Winter tire

[skyhawk174]

I think our tires are GREAT in winter!!!!!! *ah, crap, I'm in Vancouver now, oops*

Yeah what's up with that

 

[90210brandon]

Yeah, want some??? Bring it GearHead! Hehe.

OK, sorry, jacked the thread...

 

[Installshield 2]

It's interesting that others have no problems with the stock tires on our P5s in winter while myself and many others think they are crap in winter.

Last winter I put on 15" steel rims with Michelin Pilot Alpins and the improvement was amazing. Never got stuck once and I always felt I was in control even with the roads pretty bad with snow and slush. Like MyZmZm, I bought mine from the dealer for $50 each and the tires I got from Costco but Canadian Tire has the Artic Alpins on sale I think.

Yeah man, I bought my P5 a year and a half ago in Febuary...We had about 20" of snow fall through out the end of that winter, and winter meats were the first thing I did...A lot of people said the stock Dunlops were great in the snow when new...I hated them, if the road was even slightly covered...traction was gone and I couldn't even get up my driveway...

I bought Pirelli 210 Snowsport's in the 205/50 variety for the stock 16s...They are great...They are not as "snow/ice only" like the Blizzak WS-50's from Bridgestone, and offer pretty good dry and wet performance too...which is what I needed given that most of the winter the roads are fine...The price kind of sucks though...I paid about $120 per tire, but they out handled my stock dunlops all together...

but also I have been using my stock 16's in the ice/salt/snow/gravel of two winters with no problem...the paint on the wheels is fine and they still look new...Wish I could say the same about my hood and front end...

 

[Broich]

I just bought 16 inch 50 series 205 wides ice tires for the winter from Crappy Tire ( canadian tire). They were fairly expensive at about 125.00 a piece, but they are still low pro, don't look like donuts, and therefor handle good too. Running stock rims ( they're ugly anyways so who cares about running them in the winter) w/ those tires. The stocks are horrible for winters around here, and since last winter was pretty good i'm sure were in for some uglyness this year.

 

[Orange]

I have heard quite some horror stories with the stock Dunlop's on P5 in winters. Are they using the same tires in the newer models? Or have Mazda caved into the Ford buying power of Bridgestone?

In any case, the Dunlop's on the MP3's are quite horrible in winters (although much better than I expected). I now have a set of 15" Toyo's on steelies & they are wonderful. A bit pricey, but I am happy about the performance.

 

[skyhawk174]

Hi Margaret how you doing?

Which Toyo did you get? I did not even realise that they made awinter tire or are you talking all season?

 

[kk52736]

It's interesting that others have no problems with the stock tires on our P5s in winter while myself and many others think they are crap in winter.

Last winter I put on 15" steel rims with Michelin Pilot Alpins and the improvement was amazing. Never got stuck once and I always felt I was in control even with the roads pretty bad with snow and slush. Like MyZmZm, I bought mine from the dealer for $50 each and the tires I got from Costco but Canadian Tire has the Artic Alpins on sale I think.

do you mean you got the tire and steelie for $50.00CAD?? where? and what is the diff between the pilot and artic alpins?

by the way i think the stock tire are craps in winter too... especiallly i will go snowboarding in the winter, so i need winter tire and steelie.

 

[90210brandon]

No, the rims were $50 each, not the rims and tires, Chris might have studdered. When I left Calgary, NorthHill was selling steelies for $40 each. Talk to Ron, Shawn, or Ryan there, they might be able to do the same for you.

 

[kk52736]

do you mean northhill mazda, where about it is? at centre street??what about tire? and what size you had it on?

 

[90210brandon]

do you mean northhill mazda, where about it is? at centre street??what about tire? and what size you had it on?

Yes, North Hill on Centre street in the NW. It's Centre street and around 13th Ave (or something like that). It isn't hard to find. Look it up in the phone book or online. The rims were/would have been 15". I don't have winter tires; you don't need them here.

 

[LocoMoto]

North Hill Mazda has a winter tire package for the proteges for a little under $850 incl taxes, install, mounted and balanced. They're 15" steelies with 195/55/15 Toyo Garits. I believe they also have Michelin Arctic Alpins if you don't want the Toyo's. Pretty good deal in my books, cuz tire shops wanted the same package for $100 more!!

 

[andyfatsax]

Man I can't believe all these people spending so much on winter tires. I bought the canadian tire special - Nordic Trac - $70 a pop and $45 for the rims.

The whole deal cost me $460 tax and installation in! I am saving my money for some sweet sticky's for the summer.

BTW - I bought 185/65/15" - go with 195-60-15"

 

[Shroud]

Hey guys, help a tire newbie out

I just bought a M3 GT with the 17 inch alloy wheels. Im in Edmonton

- do I need to get snow tires? Isnt it bad to replace a 17 with a smaller tire?

- if I take it to crappy tire, how am I gonna lug 4 stock 17 inch tires home after they install the snow tires?

DOH

Im starting to worry

Jarrett

 

[erikvonb]

Get the winter tires and new 16 or 15 inch rims. about 45 to 60 bucks for the rims at crappy tire.
Put the 17's in your trunk. If they don't all fit...fold down the back seats. easy peasy!

-EvB

Hey guys, help a tire newbie out

I just bought a M3 GT with the 17 inch alloy wheels. Im in Edmonton

- do I need to get snow tires? Isnt it bad to replace a 17 with a smaller tire?

- if I take it to crappy tire, how am I gonna lug 4 stock 17 inch tires home after they install the snow tires?

DOH

Im starting to worry

Jarrett

 

[Shroud]

I guess the 17s look so huge to me I assumed they would not fit in the trunk.

Sigh. More money to spend! Might have to wait a month :\

After all, I want to buy a home theater projector....a piano for my wife.....wallet ...HURTS......

 

[erikvonb]

If you're gonna wait to get the winters, I would suggest coating your 17's with vaseline or waxing them so that the salt doesn't eat away at them...That is if you care about what they'll look like come spring. (not sure where you're located, but I'm assuming that they use salt on your roads.

-Erik

I guess the 17s look so huge to me I assumed they would not fit in the trunk.

Sigh. More money to spend! Might have to wait a month :\

After all, I want to buy a home theater projector....a piano for my wife.....wallet ...HURTS......

 

[Shroud]

Yeah, I will do so. Thanks!

 

[Orange]

The Toyo's are great. Got them (15") since my first winter in the MP3. They gave relatively good performance in dry road while sufficient grip in snow / ice. They are more expensive than crappy tire, costco, wal-mart etc. so it's really up to what you want & how much you want to spend.

I did all my work at North Hill & they store my tires for me when they are not in use.

 

[reptile]

I believe on the new Mazda 3 Sport GT that you cannot put on a 15" wheel due to the larger braking system they have installed on the new Mazda3 sport. I'm pretty sure you will have to go with a 16" wheel as your minimum size.

I'm a newbie so take that for what it's worth.

 

[kk52736]

erikvonb, you should check out the dealer, i saw they have some winter package for steelie and tire for about $7XX and i think they are very good deal, also they will put on and take off as long as you have the car.