Mazda Tribute wheels
I just returned from a test fitting of my new wheels and tyres, and they fit perfectly.
I bought 5 Mazda Tribute 7" wide alloys off ebay for less than $100. I knew the centre bore and stud pattern would match, but wasn't sure about the offset and/or how much wider they would stick out. The offset turned out to be 45mm, which means that the wheel would protrude 12mm further into the vehicle, and 14mm outside the vehicle, according to this: http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp
I had some brand new Federal Couragia M/T's in 205/80R16 fitted and it was all good. The standard iO wheel nuts don't fit quite right, so I just got some standard nuts supplied which will work until I get to a wrecker and get some Mazda ones. The wheels give a lot more clearance to the brake calipers than standard, and there is absolutely no interferance with the inner guards at full lock. I'm not sure how they would go with wider tyres, but there is ample clearance with the current set up. I'm hoping the spare will fit on, i'll keep you posted about that.
If you're after some cheap 7" wide alloys to fit an otherwise standard iO, give the Tribute ones a go. With almost identical offset to standard, the wheel bearings should hold up too. They even look pretty close to the standard wheels! As far as I know, all of the V6 tributes had these wheels and the 4 cyl models had 6.5" wide wheels as standard. There were 4 sets on ebay this week (all $200 or less), so there's plenty of them around.
I'll upload some pics when I get them fitted properly tomorrow.
I noticed that on my standard
I noticed that on my standard wheels... I'm pretty sure it says 46, but the top of the 6 is almost closed, making it look like an 8.
At any rate, I have my new wheels on now, here are some pics:
As it was before
Clearance to strut with standard tyre
Strut clearance with 205/80R16 M/T
Inside strut clearance with Mazda Tribute 7" wheel. Wheel clears by ~20mm, Tyre clears by ~15mm. Measured with finger thickness :P
This is right on the limit as far as width goes. I'm pretty happy that there are no guard mods needed :)
The machined finish on the tribute alloys is a lot brighter than the cast finish on the iO alloys. I think it looks a bit tougher too.
Mazdabishi - Love that zoom zoom car! Maybe I'll get some cheap Mitsu centre caps off ebay... for now I just want to get out onto the dirt!
Oh yeah, the spare wheel fit on (forgot to take a photo), but needed a couple of washers on all 3 mounts to bring it out a bit and allow the rear door to close without interferance.
TYRES?
So how do the federals go natsterr?
looks like they fill the arch a hell of a lot more. do they provide any lift?
and also where did you get them from, coz ive been on the website and i cant get the dealer locator to work...
Where from and how much for 5?
PS. why dont you take the center caps off the iO rims...swap em
Mine is the 'series 2' iO -
Mine is the 'series 2' iO - late 2001 with the 2ltr engine, so the front strut pan may be higher than the older model. There have been no mods at all to it up until now.
The 205/80's fit easily. According to the numbers, they should be 1.9 inches bigger than stock tyres (29" as opposed to 27" basically), giving a .95 inch lift at the diffs. I would almost be tempted to go for 225/75's, which seems to be a more common size, but these will work for now.
There is absolutely no rubbing or interference with this wheel/tyre combo.
Have only done about 100km on road with them so far, so I'll post here after I get off road with them and let you know. So far I've noticed that they hum a fair bit, but they are muddies after all. They're actually the first muddies I've driven on, so I don't know if it is more or less than other aggressive tyres.
The federals list price was $235 per tyre, but the guy at tyre plus (I think they are the main distributor) gave them to me for $195ea, $975 for all 5. All I did was show him the brochure with the list price and say is that the best price and he basically gave me 5 for the price of 4! Along with the $90 alloys, I'm pretty happy :)
Oh and the centre caps are different - Mitsubishi ones drop in from the inside and are held by a circlip, Mazda ones clip in from the outside so there is no groove for the circlip to go into on these wheels. I think the cheap ones on eBay work like the Mazda ones. But I'm not overly concerned. Most people don't know what kind of car it is anyway, so the Mazda badge will add to the mystique ;)
will sort some pics and post
will sort some pics and post them , at the moment its standard but want to get some bigeer tyres and maybe a supension lift , quite promising if i can put 205/80's on it, i have got a tyre that size plan to put it on spare and then on front to check clearance to strut etc , if all ok will get bfg mud terrains for it.
