MazdaSpeed3 winter tires question

[karl hungus]

the steelies arrived and i mounted one on a front rotor. it spins fine w/ no rubbing, however, i noticed the wheel bore size is a little bit too small for the car's hub.

figured out the wheels came from an 07-08 nissan altima which have a 66.1mm bore size. mazda's are 67.1mm. so these are 1mm too small for my hubs.

i don't want them riding on the lugs. any ideas on how to bore out 1mm? dremel myself (it's only 1mm) or take them to a local machine shop? would a garage have this capability (still need to get the tires mounted and balanced)?

 

[LukeP]

Used 17" steelies, blizzak 215's. They ride perfect, stick like glue.

I didn't notice any wheel hub issues....unless I just torqued the wheel right overtop and warped em! Doubt it though, tracks pure and glides easily without a hint of shimmy right up to and over 90 mph.

 

[john blutarski]

16" steelies FTW

 

[derspi]

the steelies arrived and i mounted one on a front rotor. it spins fine w/ no rubbing, however, i noticed the wheel bore size is a little bit too small for the car's hub.

figured out the wheels came from an 07-08 nissan altima which have a 66.1mm bore size. mazda's are 67.1mm. so these are 1mm too small for my hubs.

i don't want them riding on the lugs. any ideas on how to bore out 1mm? dremel myself (it's only 1mm) or take them to a local machine shop? would a garage have this capability (still need to get the tires mounted and balanced)?

Sorry to hear, I guess Discount Tire are not as anal about ensuring that you have the right wheels for the specific car that you're ordering for like TireRack. They wouldn't even sell me steelies when I told them I had a MS3, I had to place an online order stating I had a regular Mazda3 in order to get the 16" steelies. Lucky they fit, no problems for me.

I think your best bet now is to just take it to a local shop to have it bored out - not a huge job but I have no idea what they'll charge you.

 

[karl hungus]

thanks for the advice, Derspi. i'm still happy w/ discount tire. they warned me they couldn't guarantee fitment. my bad for not asking about bore size.

 

[Beltonius]

FWIW, I just went with high-quality All-seasons (Continental Extreme Contacts in 225/R18...45 I think?) on stock rims. This past winter I've seen it go from snowy and ~20F to ~60F and sunny in a couple of days, and having to swap out wheels in the parking lot of my apartment building did not seem like that much fun.

Pure winter tires might be better, but my MS3 handled the snow at least as well as my parent's Acura MDX when I was home for xmas, so I'm thoroughly satisfied.

My stock tires are currently sitting sitting in my storage closet...I'm debating selling them (~9600 miles) or just springing for some new wheels so both sets of tires are mounted.

 

[bani]

never understood why someone would buy a "performance" car, and then nerf it with A/S tires.

 

[ottawaP5]

never understood why someone would buy a "performance" car, and then nerf it with A/S tires.

I don't think A/S makes much of a difference when driving the car on the street. On a track I would understand.

 

[john blutarski]

I don't think A/S makes much of a difference when driving the car on the street. On a track I would understand.

Wouldn't you want the best grip and handling you could get on the street too though? I know most summer tires outperform all seasons. I mean the car comes with summer tires... switching to all seasons (MOST all seasons) actually reduces performance street or track.

 

[ottawaP5]

Wouldn't you want the best grip and handling you could get on the street too though? I know most summer tires outperform all seasons. I mean the car comes with summer tires... switching to all seasons (MOST all seasons) actually reduces performance street or track.

It all depends on what type of driving you do. For someone who likes an occasional spirited drive on a backroad, then a good quality A/S performance tire will be more then enough. I used to have a set on my previous car and had no complaints on cornering.

 

[bani]

I don't think A/S makes much of a difference when driving the car on the street. On a track I would understand.

it most definitely does make a difference, especially in braking distances. dedicated tires is much much much safer.

what's more expensive, dedicated tires or your deductible + lost work + hospital stay?

