First Mazda, unexpected complaint

[Apple Guy]

Hot Dog, Look at this thread. I too swapped out the OEM tires and rims for winter/tire combo for my wife's Mazda 5.

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123647235

 

[Lazy Glen]

I live just south of the Tug Hill region here in Central NY. We can get buried in snow quickly if the lake effect bands set up in the right place.

Forgive them HotDog, they know not the power of the Tug Hill. I used to live in CNY and in college the XC ski team would drive up to the Tug Hill to hit the trails. The first time we went I think we were still running the trails instead of skiing. As the bus drove in I wondered at the 15 to 20 foot poles with safety orange spray painted tops stuck in the dirt on the shoulder of the road every 100 feet or so.

"Whats the deal with the poles?"
"Thats so the snow plows know where the edge of the road is!"
"Oh"

I grew up in CNY, so it aint like I didn't know snow, I just didn't know the quantity that the Tug Hill could get.

Living in RTP NC now and missing snow a lot. - Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Enjoy your 5 in the snow and do some slides for me.

Lazy Glen

 

[HotDog88GT]

I really don't get the complaint....Mazda puts nice wheels on an $18,000.00 car and people start bitching???? Sorry dood, you're the one that lives in central New York, so you're the one that needs the snow tires....Just get some cheapo steelies and snow tires....I've got a set so I can run up over the pass without killing myself....

The wheels are fine. My issue was about the cost of the rubber on an $18,000 family mini-minivan. It's something I would expect to deal with on a more pricey European vehicle, not on a relatively economy-priced rice burner.

 

[dommo_g]

The wheels are fine. My issue was about the cost of the rubber on an $18,000 family mini-minivan. It's something I would expect to deal with on a more pricey European vehicle, not on a relatively economy-priced rice burner.

It's called research. You shoulda done it before hand. Tire size isn't something that surprises you after you've had the car for a while. You can clearly see them before buying. There's 4 of them right there. You can get 205/50 17s for $125 each, and that's for a good tire. You can spend less for a lesser tire. That's not a bad price to me.

 

[HotDog88GT]

Hot Dog, Look at this thread. I too swapped out the OEM tires and rims for winter/tire combo for my wife's Mazda 5.

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123647235

Thanks for that. I found a wheel/tire package on Tire Rack that they must have just posted. The tires are Dunlop's high-silica model (Graspic DS-2)and the wheels are 16x7 types like others I've seen in pictures here. Speedometer will be 0.5mph higher than stock. My friend bought a similar package for his Solara a few years ago. Same brand wheels, Blizzak tires, big bucks. Had to sell one of his horses to get 'em.

This package was less than $700 before shipping. Still pondering whether I shouldn't just get the tires and get 'em mounted and save the cost of wheels. Also, still going to check BJ's and Sam's Club to see if they stock this size in snows.

 

[was98strat]

Thanks for that. I found a wheel/tire package on Tire Rack that they must have just posted. The tires are Dunlop's high-silica model (Graspic DS-2)and the wheels are 16x7 types like others I've seen in pictures here. Speedometer will be 0.5mph higher than stock. My friend bought a similar package for his Solara a few years ago. Same brand wheels, Blizzak tires, big bucks. Had to sell one of his horses to get 'em.

This package was less than $700 before shipping. Still pondering whether I shouldn't just get the tires and get 'em mounted and save the cost of wheels. Also, still going to check BJ's and Sam's Club to see if they stock this size in snows.

Here's the thing.. If you use your Alloys in the winter, (with all the sand and salt on the roads) your alloys will look like garbage in a few short years. then you'll be wanting to replace them. Steelies are a cheap way to preserve the life of your alloys.

You either pay a bit now or pay a lot later.

 

[jlk_250]

The stock alloy wheels are painted so I don't see why it would make much difference if they are used in winter or not. It's unpainted alloy wheels that look like crap if used in salt environments. But I think it makes more sense to get cheap wheels to go with winter tires. It costs too much to get snow tires mounted, balanced, and dismounted each season.

