Who is switching to winter tires and steel wheels?

[Lazy2.5]

yep,it will eat the tire's center faster so....your call
family member running 35psi in a camry-i thought to much but doorjam says it...it did wear the center a little faster...dunno

I don't think so. Especially if you are following door-jamb rec.

Refer to the screenshot in the quoted post below. Mazda says to increase your tire pressure by 4PSI over cold rec. in the door jamb.

It's in the owner's manual under Winter Driving, here's a screenshot from the PDF manual:

View attachment 378987

@FerrariF1 @banjos-n-beer @stickerbush @nickswhip24 @mheebs

Indeed, I figured I would come back to update you guys with some findings on winter tire PSI on my Mazda 6.

A little background:

Mazda 6, FWD, 2.5 NA. 3200LB car. Chassis is for larger cars (Shared with the CX-9) and longer than the CX-5, but otherwise should be pretty much the same. I don't have AWD, so my car will be more nose heavier than you guys with your primarily AWD CX-5's. Otherwise, it's a relevant comparison.

I am a "spirited" driver around the corners and tend to lean on my chassis to the point of oversteer all the time, particularly in slippery conditions. I am particular about the PSI I set my tires to, in order to get the appropriate handling balance I look for.


I started playing around with 2-4PSI more than door jamb rec. of 36psi for my 225/55R17 tires. Inflated to 38/39PSI, while driving at speed on smooth roads, felt fine. However, i notice that the front tires felt quite over-inflated over bad roads and when attempting to cut through slush/snow around lower-speed corners.

I then did some research about tire pressure for the rear-axle, because I often drive with the rear completely unloaded. I decided to try dropping it to 35psi.

So, if you drive over bad roads, i'm not sure if you're going to want to follow the +4psi bump.

I am currently experimenting with the rear tire pressures being set lower than the front in an attempt to optimize rear-axle rotation while cornering, especially in slippery conditions. If anyone is curious, I will post an update soon. (For reference, the Honda Accord sport, similar weight distribution and overall curb weight, suggests 35psi front, 33psi rear.)

 

[N7turbo]

Ever since the rubber got cold here my ride has gotten a lot harder. My tires are not going above 34 psi on these horrible streets. But they are also not snow tires so any recommendation to increase them can be ignored.

 

[Lazy2.5]

Ever since the rubber got cold here my ride has gotten a lot harder. My tires are not going above 34 psi on these horrible streets. But they are also not snow tires so any recommendation to increase them can be ignored.

Don't you have like 19's or 20's? Why didn't you go for 18's or even 17's if your roads are so bad?

Would've been lighter too.

 

[N7turbo]

Don't you have like 19's or 20's? Why didn't you go for 18's or even 17's if your roads are so bad?

Would've been lighter too.

They would have been a little lighter but these are already 6.5 lbs lighter than stock so the change in steering lightness was huge. But yeah, it would have given me more tire. But I could only afford one set and nothing beats how killer this thing looks and handles compared to every other CX-5 on the road. It brings me happiness looking at it.

 

[Lazy2.5]

They would have been a little lighter but these are already 6.5 lbs lighter than stock so the change in steering lightness was huge. But yeah, it would have given me more tire. But I could only afford one set and nothing beats how killer this thing looks and handles compared to every other CX-5 on the road. It brings me happiness looking at it.

View attachment 379732

are those 20's

I would have went for a size or two smaller, but looks good. I like that you didn't go for dark wheels.

I'm seeing more than 10lb decrease in weight per wheel, going from OEM 17x7.5 to the fast fc04 wheels i showed you in another thread (17x8).

if you really want to save a bit of extra unsprung mass and improve ride quality, big flashy wheels obviously won't do that lol.

 

[N7turbo]

Everything is a compromise.

 

[Lazy2.5]

Everything is a compromise.

Big wheels for flashy looks is not compromise. That's a sacrifice