I drove the Mazdaspeed3 around in the snow last weekend and I'd have to say it is possibly the worst fwd car I have ever driven in the snow....
I agree. I was just about to make an almost identical post.
I've been driving non-posi RWD cars in the snow for years, as well as posi-RWD and non-posi FWD, I never have problems, almost never get stuck and maintain excellent control. (I actually LEARNED how to drive on a non-posi RWD in deep snow, my teeth were cut in the snow)
But the MS3... first day in the snow I got stuck 3 times... and two times it was dangerous. This car clearly has issues in the snow. I got stuck in cases where i KNOW my other cars would have gotten through with not much trouble, even my non-posi FWD. And indeed the back-end dances around more than it should. But my main concern is lack of drive traction. It doesn't stop well either.
My guess is that this issue is solely due to the tires. Otherwise I can't imagine why a FWD car with posi would perform so badly in the snow. I'd really like to hear some comments here. This is the first time I've ever driven a "small" car in the snow and first time I've ever driven a posi-FWD in the snow... maybe it IS the car and not the tires??? But my guess is that it's the tires. Yes, I know how to drive it.
I had been planning on making a post tonight asking about tires... so I'll just see what comments come in here first before starting a new thread.
Main questions... those who are experienced with MS3s, is it the CAR or the TIRES? When swapping on winter tires, how big of an improvement was noticed?
Another dilemma... can't decide, would it be better to ditch the stock tires now and get a set of good performance all-season tires for year round use (and snow use), OR keep the stock tires and get an additional set of dedicated "snow" tires on extra rims and just swap seasonally? I don't mind having an extra set of wheels and doing periodic wheel swaps if it means having premium traction throughout the year.
The stock tires... I know that a lot of guys say they're not so great etc, I personally have found them to be just fine for general warm, dry street use. Prior to the snow fall, I would not have considered doing a tire upgrade. With this in mind, I wonder if I should keep the stockers and get my money out of them, and then get a second set of rims with "snow" tires for the winter months only.
But my one concern with getting hardcore "winter" tires, perhaps they suck for NON-snow use, and the reality is, around here, we may get one big snow storm, and then after that the roads may be clear for the rest of the winter... or at the very least, the roads are clear for over 50% of the winter... so there's a good chance that I'd be putting a lot of miles on the snow tires when not on snow. And I do not plan on swapping wheels every 5 minutes, I'd put the snows on in the winter and leave `em on till spring. The hardcore snow tires (like Blizzaks and similar) look like they might wear out real fast when not on snow, looks like they might not perform well either when not on snow. Again, I see a large possibility of having to put a lot of high-speed miles on such "snow" tires on totally dry pavement.
This makes me think that maybe good all-season tires would be a better choice... for year-round use. But after noting how terrible snow performance is with this car in general, I'm wondering if bad-ass hardcore snow tires are truly
needed for snow. Perhaps even a good all-season tire still won't cut it... ?
I'm sure someone will recommend throwing the stock tires in the trash immediately, getting a set of new all-seasons for year-round use, and ALSO a set of hardcore snows for when lots of heavy snow is predicted. Maybe this IS the best plan, but also the most expensive plan... and again, I personally feel that the stock tires ARE just fine for average non-snow use, I don't think they're ready for the trash just yet. BUT, if I thought the best plan was indeed to get a set of good all-season tires for year round use (to improve snow traction), perhaps I WOULD rip off the stockers now and just try to sell them or whatever.
Would love to hear from experienced MS3 owners on this subject. Anyone here actually test and compare different types if tires on the MS3? Your findings? Recommended tires? Links to good tire threads?
Thanks
