aye whats up yall...i jus have a quick question! Can i fit 18 inch rims + tires on my 1999 Mazda Protege LX(with-out the worry of rubbing and bad turning radius) or should I jus go with 17s?!?



jus to let you know i am not doing any mods to the protege....jus adding rims! Po Pimpin-If you know what I mean....jus a simple daily driver an lookin good doin it!
I am working on restoring a 1984 Camaro B! (jus a lil info from me PEACE!)

 

Yes, you can fit a 4 lug 18's on your protege but with 205\35\18 tires which are skinny and wont mess with your spedometer much, i think if your speedometer show 60 you will go 61 or little more or less wich is not that much noticeble. remember to get a proper fitment rims because of what is called wheel offset, contact the person you are buying rims from (if its e-bay or your local rims shop) and MAKE SURE THEY WILL HAVE PROPER OFFSET (im not screaming, just wanted to emphasize that part).

 

imagine the ride though... damnnn uncomfortable hehehe....

i personally wouldn;t go over 17;s on a protege (i got same model as u)...

though rollin on some 18;s chromers would look pimpen..... *goes to wheel shop*

 

18s are gonna suck to ride on. They can look good, though, if not too over-the-top.
Personally, I wouldn't go over 17". If you invest in some good lowering springs, that will help to give you a nice, tight look inside the wheel well.

 

what is the Blot pattern on the car(99 Protege LX)?

i'm going to go with some chrome 17s or gunmetal with a pollished lip( o yeah the car is silver)

 

Here's my opinion, and I have 16s/17s/18s for my P5: you CAN lower it, but not much, for 18s, otherwise they will rub (had to raise my coilovers up to put 18s on); 35 series tires are like tiny rubber bands that don't give much protection for your $$$ 18" rims, also 35 series tires ride like complete *** (40 is okay, 45 is better); 18" wheels are usually heavier, unless you opt for $$$$$ lightweight racing wheels, which means you'll feel like you have dead bodies on all 4 corners of your ride and you will definitely notice the extra weight.

I only run 18s on my car when I go to shows. I usually run my 17s for summer/track and my 16s for winter/weather.

 

It is kind of dorky, but I made the attached spreadsheet in Excel when trying to determine how to maximize wheel and tire size without sacrificing too much sidewall height or increasing the overall diameter excessively. Based on previous experience with low profile tires (which resulted in bent rims), I felt that sidewall height should be greater than 82mm. And, I thought that an overall increase in tire diameter of 20mm would be too great. Again, this is just my opinion on what I think livable tires for these cars would be. Some of you may live in areas where the road is glass smooth, and be perfectly happy with 35 series tires.

My 215 40 R17 tires are a good match, so it looks like my formula met my needs. These tires cushion the blows from potholes nicely (no bent rims!), and there are no issues with clearance or throwing off the speedo. And, I have a much wider contact patch vs. stock.

 

Please pardon one thing in the attachment: I put ">20mm" when it should have been "<20mm".

 

anybody want to trade rims? haha.