It's that time of year again...

mcstark

Member
:
2016 Mazda6 Sport
Put the snowies on my car today. The OEM Dunlops made it 12,800 miles. What pieces of crap! I rotated them every 5000 miles, they're down to 3/32 across the entire width.

Anyway here they are: 1993 Mazda 929 rims w/ 195/55-15 Pirelli Winter Carving tires. Let the snow fly!

I need to thank Flat_Black for all the info on the wheels: thanks man!
 
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I just don't know why so many of you trash the stock tires so fast....guess you drive them pretty hard. We got nearly 30,000 miles out of the first ones....and we are at 52,000 on the car now and there is plenty of tred left on them. They are pretty sticky tires...and have decent wet traction as well.
 
I just put on my snow tires today. I ordered the winter package from tirerack. New steel wheels and Dunlop Graspic DS-2's. I think it doesn't look too bad, for steel wheels.

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they got crap traction for wet weather. snow isnt too bad but wet is horrible. On the highway, i couldn't do over 55 on a 65. I hate stock dunlops but i cant get new tires until they are worn out.
 
I partially blame the stock dunlops for my accident back in June. If I had my other tires on I could have avoided a head on collision with a divider on the highway...
 
Yeah the stock tires suck in wet weather. I can hydroplane i swear for about 25 feet everytime it rains going down the road near my house.
Anyone recomend any tires to get?
 
The Dunlop stockers never gave me an issue in terms of wet or dry grip until about 21k miles. I often have spirited driving moments and the Dunlops served me well. I never had any hydroplaning issues until the tires were nearly done. Heh, I only rotated them twice throughout that period.
 
No problems w/stockies here either. Though last winter I did have a few scares with fresh powdery snow...

Wet weather gives me no problems besides the slight understeer at hard right-angle turns.

LZ
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what is this thing you call snow???? I have never actully seen the snow fall, and if it does, I am not driving in it. I am locking the door and not going out side. Can I get a big Yippie for no snow! YIPPIE!!!
 
Jimvh3 said:
what is this thing you call snow???? I have never actully seen the snow fall, and if it does, I am not driving in it. I am locking the door and not going out side. Can I get a big Yippie for no snow! YIPPIE!!!

Yippie indeed. I've had enough snowy winters. I need to move to a warmer climate.
 
Ive found the stock dunlops to be pretty decent on dry and damp roads. I say damp, because if there is ANY standing water they hydroplane at 50+.

On day's that it's raining I regularly hydroplane at least 5 times going 55mph (cruse set) during the 20 mile drive up the Dallas North Tollway to work. I mean, runnoff comming down a hill will make these tires float. Were talking maybe 1/8th inch of "standing" water. 1/4", forget it. That drops the hydroplane speed down to like 40. First time I drove my P5 in the rain, I thought I was going to die. Now I just figure it's going to take me twice as long to get where I'm going.

If there's no standing water their fine, I can take corners nearly as fast as I can on dry pavement, but anything that even looks like a puddle actually scares me now.

Oh, and my car/tires have less than 12k miles on them, and probably have another 20+k left on the tread.
 
Phatbungo said:
Yeah the stock tires suck in wet weather. I can hydroplane i swear for about 25 feet everytime it rains going down the road near my house.
Anyone recomend any tires to get?

continental extreme contact! Love those tires, and have awesome treadwear!
 
Look's good! Have a European styke look.

The stock Dunlop almost got me into an accident. I was doing 20 going down hill and the road ended in a turing red light. My wheels locked up and I almost slide under a Toyota Land Cruser.
Another time I was "gliding" on I-5 in a raining night just goint 45. My P5 become a speed boat.
 
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The stock Dunlops are horrible in the rain. They were ok at first but as soon as my treadwear hit about 50%, the hydroplaning got really bad. They've been awful in the snow, too, even when they were brand-new.
Thank god they finally need to be replaced, but for this winter I'm getting the winter package from tirerack.
 
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I've got 34,000 miles on my stock tires. Sure they are a little slick in the rain but you should be driving defensively in the rain anyway. If winter wasn't around the corner I'd keep my tires on for another 6,000 miles. Next spring I'll probably get new tires.

BTW, how much did you end up paying for the 929 rims? I've got a set of steelies for my snows but I am dreading how they will look on my car.
 
Never hydroplaned at all even going 100+ kph in rainy weather on the highway. It sux in the snow though. No grip at all. My tires are at around 40K+ km and the middle strip is bald now.
 
Sir Nuke said:
I just don't know why so many of you trash the stock tires so fast....guess you drive them pretty hard. We got nearly 30,000 miles out of the first ones....and we are at 52,000 on the car now and there is plenty of tred left on them. They are pretty sticky tires...and have decent wet traction as well.
Hey Sir Nuke!

I'm not terribly aggressive with my driving, and I've never gotten more than 20,000 miles from a factory tire. What shocked me was that the tread depth was even all the way across, so I couldn't have been driving that hard because I usually round the corners off first. We'll see when I get my replacements on in the spring - Pirelli Pzero Nero M+S.

I've never had traction issues with them (wet or dry), except for snow - but that's to be expected from a high performance all-season tire. My only grip is the mileage, but (like I said) that's pretty common for me.

How often do you rotate them? I do mine every 5000 miles.
 
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Mine lasted 20,000 but 3 of 4 were less than 2/32 so I knew all summer that they had to go, just waited for winter. Just put Dunlop Graspic DS2's on my spare set of stock wheels (old twist style). The polished stockers get a setr of FM901's in the spring.
 
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