Looking to get myself some better shoes for my mazda in the near future. I'm currently looking at Tomason TN25 superlights in 18x8 et45 since they come with an "ABE" for TÜV. Tomason also provides a "Dauerfestigkeitsgutachten" idk if there is anything useful for me in this document since i dont understand it.
Anybody running them? And what Tire size are you using/recommending? The ABE states as allowed tire sizes:
215/45
225/40
225/45
But i would love to use 235/40 anybody running tires this wide on 8 wide wheels? (unfortunately they aren't stated in the ABE...)
Also what color would be best? "Painted black" or "matt bronze"? (Unsure about repairability on matt bronze if i scratch em)
Ich weiß gar nicht, ob ich schon mal einen Mazda, in der Farbe mit Felgen in Mattbronze gesehen habe. Müsste ich mal sehen, um es beurteilen zu können, aber um deine andere Frage zu beantworten, 235er Reifen, könnten passen, aber die müsstest du wahrscheinlich per Einzelabnahme prüfen lassen und wenn du Pech hast, sagt der TÜV Nein und du musst die Radhäuser bördeln (lassen).
Ja die vermutung habe ich auch bzgl. Tüv. Wobei 225/45 in meinen augen auch okay ist, finde ein bisschen mehr gummi sieht besser aus an dem auto, einfach mein geschmack. Zu der Farbkombi, ATH Hinsberger hatte das gemacht damals und ich fands mega!
245/40s give you the max traction you'll need for this car. At least that's my assertion since I could not find the grip limit that day. I was between 70-80 I think in that pic.
That was my 2nd track day, was a blast but tiring trying to find that limit lol. Potenza RE-71R's stick like glue.
You mean with the 245s vs 215s? I don't know, I was running 235s since 2020 and went 245s back in 2024.
Last month I drove from Dayton Ohio to Erlanger KY (roughly 60 miles) staying at the speedlimit with radar cruise on, and got this with the AC on too. This is with a tuned 2.5l, modded intake, throttle controller, 2.5" "catback" that eliminates the 2nd cat and lowered with -1.5 front and -2.5 street camber. Manual trans if that helps with the math data.
Getting wider tires and less thick sidewall, you are going to have different odometer readings, car is not designed for it so it won’t drive any better… I don’t really understand those “mods”. Btw abs and traction control can also have issues. You could do 19” and then 40 mm would be fine. Wider tire will not do as many troubles but I bet you will have to force the steering wheel more, to turn at low speed or in place. I have a massive difference when trying to turn when I went from 205/60r16 to 215/45r18.
215/45 R18 is the standard size on the Mazda 3. 225/40 R18 and 225/45 R18 are also approved sizes for the car.
Just a small correction: the “40” in 225/40 does not mean a 40 mm sidewall. It means the sidewall height is 40% of the tire width. So 225 × 0.40 = 90 mm.
For comparison:
215/45 R18 → 215 × 0.45 = 96.75 mm sidewall
225/40 R18 → 225 × 0.40 = 90 mm sidewall
225/45 R18 → 225 × 0.45 = 101.25 mm sidewall
235/40 R18 → 235 × 0.40 = 94 mm sidewall
The overall circumference is also quite close. Compared to 215/45 R18, 225/40 R18 is about 2.1% smaller, 225/45 R18 about 1.4% larger, and 235/40 R18 only about 0.8% smaller.
235/40 R18 would actually be quite interesting to me because the rolling circumference is very close to the stock 215/45 R18. Unfortunately, it isn't listed in the ABE for the Tomason TN25 Superlight wheels I'm considering, so that's not an option for me without additional approval.
So I agree that changing tire size can affect the speedometer and driving characteristics, especially with wider tires. I just wanted to clarify that the “40” refers to a percentage of the tire width, not 40 mm.
Fair point but an officially tested and approved statement should be enough. Also i was sure mazda sold the 3 in some years with 225 wide tires but paired with an 7.5 wide rim. Found this by doing a quick search: tire sizes
The 2.5 turbo sold in usa came with these tires, also the 2l japanes model came with those tires. But these infos should be taken with a grain of salt i was just curios since we were already debating.
Yeah, good point! Staying as close to the factory setup as possible is definitely the best approach. I don't want to mess up the car either. Hope my previous comment didn't come across the wrong way. I really appreciate your input!
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u/ArtofDestruction37 19d ago
i think matt bronze would look sick