Snow Tires ???

[Bosephus]

I need to set my 2003 PR5 up with some snow tires. I really wanted to get some Nokian's. I've had really good experiences with them in the past. Pretty much unmatched snow and ice performance as far as I'm concerned. Unfortunately, according to their website they don't have a tire that fits the PR5 rims.

Couple questions ...

Should I get a new set of junky steel rims to mount some tires to for the winter and take off the stock rims? If this is the way to go then what rims and tires do you suggest?

Or

Is there another brand out there that someone can recommend for a good snow tire that can be mounted on the stock rims?

Anyone out there with snow tires on their PR5?

 

[dsm_rally]

I got 15" Bridgestone Blizzzak's mounted to new steel wheels from The Tire Rack for right around $500.

I've used both the Blizzak's and the Hakkapeliitta Q's (Nokian) and they are very comparable. The Q's proably have a slight advantage in icy conditions but otherwise they're both great winter tires.

 

[NetGuy]

Not sure if you can still get them, but I just had my Pirelli "Winter 210 Asimmetricos" mounted yesterday. The websites I can find say they are now called "Winter 210 ASY". Down-side is...they're not cheap. I found mine used at a garage sale, but my tire guy said they were worth about $180-200/tire (Canadian) for the 205/45R16 that I have.

 

[Dre]

http://www.mazdamp3.com/vbb225/showthread.php?s=&postid=569555#post569555

 

[DeputySherif]

i dont know if there is Town Fair Tire near you and if not, i am sure there is a comparable place. Anyways, I just got a HOT DEAL on Yokohama Ice Guard(set of 4), mounting, balancing, dismount (in march), values, set of lug nuts and wheel locks for %546.36 including tax. Tires were $59 bucks each discounted from $90 retail and online prices approximately $81ish.

Pretty good deal considering this are new technology tires and supposed to be one of the best winter treads available...

 

[Action Jackson]

Not sure if you can still get them, but I just had my Pirelli "Winter 210 Asimmetricos" mounted yesterday. The websites I can find say they are now called "Winter 210 ASY". Down-side is...they're not cheap. I found mine used at a garage sale, but my tire guy said they were worth about $180-200/tire (Canadian) for the 205/45R16 that I have.

They are worth every penny.

The dry road performance is even better than the stock tires!

What the heck is hydroplaning? [mine are new though].

I put them through 180kph in the pouring rain. I had to stop accelerating b/c the wipers couldn't keep up. AMAZING!

Then I put them through some pouring snow at 160kph.

Both times I was pretty much the only one on the road.

I might go for the 240's [V rated] next year.

 

[Bosephus]

Update ...

So I talked to a guy at this tire shop near me. I was getting a price for a set of 15" steel rims with Hakka Q's. He said I shouldn't put 15" rims on the Pro 5 because it screws up the computer. Is this legit? I thought in general it was better to go with a smaller rim so you get more cushion from the fatter tire for winter driving and snow performance.

Any thoughts?.

 

[1sty]

Overall diameter with the tire is what matters, the rim is irrelavent.

 

[Bosephus]

That's what I thought.

So what tire specs should I shoot for if I run a 15" rim?

Sorry to be such a rookie on this stuff.

 

[Bosephus]

Stepping back for a minute...

You folks that are running the 15" steel rims. Why did you go with the 15 instead of the 16? In general what is the advantage of running a smaller wheel with a higher aspect ratio on snow tires?

 

[ZiO]

cheaper price for me... and I bought the michelin arctic alpins... best tires i have bought for ICY conditions... the onlyother ones I were considering were the nokians, but i bought the arctic alpins on sale and saved quite a few bucks.

 

[ZiO]

Oh yeah, not to mention you can keep your stock rims in good condition if they dont go through a hectic winter... thats a big advantage in my opinion.. and you dont have to always get them switched every year on teh same rim

 

[dsm_rally]

Stepping back for a minute...

You folks that are running the 15" steel rims. Why did you go with the 15 instead of the 16? In general what is the advantage of running a smaller wheel with a higher aspect ratio on snow tires?

You can get a narrower tire for a 15" wheel. A narrower tire gets through the snow and down to pavement easier. Hence, better traction.

 

[grindMARC]

You can get a narrower tire for a 15" wheel. A narrower tire gets through the snow and down to pavement easier. Hence, better traction.

And then there's PRICE!
A 15" tire might cost as much as $20 less a tire than a 16.

 

[Action Jackson]

15" steelies b/c of price.

 

[NetGuy]

I went with the 16s on my factory alloys for two reasons:

1) I got the tires for free.
2) It's a darn good excuse to just get new 17s in the spring.

I did some checking into 16" steelies before I had mine mounted...the wheels alone cost almost twice as much as 15" steelies. Aside from that, the number of different snow tires available for 15" is considerably more than for 16"

 

[Bosephus]

15" again - potential issues

This is going to sound very novice I'm sure but ...

I talked to a Mazda Mechanic today and he told me that it is a very bad idea to put 15" rims on the Protege5. He said it not only causes several codes to show up on the computer, but it also causes the ABS brakes to fail and the tachometer will read incorrectly (?). In some cases he said he has seen under or oversized rims cause the ABS failure light to come on permanently. He said it doesn't matter if you upsize the tire to get to the same Outer Diameter. It will still cause the electonics issues.

Is this BS? They don't sell tires or wheels at the dealership that I talked to so he really didn't have any alterior motives to BS me.

It sounds like a bunch of you are already running 15's on Protege5's. Are you having any problems with your computer, ABS, or Tachometer?

 

[grindMARC]

2) It's a darn good excuse to just get new 17s in the spring.

Ha! That's exactly what I did last winter. I took my time during the cold weather and found a set of used 17" BBS RKs for the WRX. One of them had a scratch from the tire machine, but otherwise perfect -- $550! The guy was either crazy or had a really bad drug habit and needed some cash!

I've got the snowies mounted to the alloy stockers.

 

[grindMARC]

Re: 15" again - potential issues

It sounds like a bunch of you are already running 15's on Protege5's. Are you having any problems with your computer, ABS, or Tachometer?

I don't know about the rest of his theories, but the tach? COME ON! How can the tach be affected? I could MAYBE understand a speedo issue, but the TACH? This makes the rest of his theories highly suspect. Our P5 ain't got no fancy-pants ABS.

 

[Action Jackson]

Re: 15" again - potential issues

Is this BS? They don't sell tires or wheels at the dealership that I talked to so he really didn't have any alterior motives to BS me.

It sounds like a bunch of you are already running 15's on Protege5's. Are you having any problems with your computer, ABS, or Tachometer?

I'm going to call :bs:

Several Mazda dealerships here sell 15" winter packages.

I can understand the odo and speedo being off.

Maybe the ABS.

I'm not sure about the tach b/c I don't know where the pickup sensor is located.