Which year Mazda 3 wheels will fit?

My aftermarket 2018 Mazda3 alloy wheels fit ok. Had them test it when I bought the car.

Turns out that because I have a GS, I will need at least 17 inch wheels due to an increase in brake rotor and caliper size compared to the GX. Those from a CX-5 are apparently ideal.

You might want to check again. I also have a GS AWD and the dealership mounted my 16" winter tire on the car before I bought it and said it was fine.

Interesting.
I purchased some 16 inch OEM wheels from a 2017 Mazda 3 prior to purchasing our CX-30. The parts manager and the president of the dealership were both adamant that 16" wheels were not correct for the GS even though the GX comes from the factory with them. That could have been sales BS, but I have recieved the same info from a couple of Mazda 3 forum sources as well.
If 16" wheels do indeed fit, perhaps the caliper clearance is too close for Mazda to approve the use of them?

You were involved in the same conversation on the Mazda 3 Revolution site. You mentioned that the 16 inch wheels were aftermarket (not OEM).
It was mentioned in the same thread that the GS rotors were 320mm and the same as the CX-9 (which require 17" minimum wheels) and the top trim Mazda 3 has smaller rotors than the CX-30.

Yes, the rims are aftermarket alloys. I also called Mazda directly about the fit but they didn't seem to have any information and referred me to the dealer. When I then called the dealership and talked to a technician, he said he was certain the OEM wheels would fit and thought the aftermarket ones would too but would have to try them on to be 100% sure so when I picked up the vehicle I took one of the wheels along. Odd though that a Mazda dealership technician would try them and confirm they fit if the caliper clearance is wrong. I suppose he might not have checked as carefully as he should have. I won't be happy if it turns out he was wrong and I have to buy new rims and tires in the fall.

Perhaps they did fit but like I said previously, the clearance may be minimal. I will try the ones I have just to check that out and report back. It will take some time as I currently have a more pressing project on the go, but I will report back here and on the Mazda 3 site.

Looking forward to hearing about what you learn.

Do we really have to put on sensors on winter tire/mags. Do my dealer will push me to put some ? what could be the price for those ?
thanks .

rgs said:

You might want to check again. I also have a GS AWD and the dealership mounted my 16" winter tire on the car before I bought it and said it was fine.

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my dealer here said i have to put 17 with a GS

Zolton said:

It was mentioned in the same thread that the GS rotors were 320mm and the same as the CX-9 (which require 17" minimum wheels) and the top trim Mazda 3 has smaller rotors than the CX-30.

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I'm trying to match up with what the specs sheet from Canadian Mazda says here: https://cdn.mazda.ca/common/cars/brochures/2020_cx-30_specs_en.ts.2005051451410000.pdf

According to this, the AWD rotors (regardless of trim) are 303mm, not 320mm? Interesting also that the distinction seems to be FWD vs. AWD and not trim-based. Anyone know what's really going on?

EDIT: there's also a guy here in our very own forum here who says his dealer installed R16 winter tires for his GT AWD after consulting with Mazda Canada. Winter Tires?
Post #12

This still leaves me confused - why are we hearing different things from different dealers?

All I know is what I wrote earlier. Since my purchase was partly based on their assurance that 16" wheels work fine, I'll be quite unhappy if I discover, when the time comes, that they don't.

CX30Snol said:

Do we really have to put on sensors on winter tire/mags. Do my dealer will push me to put some ? what could be the price for those ?
thanks .

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You'll probably have to endure the annoying tire pressure warning everytime you start the car without the TPS. I'm planning to suck it up and ignore/clear the message and use the old school method to check the pressure for winter. Not sure if you can turn it off temporarily in settings?

In my similar 19 Mazda3, when I start the car with winter tires without the sensors, the warning comes up in the center of the display each time. I close it and only the small warning light remains. Next time I buy winter tires, I will likely get the sensors, but no big deal until then.

dpaCPA said:

In my similar 19 Mazda3, when I start the car with winter tires without the sensors, the warning comes up in the center of the display each time. I close it and only the small warning light remains. Next time I buy winter tires, I will likely get the sensors, but no big deal until then.

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That's what I expect. Maybe I'll source a set of OEM or aftermarket sensors with my tire shop. Now off to more research of the TPMS sensors....

Newlook said:

I can confirm the 16" Mazda 3 rims do not fit the CX-30 GS AWD.

I got a set of 16" and tried one over the front and rear wheels this weekend. The 16" will clear the front caliper with 1/2" of clearance but will not clear the rear caliper (surprise!).

So now I need to find new rims

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Well I didn't try the 16 inch Mazda 3 wheels that I bought but take it from this that they won't fit. I have a line on a set of 18 inch alloys from a 2016 CX-9. I assume they should be fine. Anyone have knowledge that might indicate otherwise?

Newlook said:

I can confirm the 16" Mazda 3 rims do not fit the CX-30 GS AWD.

I got a set of 16" and tried one over the front and rear wheels this weekend. The 16" will clear the front caliper with 1/2" of clearance but will not clear the rear caliper (surprise!).

So now I need to find new rims

Click to expand...

Well I didn't try the 16 inch Mazda 3 wheels that I bought but take it from this that they won't fit. I have a line on a set of 18 inch alloys from a 2016 CX-9. I assume they should be fine. Anyone have knowledge that might indicate otherwise?

For what it's worth, I tried installing OEM 16 inch rims on my FWD GS this weekend and it cleared all the rotors and calipers.