Mazda5 Tires: Issues & Replacement Recommendations

After only a couple of days I can tell you that the ride is so much smoother. To enter our neighborhood I have to drive over a set of train tracks and a set of speed bumps which I used to dread. Now its smooth and quiet. As for the psi, the specs call for 51 but the installer inflated them to 48. Will update the experience after a road trip next month

holy shmoly 48psi in the tires, I don't even run my truck tires that high. You really run them that high, think we run 32-35 factory depending on if the shop lowers em for me...grr
 
I have Fuzion ZRi's

This is what I have. I like a hard compound.

fuzion_zri_ci2_l.jpg
 

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I have the General tires with 22,000 miles on them so far. They are better than the factory tires for sure. I find them to be loud, and the grip is starting to fall of some. But as far as value goes, they are a good one. It is depressing that most of the tires in this size are $150+, so one has to resort to an "off" brand.
 
M5 Tires - Why not 215-55-17's?

I need new tires for my Mazda5 and think the 215-55-17's will give an even better ride and mileage. I don't care about the speedometer being wrong. The radius increases by .6". It looks like there is plenty of room. The question is will they fit? And will they rub if the car is fully loaded? Anybody put 215-55-17's on their Mazda5?
 
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rear tires wear faster on inside

Mazda2006. after the long trip (total 6000km or so), I can see
the inner side of both the rear tires are worn way below the 'wear marks'.
The front tires has even wear.

I have since rotated the tires. rear to front and front to rear.

Is this happening only on the OEM toyo tires? If replace the tires
with a better brands, will this uneven wear of the rear tires still happen?
 
It has to do with the way the back tires have negative camber for handling purposes. Nothing to do with the tire, just how it is setup per oem specifications. Eventually the insides will start to cup and your back tires will get very loud. If you look at the back tires from behind the car you can see that the tops of the tires are pointed towards the inside of the car. Same way on the mazda3 HB too. Most people would rather have even tire wear vs performance. you could have an alignment shop "fix" it, but it wouldnt be to OEM spec.
 
Usually, the (excessive) negative camber doesn't cause this kind of wear unless you never rotate your tires. However, excessive toe out will cause this in a realtively short period. Were you carrying a lot of cargo? Either way, sounds like you need to get some new tires and get your alignment checked.

Rear Spec for toe is 0 11' 22'. BTW, camber spec is -1 29' 1.
 
Matt

Why did you decide against the 215-55-17's. they sound like a better tire to me.

chipm5

I haven't gotten any replacements yet. Probably will in the next couple of months.

I'm still not decided if I'm going back with 215/50/17s or 215/55/17s...
 
I think getting the tires swapped left to right on the wheels, is the best route.
 
It has to do with the way the back tires have negative camber for handling purposes. Nothing to do with the tire, just how it is setup per oem specifications. Eventually the insides will start to cup and your back tires will get very loud. If you look at the back tires from behind the car you can see that the tops of the tires are pointed towards the inside of the car. Same way on the mazda3 HB too. Most people would rather have even tire wear vs performance. you could have an alignment shop "fix" it, but it wouldnt be to OEM spec.

Ah.. i thought i was the *ONLY* one with tilted rear tire..

could i ask dealer to fix that??? pro not...!!!(eek2)
 
How many total kms you have on the OEM tires?

I'm thinking that the 6000km trip may have finally made the "issue" more visible, but the trip itself was not the cause of the wear.

And yeah, as everybody has said, performance is the main cause of the negative camber on the rear tires it seems, but regular rotation should do as mentioned earlier. I took some pictures of mine the other day to compare. Tires are rotated every service (5000mi or around 8000kms). The first 2 thumbnails are from the 06 (~20k miles) and the 3rd and 4th ones are from the 08 (~6K miles).

I want the change the 06 ones, but still look like they have some extra miles to go...

Edit:
This is the way they are rotated:
frontwheel.gif
 

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You can see it (rear wheel neg. camber) pretty well here on my old 3. The 3 I took a beating on in trading it in to get a 5 for the wife. If my wife hadnt just got a lease on her 3i I woulda been alot happier but oh well, ill overcompensate with a 67 fastback when the kids are grown.

pic064.jpg
 
^^ Interesting. I just noted the type of rotation I posted because of the location of a wheel with curb rash after the service the other day. Not sure the impact of the different methods though...
 
This happens to any FWD car with neg camber and toe-in.

Did you up your tire pressure before the trip? How much of a load did you have?

The tire pressure plate on my Saab actually listed a higher inflation recommendation for loads over 750 pounds or more than 2 people.

I rotated Saab tires every 3000 miles.

Mazda2006. after the long trip (total 6000km or so), I can see
the inner side of both the rear tires are worn way below the 'wear marks'.
The front tires has even wear.

I have since rotated the tires. rear to front and front to rear.

Is this happening only on the OEM toyo tires? If replace the tires
with a better brands, will this uneven wear of the rear tires still happen?
 
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The thing that is important is to keep the tire rolling in the same direction.


That is why I recommend getting the tires removed from the wheels, and swapped left to right. This keeps the tires rotating in the same direction, and gives you a new sidewall to wear down.
 
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