Winter Mats = Weathertech: VERY NICE FIT

[pugmoe]

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to let everyone know that the Winter mats that Weathertech sell for the Mazda 3 are an awesome fit. I got both the front and rear mats for my Mother's Sand Mica Mazda3 Sedan GT/Auto + GFX.

The front's were an extremely nice fit and the rears with a bit of cutting on the pre-laid out lines made them also a nice fit.

The I didn't like the OEM one's as they didn't have an water reservoir (i.e. Pants saver). The Weathertech's one a nice rubber and look very nice nice. I'm now thinking of getting the rubber trunk mat as well.

Paco

 

[RedRaptor]

Post some pics up. I would love to see them in action.

 

[bluntman]

Expensive?

 

[wongpres]

Weathertech mats are the best - I have their front, rear, and trunk liner. Weathertech mats hold more water than any mat I've seen, but what really sets them apart is the rubber itself - very thick yet extremely grippy and extremely flexible (will not crack and very flexible even in extreme cold). A day & night difference between the typical mats at the autoparts stores and the OEM Mazda all-weather mats.

There are two cons though. First, they're the most expensive mats I've ever seen. After taxes, I spent almost $300cdn for my setup. Second, they have about 5 templates to cover all makes & models. As such, while the fit is pretty good for any model, it's not 100% like the factory ones. The rear ones are in a way better because as pugmoe says, you can cut to fit based on pre-laid patterns.

US: http://www.weathertech.com
Canada: http://www.weathertechcanada.com

 

[Grey Ghost]

Winter Mats

I recently put in the Mazda OEM winter mats and I'm very happy with them. They have plenty of diamond shaped contours that hold alot of water, plus, they fit perfect. They don't slide forward either, due to the factory hole in them that slips over that hook attached to the carpet.

Grey Ghost

 

[bluntman]

How much does it snow in Indiana? Probably a lot less than the Toronto area. I have those mats, I've just been too lazy to swap them out with my true winter mats. They aren't that good.

Still $300 for mats...I don't think so.

 

[Grey Ghost]

Winter Mats

Annual snowfall in Indiana ranges from 14" in the southwest part of the state to 76" in the northcentral part. Like Dorathy in the Wizard of Oz, I click my boots together before I get in the car, so for me 1" or 10" of snow, it's all the same. Of course, if you got in and out of your car a dozen times in a day, it'd be a different story. At $53 for the set of four from Mazdastuff, I'm satisfied.

Grey Ghost

 

[Bocho]

Me too

I have these mats as well, only in the front though...no one really sits in the back. Anyway, I've had these mats in all my cars...they are great mats. However, one complaint I have with them is that if I have them too far forward, the clutch will get caught on the mat as I'm releasing it and the gas pedal will get stuck on the edge. So for me, I have to have them positioned perfectly for them to work out. Maybe I'm having trouble because I threw 'em right over my stock carpeted mats? They run about $85 for the front two mats alone, but definitely worth it.

 

[wongpres]

I have these mats as well, only in the front though...no one really sits in the back. Anyway, I've had these mats in all my cars...they are great mats. However, one complaint I have with them is that if I have them too far forward, the clutch will get caught on the mat as I'm releasing it and the gas pedal will get stuck on the edge. So for me, I have to have them positioned perfectly for them to work out. Maybe I'm having trouble because I threw 'em right over my stock carpeted mats? They run about $85 for the front two mats alone, but definitely worth it.

You shouldn't put the Weathertech over the stock carpet mats (or any other mats for that matter). You're then at the mercy of whatever grip is available on the carpet (or any other mat), which is nowhere near as grippy as the Weathertech.

When placed over the bare carpet floor of the car, the Weathertech mats simply don't move at all (the Weathertech rubber is extemely grippy and the mats themselves are very heavy).

 

[M3 5MT]

My stock mats are indoors for the winter, I went to wal-mart and paid $6.99 for 4 black cloth mats. The cloth absorbs the salt nicely, I can just throw em away this spring.

 

[kgo]

sam's club....$20 for all four rubber mats. just have to cut it some to get the right shape. Item number 775361. keeps all the water from spilling over onto the carpet. very heavy and durable too.

 

[MASTERNC]

On a related note, I tried finding a rubber mat for my trunk. Weathertech doesn't sell one (except for a generic cut-to-fit one) and Autoanything.com didn't have anything else that was reasonably priced. Does the OEM mat keep things from sliding around or are there other places to find a good rubber mat for around $60?

 

[wongpres]

You can take a look at ebay under username keepyourforkman, or the ebay store for GETITCOVERED (they're the same person).

I haven't seen one in real-life, but I've heard positive reviews about them.

They have custom fit trunk liners for both the Mazda3 4 and 5-door models, as well as many other vehicles.