Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but that can happen regardless of what size tire & wheel you're running. I actually had a rock wedged in between one of my front pads and rotor about a couple of weeks ago and thought I had a messed up wheel bearing. I was still running the stock 18s when that happened.
Winter Tires
- Thread starter GhostMercury
- Start date
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but that can happen regardless of what size tire & wheel you're running. I actually had a rock wedged in between one of my front pads and rotor about a couple of weeks ago and thought I had a messed up wheel bearing. I was still running the stock 18s when that happened.
Got the steelies installed today and zero issues. Unless they sent you a different set of 16" steelies from the ones I got then you shouldn't need spacers. I mean it was tight but it didn't look that bad to me even though I got the steelies with a +55 offset which tucks the wheels in a further 2.5 mm compared to the stock 18s. I do wonder if I had gone with the +42 offset steelies like turbo23, would that have caused rubbing problems on the outer fender since I am lowered on H&R coilovers (about 1.25").
**UPDATE: Got a better look at them this past weekend on a nice sunny day and upon closer inspection, the steelies are quite a tight fit as it just clears the bottom half of the front calipers. It's close but I've been running them for a couple of days now with no issues, no sounds, no added vibrations so for those thinking of going with the Tirerack 16" steelies in a +55 offset meant for the regular Mazda3s, these will work. Of course, YMMV, as someone pointed out, the Tirerack may have switched suppliers so don't blame me if you order the same set and find out after they don't clear.
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Factory 16's.
Factory Mazda3 16's fit fine... (atleast the 08 Mz3 16's)
Proof? http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4072179&postcount=40
I ran a set of the "Sport Edition" 16's from tire-rack all winter. Absolutely no problems with the brakes, no problems with rocks..
More sidewall in the winter is better, narrower is better...who cares what your car looks like with winter wheels, atleast you can stop, go and turn. When i ordered my winters, I'da done steel wheels, but they didn't have any, so i got the next cheapest thing.
Better to have as much traction as possible than to end up piling your car into something becuase you had no traction..
Factory Mazda3 16's fit fine... (atleast the 08 Mz3 16's)
Proof? http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4072179&postcount=40
I ran a set of the "Sport Edition" 16's from tire-rack all winter. Absolutely no problems with the brakes, no problems with rocks..
More sidewall in the winter is better, narrower is better...who cares what your car looks like with winter wheels, atleast you can stop, go and turn. When i ordered my winters, I'da done steel wheels, but they didn't have any, so i got the next cheapest thing.
Better to have as much traction as possible than to end up piling your car into something becuase you had no traction..
Got my winter setup from Tirerack the other day and I put them on so I could run them in for a couple hundred miles before the winter conditions start up...
They are the Sport Edition F10 +50 16x7 with Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60 in 225/55R16
Got them from Luke at Tirerack (ext 362).
nevermind the filthy car, haven't washed in awhile...
They are the Sport Edition F10 +50 16x7 with Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60 in 225/55R16
Got them from Luke at Tirerack (ext 362).
nevermind the filthy car, haven't washed in awhile...
Silver Ecstasy
Member
- :
- 11 MS3 Sport
MAN those front rotors are close.
So I highly doubt a rock would get stuck, and I know people have said there is zero cooling issues, but I can't help but be slightly skeptical. How do the tires feel so far?
So I highly doubt a rock would get stuck, and I know people have said there is zero cooling issues, but I can't help but be slightly skeptical. How do the tires feel so far?
skubidoobie
Member
- :
- Mazdaspeed3
Did you pay the $264 for TPMS as well? I need to get my snow shoes soon and have been looking at that setup on tirerack.
yeah you can see there is like 4-5mm clearance on the caliper except at the balance weight where there is like 2-3mm.
the tires feel like brand new winter tires so far
kinda wavy and soft but with surprisingly good grip on the dry. Note I went with a nonstandard size for these. They happen to be the same diameter as RX-8 wheels and they seem to clear everything fine so far. I am lowered a bit on Mazdaspeed Sport springs and my fenders are not rolled. There seems to be an ocean of clearance between the tires and the struts/shocks. I imagine with a more square profile tire, the rear fender may come into play a bit.
Typical wear-in of brand new bridgestones shows that they are always relatively wishy-washy feeling when new but after about 500mi or so, they start to grip and handle more like a performance tire. Granted, these Blizzak WS-60s are not a performance handing tire and I will not be treating them as such, but over the years I have had many different winter tires including Green Diamond Inaris, Blizzak WS-50, Blizzak Revo1, Wintersport M3, and now these. The Wintersport M3 definitely had the best dry handling but they also had, imho, the worst snow/ice grip. Tradeoffs!
No, I didn't pay for the TPMS as you can tell by looking closely at my valvestems which are standard rubber ones, not the aluminum ones of a TPMS module. With a 16" tire, a few psi down on any corner and you can definitely see it with tire sag (well, i can, as i'm super anal about tire pressures and look closely at tires, even on other people's parked cars) and also feel it while driving. So yeah, a tire pressure gauge and regular inflation will be my human-powered-TPMS.
