i did a search, but honestly didnt know how to search for this question =p

i want to know why the stock rims dont align with the fender in the rear. its mostly inside the car.

also, if i were to buy aftermarket rims, will they align with the sides automatically? or will i have to buy some something in order for that to happen?

 

Mazda designed it that way. I don't find it to be an aesthetic problem on the FD, but there are a lot of other cars that I think look stupid with the wheels so far inside the wheel well. I really think the FD looks fine in that regard, but you aren't the first one to find it problematic.

How far the wheels stick out is an issue of "front-spacing" of the wheel. Front spacing is based on how wide the wheel is and what the offset is. For instance, 9" wheels with the stock 50mm offset would stick out about 1/2" further than the stock 8" wide wheels do. Alternately, 8" wide wheels with an offset of 40mm would stick out 10mm further than the stock wheels do. Usually, aftermarket wheels differ in both width and offset. My 9.5" wide 40mm-offset rear wheels stick out about 0.75" + 10mm = 1.14" wider than the stock wheels.

NOTE: My calculations here were all relative to the stock wheels, which makes this easy. However, if you want to calculate "absolute" front spacing, be aware that 8" wheels are actually more like 9.125" wide. The nominal width (e.g. 8") is the width of the tire bead rather than the actual width of the wheel from rim edge to rim edge. The actual width varies slightly from wheel to wheel, but is usually just over an inch larger than the bead width. To calculate the front spacing for a wheel that is actually 9.125" wide and has an offset of 50mm, here's the formula: front spacing = 9.125/2" - 50mm = 4.5625" - 1.969" = 2.594". Note that 1" = 25.4mm.

-Max

 

perrrrrfect

thanks MC