Mud tyres review
I've done about 3000km on these tyres now, a mixture of driving to and from work, highway driving between Sydney and Brisbane, and sand driving on Fraser island.
The noise of the tyres is not a big deal for me. It tends to be most notable at around 60km/h when it is a bit louder than the engine. The first week or two I found myself still in 3rd gear cruising at 60 cos I couldn't quite hear the engine telling me to change to 4th :S
Once I got used to it it was all good. With the radio on at highway speeds it is fine.
Power/torque difference is only slightly noticeable.
I have noticed more rolling resistance when I back off the throttle, which is expected.
The braking on road was a little sketchy at first, but now that the tyres have worn in a little it seems fine.
I haven't had much wet weather, but I will obviously be driving cautiously when it does rain.
Fuel consumption is around 10% higher than the old wheels, but these have about 6% longer circumference, meaning only around a 4% drop in economy.
After reading that mud tyres aren't the best for sand I was a bit worried, but they were fine on Fraser island. There were some soft patches and very boggy entrances to the beach, but every time I put my foot down in 2nd/3rd low range, the iO pulled itself up and over the top without a problem. I was running them at around 14psi (I run them at 40psi on the road) with 2 people in the car and not much in the back (back seats removed).
Verdict: the federals have performed well all round. As I still have my stock wheels and tyres in the garage, I will probably swap back to these after my trip (to keep the muddies fresh as much as anything), but for the price including wheels, I'm very happy.
2001-2005 will work
I'm not sure about the second series of tribute from 2006 onwards, but mine are from the first series 2001-2005. Ford Escape is the same as mazda tribute, so they should work too - I've seen ford escapes around with steel wheels, however the ford alloys are ugly!
If you search ebay for Mazda Tribute Wheels there should be a few of the same type as mine. I think they came in 6.5" wide as well (probably in a different spoke design), but mine are 7" and they work well with these tyres fitted.
I got under the car the other day with the steering at full lock, and the 205/80R16's are VERY close to scrubbing front and back at full lock. If you go for 225/75's I would expect some scrubbing, though there might be a bump stop that could be adjusted to stop this, I didn't need to find out with my set up though.
I read an article on 4wd action's website saying that the first mod to do to any 4wd is good tyres, so I'm very happy with the $1100 I've spent so far. And now that I'm back to day to day driving for the next little while, I've got my stock wheels and road biased tyres back on :)
mazda wheel
Hello again,
Thanks, I will search for some. This is a safe mod, I like it...
Tyres are everything for a 4x4. I bought my io and replaced the tyres with some yokohama geolander M/S the sale person told me that they were great on road and on dirt. They are not good on dirt!!! waste of money the "S" does not stand for snow for me!! I read on another site someone put some BF goodrich all terrain KO design and happy with them. So I gave away my yoko and bought the BF Goodrich, they made my car a real 4x4. Great on dirt, great grip, great on road even wet, very little noise, a bit more $ but mine have been on the car for 80000km and still going so they work out cheaper $/km. They are not the best for mud, still a lot better than the yoko. They make the car drink a bit more, around 1l/100km. They are a no brainer, if you do some 4x4. I already wrote this in another page, but they are realy great and very easy to do: say "BF Goodrich not Yoko...!!"
I go trout fishing in the Brindabella national park NSW, using a track called "gentle Annie trail" and go to "Flea creek", not so gentle, very steep. You should find something on google...
The car is still a bit low, but these rims and tyres will be a easy, safe, start for a complete lift later. I am going to try to find some minor engine mod: extractor, and ecu mod...but later...
Again thanks.
If I can help...I am here...
Syndicate
strut clearance
I'm keen to see the strut clearance when you get them fitted. maybe the later model ZR's are different but my rims list "48" offset cast on the inside (fat 3 spoke ZR rims) and only have 15mm maximum from the rim edge to the strut.
good score with the ebay rims!
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