For low profile summer rubber, I will definitely be using TPMS (both for my RE760 Sport commuter tires on stock wheels and my RE01R 'fun' tires on RX-8 wheels.
Yeah, I'm a Bridgestone *****.
the tires feel like brand new winter tires so far
kinda wavy and soft but with surprisingly good grip on the dry. Note I went with a nonstandard size for these. They happen to be the same diameter as RX-8 wheels and they seem to clear everything fine so far. I am lowered a bit on Mazdaspeed Sport springs and my fenders are not rolled. There seems to be an ocean of clearance between the tires and the struts/shocks. I imagine with a more square profile tire, the rear fender may come into play a bit.Typical wear-in of brand new bridgestones shows that they are always relatively wishy-washy feeling when new but after about 500mi or so, they start to grip and handle more like a performance tire. Granted, these Blizzak WS-60s are not a performance handing tire and I will not be treating them as such, but over the years I have had many different winter tires including Green Diamond Inaris, Blizzak WS-50, Blizzak Revo1, Wintersport M3, and now these. The Wintersport M3 definitely had the best dry handling but they also had, imho, the worst snow/ice grip. Tradeoffs!
No, I didn't pay for the TPMS as you can tell by looking closely at my valvestems which are standard rubber ones, not the aluminum ones of a TPMS module. With a 16" tire, a few psi down on any corner and you can definitely see it with tire sag (well, i can, as i'm super anal about tire pressures and look closely at tires, even on other people's parked cars) and also feel it while driving. So yeah, a tire pressure gauge and regular inflation will be my human-powered-TPMS.
For low profile summer rubber, I will definitely be using TPMS (both for my RE760 Sport commuter tires on stock wheels and my RE01R 'fun' tires on RX-8 wheels.
Yeah, I'm a Bridgestone *****.
6
60181
that's tight. not sure if I could do it that close.
the tires feel like brand new winter tires so far
you should be fine, although I don't know how much the MS Springs drop the car. your tire diameter is almost dead on with the stock. mine are about .7" taller and will rub the inner rear wheel wells if I take a dip in the road fast or a speed bump faster than a crawl. I'm fixing that later this week.
I picked up a set of WS-50's. Bear claws for sure, but they handle nicely.
Silver Ecstasy
Member
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- 11 MS3 Sport
If I can find a set of WS-50's brand new, i'll get those instead of the WS-60. I don't know why i'm so skeptical about those new ones.
skubidoobie
Member
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- Mazdaspeed3
With a brand new car a light on in my dash would irritate the s*** out of me. Well besides the DSC light, it means I'm having fun when that one comes on lol. (drive)
You'll get used to the light though. What's funny is that I've had my winters on for about a week now and I don't think the TPMS warning light has come on even once yet. Either that or I'm just totally out of it and have missed it completely.
For those that have their winters on already, what typically happens when the TPMS goes off? Just the dash light or a series of beeps?
On the the Mazdaspeed3, at start up it will flash for about a minute or two then goes solid. No beeps, thank goodness. It is not bad when with the solid traction control disabled solid light just beneath. It did not happen right away if i remember correct. I thought maybe, if I am parked close enough to my stock tires and wheels at night I will be ok!
Thanks for mentioning that because I was getting kinda worried as I've noticed the Revo1s being quite "greasy" as we've had some fairly heavy rain this past week. Granted, I found out the tires were underinflated by 3 or 4 PSI so bumping them up made them ride & grip a bit better. I hope they grip better with a little more mileage as they do not grip all that well right now with only a few hundred kms. on them.
skubidoobie
Member
- :
- Mazdaspeed3
Or just leave them in the back lol.
Psycho_Maz
Member
- :
- 2008.5 MS3 GT - MGM
I found a wheel/tire combo on craigs list: 17 inch Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 winter tires, wrapped in 235/45/17 ASA wheels. Bolt pattern is 5x114. Lot of tread left. They used to be on the dude's STI. Will these fit my MS3? He is asking $550.
just had dunlop 3D's installed on ms6 wheels last night - 'wishy-washy' is definitely a good term. 225/40-18 IIRC, so they are lower profile and wider than the stockers, oddly enough..
not quite the grip/response of the summer tires, but pretty good nonetheless. i hope they'll get better once worn in - as of right now, they lose grip upon full boost. more road noise, too. but of course, when the snow comes, i'll be ready
not quite the grip/response of the summer tires, but pretty good nonetheless. i hope they'll get better once worn in - as of right now, they lose grip upon full boost. more road noise, too. but of course, when the snow comes, i'll be ready
Subies have a smaller hub diameter than our Mazdas, so if the wheel is drilled for an STi, it won't fit. If the wheel is oversized and he was using centering rings, it might fit. Go over and test fit a wheel to see.
That being said, you can find wayyyy better deals. 235 is too wide for a snow tire, and $550 is too expensive for a used clist set-up. I payed $250 for 16" Blizzaks on steelies.
