How much offset difference is a problem?

"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury) 09/10/2016 at 15:09 • Filed to: None

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Last Saturday I poked around at a local pick-a-part junkyard across the river in IL, looking for anything interesting (fun pictures to follow later), hoping to find a late-model Mazda5 like mine so I can finally have a proper shift bezel. I didn’t find any Mazda5s, but I did find a couple of things of interest.

First was a new shift knob from a Mitsubishi Eclipse. Nothing fancy, and a little worn (unlike the one in the picture below), but nicer than the plastic one I currently have (Mazda treats manual transmission buyers as cheapskates and doesn’t give us the leather steering wheel, shift knob or handbrake handle like they do in almost every other market...)

It’s a little heavier than stock and fits nicely in the hand. I really don’t care about the shift pattern on it, which is almost worn off anyway, and figure it might work as more of a theft deterrent should anyone try to drive the car and follow its instructions. When I went to check out, the cashier said just to take it - no charge; I guess I got my money’s worth out of that $2 yard admission fee, double what I pay at the closer yard. I’ve got a nice shift boot from an E34 525i (another $2 find at another wrecking yard), so if I can find the shifter bezel I can probably cobble together something quite nice to replace my current missing shifter bezel/boot assembly. On the bright side, I can probably use one from an automatic equipped car and just trim it to fit the BMW boot. Most places online want to sell either the entire center console assembly or the whole shifter assembly, but I just need the damned bezel, and I don’t want to pay Mazda (or anyone else, for that matter) $120+ for that one missing part.

The second thing I found was a set of wheels and tires from a 2006 Mazda6. They’re 17" with 205/50R17s, with a fair amount of tread left. The wheels are a little dinged up, but I was contemplating something like Bondo and Plasti Dip to sharpen them up. These are a little bigger than the 16" units I currently have on the car, but are the same diameter as the wheels and tires on the more deluxe versions of the Mazda5 (205/50R17 as opposed to 205/55R16), the ones that you can only get with the autotragic in the Grand Sport and Grand Touring models here in the US.

The wheel specs are almost identical between the 2006 Mazda6 and the 2012 Mazda5: bolt pattern is 5x114.3, the threads are both M12 x 1.5, the center bores are both 67.1mm. The only difference I can see is the wheel offset, although since both cars are FWD, the offsets are quite close; on the 5 the offset is listed as 52.5mm, whereas on the 6 it ranges from 45 to 50mm (I don’t know the exact specs on these particular 17s). Will these work OK on my car, even if there is a difference of 2.5 to 7.5mm?

What do you think? Black out these 17s and pop them on the 5, or just get another set of 16" tires and use the stock rims. The cost will be about the same, about $250.

It’ll look something along the lines of the above image, but with the wheels shown earlier. What do you think? Maybe not black; I could see doing aluminum or anthracite coating instead. I wouldn’t mind black with a silver rim, but I think that this would be too hard to mask off with these particular wheels as there really isn’t a defined rim surface that could be taped off. I’m trying to do this on the cheap, so the idea of paying a professional to repaint the wheels is off the table.

My X-type is too a real Jaguar > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/10/2016 at 15:18

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I’ve used this site in the past

http://www.willtheyfit.com/

As for the shift boot bezel go the junk yard armed with a tape measure and don't be afraid to get a couples d do some cutting.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/10/2016 at 15:20

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If you have too much offset they are going to poke out from under the fenders. Too little and they are recessed into the fenders. At the extremes you get rubbing. I don’t think there is any detrimental effect other than potential to look goofy and rub.

LongbowMkII > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/10/2016 at 15:22

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I’m about to pull the trigger on a Amazon aluminum shift knob myself. My MIL stitched together a replacement boot out of notAlacantara. So this’ll “finish” the center console. I also added some toolbox liner to keep my phone in the slot under the shifter.

I’ll peek around the nicer junk lots. Right now I really want ‘13 MS3 wheels, but way too expensive. I'll save and then keep an eye open for local ms3 owners looking to unload theirs.

