Different tire question

[Zapp]

OK, I have read through a ton of tire/wheel posts and I don't find the answer I need, so I will turn to the experts........
I have an 06 Mazda3 s Touring, 17" wheels and the tires on it now are 215/45/17.
Looked at a whole bunch of tires and mostly what is being requested here are a much higher performance tire, what I need is a good to very good all season tire, preferably in that same size.
This is "homework" in advance, but rainy season has begun here on the coast and it isn't going to get much better before next March.........
I am older than dirt and won't be out on a track with it, I have done more rallying and gymkhanas in the past, some time trials, but now I am just grinning like an idiot with my sweet little Mazda that is much nicer than any other foreign car I have ever owned.
So what good brands of tire are there, or send me links to somewhere on the net I can get good ideas. No matter what I end up with I'll have to probably drive to Portland to get them.
Thanks for any leads.
Zapp

 

[Zoomzoom17]

1010tires.com
They have sizes and recommendations and a sh*& ton of reviews. You can pretty much get any size tire and shipping is really low in price. All of their prices are good. I'd go with a Kumho or Bridgestone tire. I've read good reviews on the Goodyear Eagle GT but people on here seem to dislike it. I'm getting new tires with my new rims from that site so I need good reviews for all season also.

 

[sunrun176]

tirerack.com is another good place to look.

 

[Zoomzoom17]

tirerack.com is another good place to look.

I just found out that 1010tires doesn't rotate and balance their wheels before shipping. Does Tirerack?

 

[joshritger]

Tirerack does indeed balance their wheel and tire packages, I purchased my snow tires on steel wheels from them last winter and they came mounted and balanced.

 

[Tripleskate]

tirerack.com is another good place to look.

+1 On TireRack. They ship out fast and they have excellent, competitive prices.

 

[Olestra]

I just found out that 1010tires doesn't rotate and balance their wheels before shipping. Does Tirerack?

In their ordering FAQ, it says you should call to ask if you're a US customer.

 

[Zoomzoom17]

Tirerack does indeed balance their wheel and tire packages, I purchased my snow tires on steel wheels from them last winter and they came mounted and balanced.

What do you mean by mounted?

 

[joshritger]

By being mounted I meant that the tires were mounted onto the rims and then the wheels were balanced before they were shipped to me.

Hopefully that helps

 

[Zoomzoom17]

Yes. Thank you.

 

[sunrun176]

Tirerack does indeed balance their wheel and tire packages, I purchased my snow tires on steel wheels from them last winter and they came mounted and balanced.

Same here.

 

[Zapp]

Just as a follow through note, I did a lot of looking on the net (thanks to all who offered sites to check out!!!) and that helped a lot, then I checked the local tire shops and amazingly found they carried the size to fit my car. I figured all I'd find here were tires for Buicks......sigh.
Some nice young fellow with one of those silly sounding Hondas was in the parking lot of one of the stores and I asked him if he was local and what tires he ran in winter. We only have rain, every few years maybe a trace of snow, so pretty moderate weather, but it does rain often between November and May.......... He said he was running Toyo A/S Proxes and liked them for our wet streets.
Then I fell for an Enkei wheel.....and now I am totally happy and I stick to the road like glue, and I might just have a slightly better looking Mazda too.
Zapp