5 in the snow

[metalfab]

I'm usually one for having winter tires on but this year (Oct) we just bought the 5. Money right now due to Christmas, etc, etc we can't afford winter tires.

The 5 came with Bridgestone Turanza EL400. It snowed heavily and hard-pack coated roads were everywhere 2 days ago. I thought I'd be/get stuck or at best, sliding around ...how wrong I was. I've never owned a car with traction control and it's been a while since I drove a fully manual shifter. I credit both the TC and being able to start off in 2nd (tip-tronic) to get me around town and to work that day. Thanks Mazda

 

[DKaz]

Even going uphill??

 

[metalfab]

Even going uphill??

Yup, I live near Metrotown, went into/through New West, Coquitlam, PoCo. No issues, got around just great.

 

[ukulele]

Yup, I live near Metrotown, went into/through New West, Coquitlam, PoCo. No issues, got around just great.

ROTFLOL sorry but I thought I was the only one that couldn't afford winter rubber this year, I find that hilarious and I don't know why. I guess when your stranded on the same beach with someone else, you have a better time then when your alone. You can talk to someone other than coconuts.

OK, well, I usually slap on a set of steel wheels with something like General winter tires, I MAYBE ABLE to do that this year if wifey gives me a gift card to the tire rack. We'll see. I swear by winter tires, they actually help the ABS and TC systems work MUCH BETTER than with all seasons, the response time is so much faster and you tend to stop in a straighter line. I can't imagine living in Canada and not having winter rubber on for most of the year, you guys get hammered, I know Buffalo, NY and that area, they get snowed in every year. As it is, I'm looking to the south, Florida, maybe GA or even the Carolinas. I'm a hot weather guy... you ever try changing a flat tire in 15 deg F weather with no gloves?? Doesn't work very well. I always forget the gloves.

Yeah, I would hang the Bridgestones, save them for summer, get something knobby.

 

[torquelover]

One thing to consider for you first time traction control drivers is if you get bogged down or stuck in deep snow, sometimes wheel spin is a good thing, so punch off the traction control. Thankfully on our MZ5 this is possible with just a stab of the switch right in front of you.

 

[ukulele]

I had outfitted my old Yaris with General studdable snow tires, the only time I got stuck was when the snow level reached about the halfway mark on the wheel cover, that was one time. Anything below that, it was just amazing, almost impossible to get stuck, and I tried.

 

[MarkVII88]

We got 14 inches of snow in Northern Vermont yesterday. I definitely had an easier time getting into and out of my driveway by switching off the traction control. I also have General Altimax snow tires on, a must for living in New England.

One thing to consider for you first time traction control drivers is if you get bogged down or stuck in deep snow, sometimes wheel spin is a good thing, so punch off the traction control. Thankfully on our MZ5 this is possible with just a stab of the switch right in front of you.

 

[torquelover]

I also have General Altimax snow tires on, a must for living in New England.

Those were my #2 choice for snows after the Contis I bought instead. Great to hear another positive comment.

 

[MarkVII88]

Another very popular choice in snow tires in my neck of the woods are the Nokian Hakkapellitas. I always thought it was hard to justify paying the high price for these though and I've had good experiences with the Generals and also the Firestone Winterforce for much less money.

 

[markuszoom5]

The 5 is good in snow.

I had outfitted my old Yaris with General studdable snow tires, the only time I got stuck was when the snow level reached about the halfway mark on the wheel cover, that was one time. Anything below that, it was just amazing, almost impossible to get stuck, and I tried.

We had about 16 inches of snow last month. I got to work without problems in the AM through unplowed roads with all season Nexen Tires from my dealer. I only got almost stuck once, but I used my traction mats from Wal-Mart and launched my self forward without problems. I do have to say that the 5 is excellent in snow.Must be that it's front heavy

 

[Orangutan]

We had about 16 inches of snow last month. I got to work without problems in the AM through unplowed roads with all season Nexen Tires from my dealer. I only got almost stuck once, but I used my traction mats from Wal-Mart and launched my self forward without problems. I do have to say that the 5 is excellent in snow.Must be that it's front heavy

Actually, I'm pretty sure the 5's weight distribution is damn near 50/50. It's really just a Mazda3 with about 400 pounds added on to the back half of the vehicle, after all.