 

[john blutarski]

I could see if the car came stock with all seasons but it came stock with high performance summer tires. The suspension and brakes were designed around these tires... not only for performance but safety as well.

 

[bani]

Lots of ppl go 17 inch to get more pothole protection, skinnier tire and cheaper cost.

no they go 17 inch to get wider selection of tires. 17" gives you hundreds more choices, and 16" even more. at 18" you have a miniscule selection.

 

[builthatch]

never understood why someone would buy a "performance" car, and then nerf it with A/S tires.

it's not a ferrari. yeah, it's got some high performance aspects, but it's still a loaded up econobox (mazda3) that people use every day, for everything. many drive the car in high speed rain, snow....whatever.

if you you drive the car in all seasons, then you want the best tire for that application.

yeah, ideally we'd all like to run on azenis 615 or advan r equivilents.

no they go 17 inch to get wider selection of tires. 17" gives you hundreds more choices, and 16" even more. at 18" you have a miniscule selection.

there are tons of choices in 18, esp in the 225/45/18 size....tons. the idea w/ 17s is ligher overall setup and some people consider cost as well.

I could see if the car came stock with all seasons but it came stock with high performance summer tires. The suspension and brakes were designed around these tires... not only for performance but safety as well.

what? safety? have you ever drive a performance oriented fwd with, say, kumho asx OR something in that realm? i have for many miles and i can tell you you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference in the conditions that would be ideal for that factory 'summer tire'. where you see those tires really shine vs. factory issue is slush and light snow, but otherwise, daily performance is very compareable. why would they put tires that perform decent in the snow on a car that is sold all over the world? everyone for the most part has sunny days and rainy days. very few have days that include slush and snow. so what do they do? they equip them all with summer performance tires.

the stuff you guys come up with sometimes is incredible.

 

[john blutarski]

what? safety? have you ever drive a performance oriented fwd with, say, kumho asx OR something in that realm? i have for many miles and i can tell you you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference in the conditions that would be ideal for that factory 'summer tire'. where you see those tires really shine vs. factory issue is slush and light snow, but otherwise, daily performance is very compareable. why would they put tires that perform decent in the snow on a car that is sold all over the world? everyone for the most part has sunny days and rainy days. very few have days that include slush and snow. so what do they do? they equip them all with summer performance tires.

the stuff you guys come up with sometimes is incredible.

I've driven several different FWD cars with several different tires. Yes, I said safety. The car is designed with stickier summer tires. Running summer tires as opposed to all seasons in MOST SITUATIONS will grip better through the turns and have shorter braking distances. If your driving style is more suited to your all seasons than by all means. I happen to enjoy pushing the car sometimes since it is a performance car. It is much more fun and SAFE to do it with high performance tires.

 

[bani]

exactly. it's all about safety. you won't see the difference in daily driving, but it will make a huge difference when it really matters -- braking and emergency maneuvering.

how much is your life worth? proper tires or cheapskate tires?

which is cheaper? proper tires or hospital bill + insurance claim?

it's amazing how many people try to drive an ms3 in cold with a/s or summers and then wreck their ms3. and then blame the car

 

[bani]

there are tons of choices in 18, esp in the 225/45/18 size....tons. the idea w/ 17s is ligher overall setup and some people consider cost as well.

the best winter tires stop at 17", eg blizzaks.

and 225 for winters? lol. great idea for snow and ice.(eek2)

 

[Z-Indy]

Looking for recommendations on winter tires. I see a few people mentioned ones they like. Anybody have any other suggestions? I've been looking at the Continental extremeWinterContact. Seems to have good reviews on tirerack, and the price isn't bad.

Looking for something that will last a few seasons.

 

[tuOdekcalB]

Would these be fine for winter rims/tires? want to make sure they will fit and that I wont die in the snow with those tires.

http://longisland.craigslist.org/pts/1937236650.html

 

[dastpe]

i have those tires and they performed amazing last winter in 6+ inches of snow.