Jon

 

[zr27]

buy some 16" steelies and 195/55/16 snows. tirerack has them starting at $76 per.

I was told by a Mazda service manager that the weight of steel wheels may put too much of a strain on the wheel bearings. Any thoughts? I just picked up my 5 speed Silver 5 (passed on the automatic after reading so many postings about the manual being more fun to drive) and am in the same boat. I am concerned about the lack of traction on these OEM tires and would like to put some snows on for less than one bill. When I called Tirerack they did not seem to have any wheels for that model. Anyone have some ideas?

 

[was98strat]

I was told by a Mazda service manager that the weight of steel wheels may put too much of a strain on the wheel bearings. Any thoughts? I just picked up my 5 speed Silver 5 (passed on the automatic after reading so many postings about the manual being more fun to drive) and am in the same boat. I am concerned about the lack of traction on these OEM tires and would like to put some snows on for less than one bill. When I called Tirerack they did not seem to have any wheels for that model. Anyone have some ideas?

Hmm, don't think so!!! Mazda's (Mazda Canada anyway) recommended winter config is steelies. (mind you some of that comes from wanting to sell them to you) The stock rims aren't exactly light!

I think we'd have some major issues if mounting steelies caused too much wheel bearing strain.

 

[Zoom5Zoom]

I was told by a Mazda service manager that the weight of steel wheels may put too much of a strain on the wheel bearings. Any thoughts? I just picked up my 5 speed Silver 5 (passed on the automatic after reading so many postings about the manual being more fun to drive) and am in the same boat. I am concerned about the lack of traction on these OEM tires and would like to put some snows on for less than one bill. When I called Tirerack they did not seem to have any wheels for that model. Anyone have some ideas?

Sounds like crap to me... lets play a game. How much does the stock Alloy weigh... now how much does a steel rim weigh.

Go figure

 

[chaosProtege]

I call BS!! think about the 24"s on an expedition or something. those are WAY heavier than the stock rims.

 

[HotDog88GT]

When I called Tirerack they did not seem to have any wheels for that model. Anyone have some ideas?

I checked Tire Rack last week and saw nothing in the way of steel wheels. Over the weekend the recommended tire package changed from $80 alloys to $50 steel wheels. Might be a get-em-while-they-last item. I ordered a set of steelies mounted with four Dunlop Graspics yesterday. If the wheels don't fit I'll post the info here so others can avoid them.

 

[airman_slacker]

Think twice.

Looks like we'll be sticking with the stock tires at this rate.

You may not be able to if you wanted. I (and I guess others has as well,) have been having the inside of the rear tires wear down REALLY fast. I've driven 18K in my 5 (up to upstate NY and back and such) and I've had to replace two of my tires already because they were worn down so much. I have kept up with my rotations and tire pressure and everything. My other two stock tires are now on the back and they are starting to show signs of wear already. This is a serious problem that Mazda needs to take care of.

 

[Kansei]

If it's wearing down that much you need an alignment. Rotations and tire pressure aren't going to fix it wearing down rapidly on the inside. That's not a "serious" problem at all. I guess I wouldn't be all peachy if my new car needed an alignment, but have you gone to the dealership to see if they'll do it under warranty?

 

[airman_slacker]

I've already tried and they won't. But the ting is that other people on this forum have had the same problem, got an alignment from the dealership, and still had the same problem afterward.

I'm not trying to thread jack or anything, I was just inputing.

 

[Kansei]

That's an interesting problem.

 

[airman_slacker]

All I'm saying is to be careful before you go and invest in some new tires (especially if they have a hefty price tag) because they could be unexpectedly ruined.

 

[zr27]

I checked Tire Rack last week and saw nothing in the way of steel wheels. Over the weekend the recommended tire package changed from $80 alloys to $50 steel wheels. Might be a get-em-while-they-last item. I ordered a set of steelies mounted with four Dunlop Graspics yesterday. If the wheels don't fit I'll post the info here so others can avoid them.

Was this for a 2006 or 2007 model 5?