I tried to get the dealer to swap out the wheels/tires at the time of sale.
They wouldn't do it.
My last car was a pos 🙂 by comparason to the CX.
I guess that makes me a little more tolerant of the ride.
I don't know, I think I would try smaller wheels before throwing in the towel on this car. But it does suck to have to modify a new car...

cashmonee

· #14 · 9 mo ago

MJS CX50 said:
The ride is a bit stiff. I'm not sure how much smaller wheels (more tire sidewall) might help with that. But it would help some.
I tried to get the dealer to swap out the wheels/tires at the time of sale.
They wouldn't do it.
My last car was a pos 🙂 by comparason to the CX.
I guess that makes me a little more tolerant of the ride.
I don't know, I think I would try smaller wheels before throwing in the towel on this car. But it does suck to have to modify a new car...

I am coming from a 2019 Outback which had a pretty comfortable ride. And yes, before I take a huge loss, I will definitely explore new tires and/or wheels. I love the way the 20’s look but if I can get a more comfortable ride out of smaller wheels, it would be worth it.

CX50 Toad

· #15 · 9 mo ago

cashmonee said:
The only major issue I am experiencing is the ride on certain stretches of freeway I drive daily. The freeway is concrete and the way the suspension seems to interact with these stretches produces a constant bouncing. The bounce can be so bad that it actually can force the choppy effect in someone’s voice as though they were beating their chest while talking. The ride quality on every other surface is really good. But for some reason the suspension does not interact well with California freeways. For those that know California, I have experienced this in the Central Valley on I-5, 99, 41, and 180 in various spots. It isn’t the entire freeway, just stretches of it. I am going to Mazda tomorrow to have them check the suspension just in case, but I suspect everything is fine and it’s just a bad match between those road surfaces and Mazda’s tuning of this suspension.

I have the same issue on a 5 mile stretch of I-25 in Colorado, practically sick to my stomach by the time that stretch is done. Thinking about buying a winter tire package with 19" wheels and maybe I'll just stick with those rims when winter is done.

cashmonee

· #16 · 9 mo ago

CX50 Toad said:
I have the same issue on a 5 mile stretch of I-25 in Colorado, practically sick to my stomach by the time that stretch is done. Thinking about buying a winter tire package with 19" wheels and maybe I'll just stick with those rims when winter is done.

It is nice to hear I am not alone (or crazy!). Please report back what kind of ride comfort difference you notice. I love the look of the 20's but maybe 18's are the answer.

Windchill

· #17 · 9 mo ago

A lot of the reviews I read prior to purchase noted a stiff and sometimes noisy ride, so I went for a lower trim model with the 17s. So far I have found the ride is quite good even over bad pavement here in the Northeast. Road noise is low too.

MJS CX50

Discussion Starter · #18 · 9 mo ago

So this what I have decided to do for now.
I'm going to get a set of Vredestein Quatrac Pros in 245/45/20 for now.
I'm not crazy about the 20" rims.
But for a bunch of reasons this is my next move. We'll see how it goes.
Anyone interested in a set of stock tires?
They will be cheep

.

cashmonee

· #19 · 9 mo ago

I would consider asking your tire installer if they can fit a slightly taller series sidewall on the 20’s. In any event, please update us on how the car rides before and after the swap!

CX50 Toad

· #20 · 9 mo ago

cashmonee said:
It is nice to hear I am not alone (or crazy!). Please report back what kind of ride comfort difference you notice. I love the look of the 20's but maybe 18's are the answer.

I had a loaner with the 17" rims and drove over the same stretch of highway. Not much difference really, still had the bouncy feel, maybe slightly less but not as much as I would have expected.

One thing I wondered is if the suspension setup is the same for all models, turbo vs non-turbo. Considering there is not much difference I would assume not.

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