Winter set

[sykopat]

What do you guys use as a winter set?

OEM 18" MS3 or MS6 wheels?
OEM 18" rims?
OEM Mazda3 17" wheels?
OEM Mazda6 17" wheels?

Winter is coming soon, I need a complete set and I'm not sure what I should pick if I want to avoid any rubbing. I'm not dropped, so 17" wheels would definitely be cheaper for me, but a +60 offset seems to be a little tight compared to the stock 18" +50mm.

Also, any recommendations on which tires to use? I mostly do highways with traffic all week long.

Thanks

 

[Alexander37]

I personally went and bought a wheel and tire package from TireRack. I dropped to 17" Rims to keep costs down. I got a good looking set of 5 spoke rims and Dunlop Graspic tires for about $1k delivered, balanced and mounted. I also had them shipped to the dealer so I didn't have to worry about waiting at the house to sign for them. I have had them on for 2 winters and they have been fantastic! I was worried about the offset and clearing the larger brakes, but they have done all the work for you, and guarantee fit on the recommended rims. Just another option instead of paying over $2k just for OEM Rims. Buying a second wheel set also saves on just buying winter tires (atleast $1k just for 18" Winters), and the costs of remounting every spring.

 

[VRMS6]

17in sport edition F2s with Bridgestone Blizzaks from the tire rack on Mazda6 specific offset....<$1000

 

[JSpd6]

17in sport edition F2s with Bridgestone Blizzaks from the tire rack on Mazda6 specific offset....<$1000

Any chance you have a picture of your car with this combination on it? Just purchased an '06 Mazdaspeed 6 and winter is coming sooner than I'd like it to and need to pick something out soon. (eek2)

 

[Coldspeed]

I highly recommend Dunlop Winter Sport M3's. These are 225/45-18 on OEM wheels.

 

[JSpd6]

Okay, first of all I know very little about tires sizes but after doing some reading I'm pretty sure this combination will work on my '06 Mazdaspeed 6 but I would like for someone more knowledgeable to confirm that it will work without a hitch.

For a winter set I was looking at this:

Enkei CDR9 - Silver - 17" x 7" - 40 - 5/114.3 & 5/100
215/50R17 XL Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60 Blackwall

After reading this thread amongst others I should have no problems with rubbing or anything...right? Thanks.

 

[VRMS6]

Any chance you have a picture of your car with this combination on it? Just purchased an '06 Mazdaspeed 6 and winter is coming sooner than I'd like it to and need to pick something out soon. (eek2)

will post some tonite..

 

[VRMS6]

Heres my post on the winter wheels with pics...
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123688485

 

[sykopat]

For a winter set I was looking at this:

Enkei CDR9 - Silver - 17" x 7" - 40 - 5/114.3 & 5/100
215/50R17 XL Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60 Blackwall

I'm not a pro, but if your "40" is your offset, I'm pretty sure it's not enough and it will rub. I've heard tons of people with steel rims having a +45mm offset and rubbing. I wouldnt go below +50mm-ish.

 

[sykopat]

For those of you who went with 17", did you go with 205/50 or 215/50?

 

[JSpd6]

After looking some more I may have narrowed it down to a different set. Same tires, different wheels.

17x7.5 Kazera KZ-D Light Grey w/Mach Lip
215/50R17 XL Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60

Went with a winter package at tirerack.com with my car selected as the vehicle and it allowed me to select this set. Just need to save up some money now before it snows so I can buy these.

 

[wannabe]

i'm using the protege mp3 wheels i picked up for my protege 5 years ago. hankook ice bears on em. 225/45-17

 

[wannabe]

oh, and for the size, check the miata.net tire calculator

stock is 215/45-18, so just plug in the sizes you are looking at to get a better idea of overall size difference.

 

[sykopat]

I decided to go with 215/50-17 which is practically the same ratio as the stock tires on the Speed6. Now if I only I could find some wheels to put them on...

 

[berad]

Would 215/45-17 be too small or cause problems?

 

[wannabe]

Would 215/45-17 be too small or cause problems?

speedo will read 3.9% too fast. when your speedometer reads 60 mph, your speed will be 57.7.

typically you want to stay within +/- 2%.

 

[berad]

speedo will read 3.9% too fast. when your speedometer reads 60 mph, your speed will be 57.7.

typically you want to stay within +/- 2%.

Functionally though they will fit on mazda 6 17"s...Reason being I can get a deal on a set of brand new blizzacks..

 

[wannabe]

yeah. they will fit. the overall diameter is actually 1 in less.