Mazda5 Tires: Issues & Replacement Recommendations

[phunky.buddha]

If you choose your tires carefully, you don't necessarily have to give up any responsiveness going from the factory 205/50 to a 215/50. There are a LOT of differences in tires from manufacturer to manufacturer on sidewall and tread compound construction, even a tire with a taller sidewall could feel quite a bit better than stock with the right selection.

 

[Rockin03mp5]

my continentals handle 1000 times better than the crap toyos ever did. they are also 215/50.

 

[mazdadude]

If you choose your tires carefully, you don't necessarily have to give up any responsiveness going from the factory 205/50 to a 215/50. There are a LOT of differences in tires from manufacturer to manufacturer on sidewall and tread compound construction, even a tire with a taller sidewall could feel quite a bit better than stock with the right selection.

agreed!!! 100%

 

[RyaninBrooklyn]

Thanks for the responses!

 

[rodslinger]

I bought a set of Yokohama YK580 tires today.

I actually put a set of these on my truck a few months back. I blew out two of the OEM Crapyear RS-A tires on the right side hitting some debris at the dump. I have been pleasantly suprised with them. Super quiet, smooth and handle 1000x better than the junk Goodyear tires that came on the truck. Happy so far. You?

 

[rodslinger]

Referencing Sumitomo HTR ZIII..... Damn good tires BTW

These tires have hit their end of life and are getting replaced tomorrow. They went 35k miles with no balance problems or uneven wear issues. Noise was consistent. Handling was great. Cold weather grip wasn't the best but it doesn't matter much where I live and commute. I was going to get another set but wanted to try a set of the Continental Extreme DWS after seeing reviews for them. I instead picked up a set of Kumho Solus KH25. I was looking for something more all season and I was able to get them for $360 shipped to my door. For that price I have to give them a shot. If they suck I can stick them on the wifes car. She doesn't drive like I do and couldn't care less just as long as they were safe.

If they handle even decently well, are smooth and quiet then it was a good dollar spent.

Will update tomorow after the install.

These Kumho KH-25 were worth what I paid for them and I paid way less for them than some other brands. Initially they handled decent and were fairly quiet. Balanced well also. But I only got 28k miles out of them and that was driving them far easier than I did than the Sumitomos. Noise also increased over time to the point they started sounding like a set of mudders near the last few 32nds of an inch of tread. About what I expected as the set of Kumho ASX I had years ago were noisy as hell also. Handling grip was middle of the road, responsiveness was so-so. There were really two goog things about these tires;

1) They were cheap
2) They don't make them in my size anymore so I couldn't make the mistake of buying them a second time.....

Just installed a set of Continental DWS in a 225-4R18 this morning. WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY better tire in so man ways so far. Improved steering response even with the added tread squirm of a new tire. About as quiet as you would expect from a new tire also. Excellent cornering grip. Probably on par or better than the Sumitomo HTR ZIII I had before the Kumho tires. These things track straight, smooth and start to speak up a little with you get to about 810ths in a corner so you get some good warning about what is going on. Excellent tire.....

 

[5for3]

Super quiet, smooth and handle 1000x better than...Happy so far. You?

^My exact comments on the YK580's.^
My Mazda5 feels so light on it's feet now, in that it feels more spirited and precise in all it's moves. It feels like it rolls along a lot easier, and not weighed down like it did with the HTR Z tires they replaced. My mpg's are back to where they were with the original Toyo's, 21-22 mpg city. They handle rain drenched streets and freeways with aplomb, and they take on twisty dry roads better than the Sumitomos. It is interesting that the Yokohama's have a stiffer side wall than the previous two sets, but they ride so much better than both. Oh, by the way they have a deep thread, 11/32 I was told at the shop. So, with about 1,500 miles on them so far, I highly recommend them. I will report back when I put a few more thousand miles.

 

[5for3]

205/50/17 Yokohama YK580

 

[m5pa]

My brother in law is a district sales manager for Cooper Tire, so I bought a set of Cooper RS3A in the stock 205/50/17 size for our 08 GT after reading a write up about them on a Mustang page. Anyway, a bit over 2000 miles ( not in the snow, I have dedicated snow wheels/tires) they are holding up OK. Much better grip all around then the Toyo, which I thought were decent for an OEM tire. Only about 12k out of the set with rotation on the Toyo, but our crappy and hilly PA roads tend to beat up tires and brakes, let alone the Mazdas apparent appetite for tires.

5/08/13 update: The Coopers are still very good tires, but the Mazda has worn them about halfway in 6000 miles and no snow. Every car has its quirks and the 5 seems to be in the suspension and tire department.

 

[doctorz]

Thinking of the Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum. I've read the occasional review that flat spotting can happen. Anyone here have these tires and can comment about how much of an issue this is?

Got 50K out of Michelin Pilot Exaltos, even wear (no cupping), and down to about 4/32, but they are starting to slide.

 

[chief_wiggum]

Thinking of the Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum. I've read the occasional review that flat spotting can happen. Anyone here have these tires and can comment about how much of an issue this is?

I have these on my wife's 2010 and after about 10K miles, I'm am very pleased with them. The Toyo's as everyone can attest are garbage so almost any tire would be better, but the Kuhmo's are quieter, provide a better ride and appear to be wearing much more evenly. Because of how bad the Toyo's were, I do rotate the Kuhmo's every 6-7K miles.

