Mazda 6 Forums banner

Need Offset help

1212 Views 8 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  transitionit
I see that everyone is always looking on keeping a wheels offset being wrong and them rubbing the fender. Well thats fine and dandy but what about the inside. I loved my RWD cars to have a huge staggered offset 18x8 up front and 18x10 or more out back. My question is can someone verify if a 18x10 with a 54mm offset be enough to hide it under there. Its all asthetics I know but I would love to get them under there.
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
18x10 will NOT fit on the Mazda6 without a wide body kit. If you tried to fit those under your fender would be down the road in one second.
Also, the MS6 is AWD. It must use the same size wheels and tires all the way around. At the very least the electronic traction, stability and ABS systems will have a fit, and possibly something in the drivetrain will eventually break. If you wanted the look created by using staggered rim sizes and offset, you bought the wrong car. A G35 would allow you to do that (well just the RWD version, not the AWD version though).
awd porsches use a staggered setup. I always figured staggered couldn't hurt since everything runs off of sensors and respsonds to changes. what if you have very grippier tires on the back of the same size as the front? as long as the diameter is the same I can't see it being any different.
I believe it has to do with the traction and stability algorithms used by the electronics. Porsches comes from the factory with rearward torque bias as well as different sized tires and wheels, so the algorithms used account for that. The MS6 doesn't, and arguably the torque biase on the MS6 is front biased, so the algorithms would be set up for this. Putting on tires with greater mass and different shaped contact patch on the rear could put the algorithms into performance zones that they're not programmed for.

However, I haven't heard of anybody actually trying it and confirming that it won't work. If you can find the right combination that will fit into the wheelwells and make it work I'll be the first to admit I was wrong. However, if you've seen any of the other threads on what offset and tire sizes can fit, the MS6 is limited by the rear fenders. As the car sits, it can take a bigger tire width/offset on the front than on the rear, so it's an uphill battle right from the get go. I don't think it will possible to do anything like a staggered set up without body work on the rear fenders, unless the stagger was achieved by making the fronts smaller, which may achieve the "look" but would certainly compromise drivability (major understeer) and handling.

As for using grippier tires of the same size on the back, I'm not sure what this would do. All articles and recommendations I've come across say to use the same all the way around. Again, try it and see. However, as above, using grippier tires on the back will aggravate any understeer already inherent in the car.
See less See more
I agree that from a performance standpoint larger/stickier rears on the speed wouldn't be optimal. I've actually considered putting 235's on the front of my 6S with 215s rears (on appropriately sized rims) even though it might look odd.

the pontiac grand prix gxp comes stock with 255s front and 225s rear...
I know this is a ridiculously old thread but im doing my due diligence and searching...

anyway- Has anyone with an MS6 experimented with a staggered fit rim combo? Something like 18x8 and 18.9 or 18.8 and 18.8.5 etc.. Every effort would be made to keep the overall diameter in check but i dont know if its possible to have the exact same diameter on two differet width tires.

I would "LIKE" to do this. I wish there were someplace/someone who actually knew the EXACTS regarding what it does or doesnt do to things like our rear diff, our traction control etc etc...

and yes 100000000% for the look. I dont track my car, i dont race my car- i just wash it and know what i like to look at.
The car does not know or care how wide the tires are. The computer does care that the tires are of the same diameter/ rollout. Even the "same" size tires vary, so do your factory tires after some wear and tear, so there is some leeway in the computer. A 245/40/18 has close to the same rollout as the factory 215/45/18. The computer will not know the difference. The best way to figure out what wheel/tire combo will fit is to check the clearance of the factory setup and go from there. If you are worried about the wheel width, take the tire off the existing wheel, or use another wheel of known size and offset, put it on the car, slip in something to space it up to factory height, and set the car down on it. You can then get a realistic view of the clearance. You can only add about 15mm to the outside before you will get some rubbing on the fender lip. On my Speed6 a +45 with a 235/40/18 rubs slightly under load. That combo adds about 17mm to the outside, as compared to the factory setup.
Long story short, there is no way a 10" wheel will fit in there
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top