RX8Club.com - 19" Staggered Fitment Guide

Since I have a series 2 R3 with 19" wheels and that's what started my interest in this subject, I decided to put this in series 2 tire section but it can apply for any 19 inch wheel in a staggered fitment application.

For those who don't understand what staggered fitment is:

Staggered fitment is when the rear tires/wheels are wider than the front. There are many arguments as to the benefits vs. downfalls to running a staggered fitment. I'm not going to get into that here and now. I personally like the look of a deep dish wheel on the back of a RWD car and that's why im going to be doing it.

Regardless of who is arguing what point, there is one unanimous truth. When changing tire size it is somewhat critical that the rolling diameter remain the same front and rear. This is crucial for important systems like traction control, stability control and ABS to function properly.

Now with that out of the way, be advised the wheel size I am going with and explaining for my specific aplication is 19 x 8.5 for the front and 19 x 9.5 for the rear.

This info was taken directly form the "upsizing calculator" from the order screen on one of the wholesale tire dealers that my shop orders from.

When I refer to "od" it is the outside rolling diameter with the tire inflated to recommended pressure. This is the crucial number to match up front and rear.

I did the most rear tire choices with option 1 because that will allow you to reuse all four of your original equipment tires up on the front when needed.

Option 2,3,and 4 require changing the front tire size.

When doing the search I allowed a results tolerance of 1% of "od"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Option 1:

Front tire:

225.40.19 oe Mazda R3 size od 26.0"

Rear tire:

255.35.19 od 26.0"
265.35.19 od 26.3"
295.30.19 od 25.9"
305.30.19 od 26.2"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Option 2:

Front tire:

235.35.19 od 25.4"

Rear tire:

275.30.19 od 25.4"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Option 3:

Front tire:

235.35.19 od 25.4"

Rear tire:

265.30.19 od 25.2"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Option 4:

Front tire:

235.40.19 od 26.4"

Rear tire:

265.35.19 od 26.3"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I starred option 2 because that is the setup I plan to go with. The od is identical and I like that they will be about half an inch lower than stock.

I made this chart because I hope that if at least one person needs this info, I could be of help to them. I drew it out on scrap paper at work just for my own research and though maybe somebody else could use it too.:)