I've a set of steel wheels and Firestone Winterforce tires in the basement for if things came down to needing them, but there's been so little snow here this year or last year that it hasn't really mattered. I'm running the Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires on my Speed3 wheels right now and I think I'll be just fine not swapping out for the snow set. Not hard when it's just cold and dry.

 

[ukulele]

Actually, I'm pretty sure the 5's weight distribution is damn near 50/50. It's really just a Mazda3 with about 400 pounds added on to the back half of the vehicle, after all.

I've a set of steel wheels and Firestone Winterforce tires in the basement for if things came down to needing them, but there's been so little snow here this year or last year that it hasn't really mattered. I'm running the Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires on my Speed3 wheels right now and I think I'll be just fine not swapping out for the snow set. Not hard when it's just cold and dry.

Know what, now that you mentioned Firestone Winterforce..... THOSE are the tires that I had on the Yaris during the winter.... freakin amazing. The Generals were actually summer tires, I got mixed up... been a few years. I noticed that with really good snow tires, helps the ABS work a lot better, I remember in the parking lot where I work, there was a heavy snow going home, I stayed in the lot there was at least 4 inches of unplowed fresh snow... I'd get up to about 30 mph, then slam on the brakes.. even if I pitched the steering wheel left or right, damn ABS and TC system would make me stop in a straight line. Did it over... and over..... and over. At one point the ABS light came on and stayed on, but it was gone the next day, I guess something may have gotten in between the sensor ring and sensor unit on one of the wheels.

So far with the OEM Toyos on my Mazda5, I don't get the same confidence or feel as safe when slamming on the brakes, in fact the other day I was doing some "track testing" on I-287, when I had to almost apply full brake force at one point. I felt the entire vehicle wobble, as if the computer was not reacting fast enough, you could feel it was applying brake force on the left side, then the right, then left, then right, in order to keep the vehicle stable, but what it did is it scared the piss out of me. The ROAD WAS DRY!!! I was like, WTF?? The Toyotas I have owned/driven never reacted like that, with that wobble effect. They always come to a stop in a straight line without the driver feeling the brake force being distributed. Just an engineering thing I guess. This winter I hope to slam on the brakes in the parking lot again, just waiting for a good 4-6 inch storm.

 

[Orangutan]

Wow, so maybe I take that back. We just got between one and two inches of snow. I got out while there was probably an inch of fresh, cold powder on the ground and the 5 hated it. I got these ExtremeContact DWS tires because they're consistently rated the best all-seasons for snow and ice. My traction control and ABS ran nonstop. Period. I had practically zero traction out there. Turning the TC off didn't help things, as I just spun and spun. It was stupid. (pissed)

 

[ukulele]

Wow, so maybe I take that back. We just got between one and two inches of snow. I got out while there was probably an inch of fresh, cold powder on the ground and the 5 hated it. I got these ExtremeContact DWS tires because they're consistently rated the best all-seasons for snow and ice. My traction control and ABS ran nonstop. Period. I had practically zero traction out there. Turning the TC off didn't help things, as I just spun and spun. It was stupid. (pissed)

I had a feeling the ABS/TC systems were not as responsive on the 5 as on my previous Toyotas but you make it sound like the 5 is a summer car only LoL I'm about to go outside right now in a few mins, that storm that dumped snow on you is right smack over Jersey as I type, i'm going to put it through the paces. Let's see what happens. If I never write back, then you know what happend.

 

[DKaz]

Don't blame the car, blame the tires. If you still want three-season tires, that's the compromise you get. I didn't get the best winter tires for my Mazda 5 now 3, Toyo Observe G-02+, but I never got stuck and never had problems stopping, but my old Corolla without TC and ESC and even ABS brakes was awesome because I had awesome winter tires for it, Yokohama iceGuard iG20.

