I know this topic has received a little attention in the past so I thought I'd provide a little input. I just bought a set of the 17" Mazda 3 wheels on ebay and they were delivered yesterday.

I jacked up the 8, removed the stock 18"ers and popped the 17" 3 wheel on the car. Fits just fine and clears the brakes in front without any problems. The bolt pattern is the same (knew this in advance) and the offset is 52.5 vs. 50 for the stock 18" RX-8 wheels.

I will be ordering 215/55/17 Dunlop Graspic DS2s today from Tire Rack and will post pics in a week or two after they have been installed and are on my car.

By the way, the SET of Mazda 3 wheels cost me $277 delivered. I thought others might like to know this info since this could be a relatively inexpensive option for those in need of winter tires and for those who like a "stock" appearance to their car.

TV

 

Great post TV. I was checking out the Graspic DS2s but was still deciding which wheels to get. How did you figure that the Mazda 3 wheels would fit the 8, did you check with your dealer?

 

Make sure the wheel is wide enough for your tire. I believe the Maz3 17" wheel is only 6 and a half inches wide, an odd size.

 

And as always, how much do they weigh?

 

I tried checking everywhere re: fitment of the Mazda 3 wheels, including my dealer, Tire Rack, and others. No one knew. The dealer did offer to mount a 3 wheel on my 8 if I brought it in, which I thought was nice enough of them. In the end I just took a chance and bought the 3 wheels on ebay knowing that I could always resell them if they didn't fit.

Mitchfried: you are correct, the 3 wheels are 17X6.5. Per Connor at Tire Rack, the 215/55/17 DS2s will fit just fine (standard from the factory on the 3 wheels is a 205/50/17 tire). I'm not sure of the weight but can't imagine they'd be any heavier than the stock 18"ers on our 8s. If I had any sort of scale in the house I'd weigh them.

Again, I'll post pics once I have them mounted on my car.

 

are the overall diameter the same for 17" and 18"?
by using 17" wheels, and to keep the factory 8's overall diameter, you'd have to increase the profiel of the tyres, which means it will affect the handling of the car. :o

 

excellent find TV, now i want to know if 17" Mazda6 wheels would fit..... I believe they're 7" wide...

 

Yes, it's a compromise but the car should handle better in the snow and ice.

 

It seems tirewidth is far less restricted in the US than in Germany?

I have to go with 18/8 or 17/8 (winter tires only) altough I would prefer sligthly smaller wheels (e.g. 17/7) in the winter, unless I have the nerve to discuss matters with the TÜV and convince them to add a different size to my registration.

 

dang, i've heard German automotive regulations are very strict, but even regulating wheel width?!?!? wow.

yeah you wouldn't believe what piles of junk the US State DMV's allow people to drive on public roads! lol

 

Well, strict regulations have their ups and downs. I think traffic works different here. If you drive 240 km/h on a normal road (autobahn) and get taken over by a Porsche that runs at 290 km/h you're somehow glad to know that all parts on the cars involved are certified one or the other way.

On the other hand you need a TÜV-certificate or custom registration entry for almost every functional or exterior part you put on your car and most foreign manufacturers don't deliver such certificates, because Germany is only a small market for them.

I don't even think if I could put a Mazdaspeed wing or Mazdaspeed rims (of the correct size) on my car without going through the process of getting a custom registration entry.

 

I'm glad we don't get snow or ice on our roads here in Australia, otherwise I think I would garage my car rather then downsize the wheels.

 

I was told by the good folks at Mazdastuff that the Mazda 6 17" wheels most likely will *not* fit on our 6spd 8s. The bolt circle diameter for the 17" 3 wheels is the same as the 8 at 114mm but for the 6 wheels the bolt circle diameter apparently is 114.3. Also, I was told that the offset for the 6 wheel is indeed 60mm (vs 50mm for the 8 and 52.5 for the 3).

 

I have never heard of 114m bolt pattern, 5-bolt mazda cars have always been 114.3mm.

would the 60mm offset really make the 6 wheels nonsuitable for RX-8??

 

that would be a thought to buy a 17" stock wheels and buy a lower profile tire to make it 17 on the front and keep the 18's on the rear.

 

ZoomZoomH, the bolt pattern info is from a rep at Mazdastuff. It is possible that they could be wrong. I guess the only way to know for sure would be for someone to actually try mounting the wheel on their car...

 

I am curious as to why you chose the Graspic tire over other choices?

 

actually, the mazda6 bolt pattern IS identical to RX-8's, since this guy just bolt on some RX-8 wheels to his 6:

http://forum.mazda6tech.com/viewtopic.php?t=1856

 

The Graspic DS2 is supposed to be Dunlop's best winter tire for snow & ice. I am well aware that it is not the best tire for performance. Here in Minnesota during the winter months performance is not super high on my list of priorities. I am more concerned with the ability to stop and go on snowy/slick/icy roads.

Also, at $89 each, they're cheap!

 

Mazdastuff is incorrect. The bolt spacing for the 8 is indeed 114.3 (Which is the same as the 3 and the 6)

/Me makes a note not to deal with Mazdastuff.

 

Here they are:

 

to small IMO, but i woulnt know anything about snow tires because it never snows here. good job hunting them down though

 

They look good. At $277, that's quite a deal even if they are just snow wheels. Good job! That should give people some ideas

 

forgot to ask TV88, did the 3 wheels come with TPMS sensors???

 

No, the wheels did not come with the TPMS sensors. So, after about 15 minutes or so of driving, I get the yellow flashing indicator on my instrument cluster.