LongbowMkII > LongbowMkII 09/10/2016 at 15:24

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And to the point, offset shouldn’t prove to be an issue either way 7mm isn’t enough to really notice.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > My X-type is too a real Jaguar 09/10/2016 at 15:24

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Cool site - thanks! It looks like the wheels will stick out a little bit further which is just fine by me. I may have to put some sort of mudflap or deflector to prevent paint damage, but that’s a minor issue.

I’m trying to find a bezel that is meant for the 2012-2017 Mazda5 so it will snap right into the rest of the console. Since finding one for a manual is tough I figured I’d get one from an automatic and trim it to fit the E34 boot I have. There’s currently something from a Honda in there now, just resting on top of the console, and I think I can do a little better, aesthetically speaking.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 09/10/2016 at 15:27

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I’m not as concerned about them sticking out a little further as I am about accelerated wear on the wheel bearings and other suspension components. But looking at the specs on the 6, where the factory provides wheels that vary up to 5 mm, going for a difference of 7.5mm is probably not going to be an issue.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/10/2016 at 15:28

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Why would it have been replaced? Seems like an odd part to just break.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > LongbowMkII 09/10/2016 at 15:29

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I’ve done the metallic shift knob in the past and have learned my lesson. Those buggers can get HOT on summer days and are nearly impossible to touch without getting burned. Never again.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/10/2016 at 15:30

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I think you have to use ridiculous, multi inch spacers before you do any damage to bearings.

LongbowMkII > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/10/2016 at 15:33

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Summer is winding down and if it's really a problem I'm not going to cry over ~$25. The $180 ones are ridiculous.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > TheTurbochargedSquirrel 09/10/2016 at 15:40

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Well, it’s all my fault. The part is not actually broken, just lost.

Since I bought a 2012 with a manual transmission I didn’t get the USB interface that came with the 2013+ models, nor did I get the Bluetooth setup that came with the more deluxe models. I found a used BT kit on FleaBay for $20 (as opposed to $300 new) and an iPod interface for $40 (instead of $300). I took the dash apart to install these, as well as an HD radio tuner, putting the parts in a bin that was in my living room. When I went to reassemble the dash about a year later I found that the shifter bezel was missing, and no amount of searching has located it.

I probably have it in another room somewhere. I was going to add a digital voltmeter and a couple of USB ports for charging things, so I probably put it in the computer room so I could do the necessary cutting and wiring. I’ve torn the house apart trying to find it to no avail. But like the vacuum cleaner part that somehow ended up underneath a computer in the hallway, it’s probably here, just somewhere weird and unexpected. Methinks I should scope out the kitchen next as that’s the last place I’d expect it to be, so that probably means that this is where I’ll find it. If I wasn’t such a packrat this wouldn’t be a problem, but I am so it is... :P

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > LongbowMkII 09/10/2016 at 15:43

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I know what you mean. I wanted a nice leather knob from a Miata, but I’m certainly not going to spend $100+ for the privilege. The Miatas that I do find at the junkyards are almost always automatic models, and the one I did see with a manual didn’t have the shift knob by the time I got to it. C’est la vie...

petebmwm > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/10/2016 at 16:36

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it should tell you the offsets on the inside spoke of the wheels.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 09/10/2016 at 23:06

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I would be surprised if they don’t fit. But you may experience slightly accelerated tire wear and changes to handling. I wouldn’t worry about bearings.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 09/11/2016 at 04:22

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I want to thank everyone for their input on this situation, but I just thought of something that will make this project financially nonviable, something I’ve never had to think about in decades of driving and something I don’t want to give up - TPMS sensors. By the time I add the sensors and the labour to install them, as well as the cosmetic work on the wheels, I think I’d just be better off going over to Costco and grabbing a new set of stock tires rather than trying to do this +1 upgrade. I was considering used tires (I’ve seen some awesome deals on eBay), but when I factor in the cost of puncture repairs (I’ve spent at least $100 there), rotations (another $60 spent), I’m just better off with a new set of tires on the stock rims.