 

[ukulele]

Wow, so maybe I take that back. We just got between one and two inches of snow. I got out while there was probably an inch of fresh, cold powder on the ground and the 5 hated it. I got these ExtremeContact DWS tires because they're consistently rated the best all-seasons for snow and ice. My traction control and ABS ran nonstop. Period. I had practically zero traction out there. Turning the TC off didn't help things, as I just spun and spun. It was stupid. (pissed)

Verdict: Just returned from the "test." The ABS and TC systems on the Mazda are not as refined as on the Toyotas, and maybe many other brands. The ABS system does it's job but it's very intrusive, noisy, unrefined for my tastes. It yanks the steering wheel left and right in a panic stop. It can be downright scary for some drivers as the brake pulsations are extreme. One of the things I noticed first was, as I was backing out over the approx. 3/4 inch of snowfall, when the snow packs into the tires (these are the OEM Toyos here) and you turn the wheel, you can hear the tires rubbing around with the snow, really really loudly, and not that much snow to begin with. Stopping distance with the Mazda5/Toyo Proxes combination in this amount of snow is not all that great (from 15MPH to 0). I am definitely getting a set of Firestone Winterforce tires if available in this size, should help the ABS tremendously.

 

[cburrell]

Verdict: Just returned from the "test." The ABS and TC systems on the Mazda are not as refined as on the Toyotas, and maybe many other brands. The ABS system does it's job but it's very intrusive, noisy, unrefined for my tastes. It yanks the steering wheel left and right in a panic stop. It can be downright scary for some drivers as the brake pulsations are extreme. One of the things I noticed first was, as I was backing out over the approx. 3/4 inch of snowfall, when the snow packs into the tires (these are the OEM Toyos here) and you turn the wheel, you can hear the tires rubbing around with the snow, really really loudly, and not that much snow to begin with. Stopping distance with the Mazda5/Toyo Proxes combination in this amount of snow is not all that great (from 15MPH to 0). I am definitely getting a set of Firestone Winterforce tires if available in this size, should help the ABS tremendously.

We know, Toyota is the greatest, if they made a small van with sliding doors, you would own that isn't of the 5.

 

[ukulele]

We know, Toyota is the greatest, if they made a small van with sliding doors, you would own that isn't of the 5.

Sorry... I don't do "tit for tat" very well. I'm 34 y/o and I grew up a long time ago. Didn't know my opinions would cause such a stir for some people. But if it makes you feel better Mr. cburrell.... you can have the last word. Go ahead, quote this and post after me, I SWEAR I won't post after you. LoL

P.S.: I guess you didn't even look at my avatar, I know the resolution is low, but if you read what I wrote on the rear glass, I was so dissatisfied overall with my 2011 Corolla S, I had no choice but to do what any real automobile enthusiast would do and warn others... I wrote with glass chalk "Toyota builds crap too!!" and signed it with a sad face. So, try to understand that I give credit where it's due, and I don't give it where it's not.

 

[cburrell]

Sorry... I don't do "tit for tat" very well. I'm 34 y/o and I grew up a long time ago. Didn't know my opinions would cause such a stir for some people. But if it makes you feel better Mr. cburrell.... you can have the last word. Go ahead, quote this and post after me, I SWEAR I won't post after you. LoL

P.S.: I guess you didn't even look at my avatar, I know the resolution is low, but if you read what I wrote on the rear glass, I was so dissatisfied overall with my 2011 Corolla S, I had no choice but to do what any real automobile enthusiast would do and warn others... I wrote with glass chalk "Toyota builds crap too!!" and signed it with a sad face. So, try to understand that I give credit where it's due, and I don't give it where it's not.

Sorry, you took that the wrong way... not really tit for tating here either, just thought you of all people could appreciate a little sarcastic humor, seeing as how your post's excel at that very well. Just having a little fun!