17" vs 16" Winter Tires - Mazda3 Hatchback

[cinnamon]

Hi all !
Still a bit early but I'm shopping for winter tires, will have them on sometime in Nov, and have a few quotes already but the big dilema is whether to go with 16" with new rims or stay with 17"... anyone know if there is a huge handling difference between the two in heavy snow (Keeping in mind I live in the Land of Snow (Quebec) so good handling and traction is a must...)

Thx

 

[GoFast]

The overall diameter isn't really what you should be looking at when it comes to snow tires. You really want to be looking at width instead. Running a narrower tire will yeild you better results than a wide tire. The wider tire tends to float more than the narrow one so you don't get that bite needed for traction.

For convenience you should get a dedicated winter tire/rim combo so that you can easily swap to your summer tires when the time comes.

 

[joshritger]

Last winter I baught some bridgestone blizzak's and had them put on the stock 16" size steel wheels that the mazda 3i comes with. They worked great compared to my 17" snow flakes. Just make sure that if you go with the 16" rims to get the same outer diameter tire as your stock wheels have.

If you want some help go to tirerack and pick your vehicle and then click the link right below where you pick your vehicle for winter tire and wheel packages.
I ended up with 16" steel wheels with 205/55R16 bridgestone blizzak tires on my 07 mazda 3 hatch.

Happy Shopping,
Josh

Oh and a side note, if you have TPMS you do not need them on your winter wheels, I ran all last winter without them, a light just comes on, on your dash with no other side effects as far as I could tell.

 

[lucaspl88]

i bought 16" steelies with Dunlop witersport 3D tires.. cost me around 650 from tirerack last year.. !!! worth every penny, plus if u bend the rim on a pot hole,, take a hammer and straighten it out.. its a steel wheel