 

[doctorz]

I have these on my wife's 2010 and after about 10K miles, I'm am very pleased with them. The Toyo's as everyone can attest are garbage so almost any tire would be better, but the Kuhmo's are quieter, provide a better ride and appear to be wearing much more evenly. Because of how bad the Toyo's were, I do rotate the Kuhmo's every 6-7K miles.

So the flat spotting that I've read about isn't an issue, or it's minor enough that it can be ignored? We drive either infrequent short distances (<10 miles) or really long trips (>300 miles) and I think I'd be annoyed if most of the time we took it out we had to deal with a vibration. The Exaltos were terrific tires, I'd buy them again but they are expensive.

 

[chief_wiggum]

I'll take a critical look later today, but i haven't noticed any flat spotting. The car is driven similar to yours; 10 miles or less, or long trips. The Toyos were already showing significant inside edge wear at this point.

 

[Davicho]

Tires are made up (among other materials) of a ratio of rubber and plastic. The more rubber content it has the stickier and softer it is and thus the faster it wears. Tires with higher content of plastic tend to be a little harder and last a bit more but the more plastic a tire has the more likely it will flat spot if it sits for long periods of time. Unless the vehicle is not moved for month/s at a time, the tires will loose the flat spot as they heat up. Also, tires with higher plastic content tend to be cheaper in price.

 

[Davicho]

Just installed a set of 225/45R17 Nankang Noble NS-20 tires. They look great and feel great, we will see now good they hold up. Thanks to Discount Tire Direct.
http://http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/findTireDetail.do?ra=searchTiresBySize.do&pc=10537&counter=1&ar=45&rd=17&sw=false&cs=225

 

[vmale]

I replaced my 205/50/17 Toyo Versados (they were already a replacement set under warranty because the ones that came on the car had such bad flat spots they could not be balanced properly) with 215/50/17 Michelin Primacy MXM4s. My goal was to improve the ride quality, which was a little harsh, by increasing the sidewall height a bit. The car was always mildly shaking at highway speeds. I figure my new Toyos could never be balanced perfectly, either, though I tried to do that at least 5 times.

I definitely think this size is much-much better for the car. And these particular tires are fantastic. The first thing I noticed was how smoothly the car reacted to acceleration from stops. Previously, the start was a bit jerky. Now the car has much better manners. The ride is much smoother but handling is still very good. Perhaps a little slower to react to steering but the tires provide excellent gripping power in corners. Really good traction in rain. I just don't feel a difference between dry or wet conditions, at least not at the speeds I dare to drive my car. I only tried them in snow twice and was satisfied. I can't say more as I really cannot tell how much traction on a steep icy driveway is extraordinary or just plain OK.

I was a little concerned about whether the new size will clear the fenders but I never had an issue with that although we have plenty of speed bumps around here to test that.

 

[SandmanXP]

Just a plug for the Continental DWS and my local Discount Tire. I got a set of Pirelli Four Seasons about a year ago and was never very satisfied with them. They were okay in the dry but it took almost nothing to spin them when the road was a little wet. Went back to the Discount Tire where I bought them, before Xmas, to get a set of DWS based on recommendations here. I fully expected to eat the cost of the tires and try to sell the Pirellis used on Craigslist since there wasn't anything obviously wrong with them. But, the guy at DT said they could return them as defective (or something like that) and gave me the DWS for the cost of installation plus some amount for the mileage on the Pirellis. Came to about $160 IIRC. Very pleased with the DWS in the wet and very happy with Discount Tire's customer service. Will definitely give them return business. YMMV

 

[Bluesideup]

After 36k miles the Kumho Ecsta 4X tires on my '08 were down to the wear bars on the inside edges. My wife hit something big in the center tread on one so its time to replace all four instead of having one new tire for a few thousand miles.

The 4X unfortunately had a weird harmonic in my Mazda5 at 50mph that sounded like an airplane with out of sync engines. The tires had good wet and dry grip. Other than the noise and short wear considering the highway miles they were a decent tire. In addition to the one damaged today I hit a pothole about 15k ago and bubbled the sidewall on another. This might be due to the manufacturer of the tire combined with the small sidewalls but I've never had two damaged tires on a vehicle.

I'm replacing them with Yokohama YK580 in 215/50R17 size. They are a harder compound and a lower speed rating than the 4X, hopefully the changes will avoid damage and lead to a longer life. I'm also replacing the trailing arm bushings with Energy Suspension polyurethane and getting an alignment.

Edit: the noise appears to be a wheel bearing. Not sure if its front or rear yet. The ride is much smoother and less shaky with the 215s. You can sense the extra weight.

 

[GBean]

My 5 has the exact same noise. I'm pretty sure it's a rear bearing as it started right after the wife hit a curb and took a big chunk out of a sidewall on the old yokos. FML.

 

[highfivezoom]

Replaced the Conti DWS 225-45's with 33,000 miles. Car sounded like a rear hub bearing was going out, when you could hear it through all the noise. They were also cupped, followed every paving overlap in the road and were just plain shot. Discount Tire installed Pirelli P7's(a gamble for me as i have never run Pirellis), 215-50's and bearing noise instantly cured, very quiet ride, good steering response, defintely a good handling tire and really noticable: hey, these tires are rolling easily!!! With only a few hundred miles on them, but so far i like. I believe the Contis were quiet intitially too so we will see how it goes......pattern so far is i am replacing tires every two years...Discout Tire was very familiar with the Mazda zoom and zoom and tire wear wear.....I will try to post again after a few thousand miles.