Needing some input. We bought our 09 Mazda5 about a year ago and love the car. However, my wife had been driving a Honda Odyssey with 16" wheels and much taller tires. She bent one rim and ruined a tire about 6 months ago and she sent me a pic this evening showing a huge bulge on one of the front tires from a minor mishap with a pothole last night. I will be buying another set of tires on Friday when I return home from out of town. We have 205 50 17s on the car right now which I assume are the stock sizes. Any tire I can move to that will give me a little more sidewall and protection? Any other ideas?

 

Under the assumption that you don't want to mess with recalibrating your speedometer (if it is even possible), or having your car run around with an incorrect speedo; your only option would be to buy a new set of 16" wheels and a set of tires with the same outer diameter as your current 17s (i.e. 205/55 R16) .

 

Buy tires with a stiffer sidewall, and/or a sidewall guard. But I caution you that these may not be the best for traction in all conditions, and the ride will suffer.

As Dale suggests, your best option, could you afford todo so, would be to drop a wheel/tire size for a taller sidewall, then look for tires that have a stronger or reinforced sidewall.
I (try to) buy tires that will afford me the best traction and braking, not the strongest ones. I want to be confindent I will have traction when I drive. The Conti's I'm running now are the best I have tried so far (4 sets) but I wouldn't consider them a strong tire.
On my last set of tires (Kumho's,) I too bent a wheel on a pothole that literally opened up overnight. I go to work @ 4AM when its still dark and completely missed it until it was too late. BOOM!
You don't say where you live, but you must have some really bad roads around you. Michigan?

Not to offend, but is it possible that your wife is not such a cautious driver?
I know mine isn't. She hasn't bent any wheels yet, but she scares me when I ride w/her. She'd probably do very well at Auto-X.

 

No offense taken. I love my wife dearly but no, she isn't a cautious driver. She tends to pay more attention to our children than the road. She rearended a car in a mall parking lot last Christmas because she talking to my son who was in the back seat.

I'm considering buying a set of new Mazda6 take-offs. They are 215 55 17s. However, after researching some it appears the 50s are 25.07" and the 55s are 26.31 so they may be too tall.

 

BTW, we live in the Oklahoma City area and this winter has been really hard on already bad roads.

 

They will likely fit the car, but I also know that the 1st gen 6's had a +60mm offset, whereas your 5 has a +52.5. This may not seem a lot but it will make the car feel a little less stable. I might also worry about caliper clearence.

Of course the taller tire would also make the car feel slower off the line, as they will effectively reduce the final drive ratio, as well as the speedometer. You will actually be going faster than it will indicate. That could be adjusted/corrected electronically however.

Find some 16" take-offs if you can... preferably with "other (re: better) than OE" tires already mounted. The OE's, like most OE's really suck. Then everything will be nearly the same as before.
In theory, the ride will be slightly better, the handling won't suffer, but the steering will likely feel a bit slower. Again, depending solely on any differences between the tires themslves.

 

Good info, I really appreciate it. The Mazda 6 take-offs were from a 2010 so I don't know if that would make a difference in the offset.

What 16" take-offs should I be looking for?

 

Here is a pic of one of the Mazda6 take-offs.

 

Mazda3 3i wheels would probably be easiest, but anything w/a 5x114.3mm (4.5") bolt circle and at least (minimum) a 42mm offset. 45 would be better, I think, and probably easier to find than a 50+mm. That would also offer a slightly wider track which could help the stability of the vehicle.

As for the 6 wheels you pictured, see if there is any stamp impressed into the wheel indicating the offset, usually right around the bolt circle and often on the back of the wheel. It may just say "60" or 60 w/an ET prefix or suffix. Or it being a steelie, it may say nothing at all. If it states 52.5mm or less you will be at least in business that way.

 

I have mazda 3 alloys for my winter rims, 205 / 55 / 16. they bolted right on no problem.