Are you leaning towards winter tires?

[wtom]

I\'m definitely leaning towards getting winter tires.

[RedRaptor]

Since the 3 comes with the GoodYear Eagle RSAs, I don\'t think its much of a choice. So yes I would say I am definitely in and probably even decided I\'m getting winter tires before I bought the car.

[///M]

Yes...though maybe I\'d have stuck with the stock tires if my car wasn\'t lowered.

[Dr Butcher]

I have a dedicated summer tire on the car right now so I pretty much have to. :)

[MajesticBlueNTO]

wouldn\'t drive during the winter months without them....probably because i have summer only tires too, but even with the rs-a i would get winter tires;)

[Xenon]

I\'m not too sure.

The heaviest weighting in my decision is to see how these RS-As and the 3 as a whole reacts in the snow.

[MazdaTree]

yea i jus dont wanna dent my stock rims so im in

[mazda3ride]

Winter tires are a must for me. I don\'t want to use these tires or rims in the snow.

[DriverEd]

Originally posted by Xenon


I\'m not too sure.

The heaviest weighting in my decision is to see how these RS-As and the 3 as a whole reacts in the snow.

There\'s no question that dedicated winter tires are safer than all-seasons. Not only for traction while accelerating, but more importantly for braking and handling. It\'s a small cost considering the added safety. It will also mean that you won\'t have to replace the all-seasons as soon.

Here\'s a great article from Car & Driver. It compares FWD, RWD, and AWD cars and how they perform with all-season tire vs winter tires. It\'s a must read.
Winter Traction Test - C&D (http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=4&article_id=3888&page_numb er=1)

[wtom]

Thanks, Ed, that\'s an awesome informative article!

[Dr Butcher]

Ahh, the season\'s upon us. I saw my first winter tire commercial last night for Michelin X Ice.

Next up Christmas commercials, I\'ll expect those hard core the day after Halloween. :sarc

[majic]

*jingle bells jingle bells.. * doh

yeah.. looking for winter tires BEFORE i even have the car.. but i soooo cannot decide on which ones.. maybe the article will shed some light?

[idreamofmazda]

The factory tires on my last car (Saturn), we the worse I have ever driven in winter. I have bought the car at 3-years; lots of tread left, but no side slits for the snow to exit from the tire. The car had ABS, which only made things worse. The first winter experience on those tires was when I went up north for Christmas. The roads were slushy, and my braking distance was 4 to 5 times normal, cars beside me were stopping, but I kept on going, like I had no brakes at all. Got rid of those tires as soon as I got back to TO.

The Mazda tires look okay for the winter, but since they are only rated for 60k (probably 50k if you are lucky), so having a set of dedicated winter tires isn’t going to cost any extra in the long run. I am leaning towards winter tires.

[idreamofmazda]

I would love to try an experiment this winter. Get a bunch of us Mazda 3 drivers on a big empty parking lot, or a deserted road after a good snowfall, and perform acceleration, braking, and slalom tests. Some of use would have factory tires, some winter tires (of different brands), and some with ABS. I would like to see the performance difference with the tires, and if ABS is better or not in snow. We just need a long tape measure, and some road pylons. Anyone interested?

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by idreamofmazda


I would love to try an experiment this winter. Get a bunch of us Mazda 3 drivers on a big empty parking lot, or a deserted road after a good snowfall, and perform acceleration, braking, and slalom tests. Some of use would have factory tires, some winter tires (of different brands), and some with ABS. I would like to see the performance difference with the tires, and if ABS is better or not in snow. We just need a long tape measure, and some road pylons. Anyone interested?



sounds like the Ian Law Winter Driving School :)

when i took their car control school, they had mentioned that in the winter school, they did a test similar to this.

they took a car with ABS and did the acceleration to a set speed, braked and then measured the braking distance. then they pulled the ABS fuse on that particular car and repeated the test. the ABS \"off\" test recorded shorter stopping distances.

the reasoning behind it was that, in snow at least, you want a tire to stop spinning. this builds up friction between the tire and the snow, as opposed to ABS \"on\" that kept the tire spinning with no viable means of friction stopping it.

as long as the parking lot is familiar, i wouldn\'t mind doing the runs. i don\'t want to end up bending my suspension like a buddy of mine in an unfamiliar, snow-covered parking lot
:(

[majic]

costco parking lots or go train lots would be best suited for that, no curbs and light poles spaced far apart. also ther is this lot when you get off at ford drive (going on 403West) and it usually has ford cars on it - but lately i\'ve seen it empty.. i would assume it\'s their property tho so i dunno about that one

[Xenon]

Originally posted by DriverEd



Originally posted by Xenon


I\'m not too sure.

The heaviest weighting in my decision is to see how these RS-As and the 3 as a whole reacts in the snow.

There\'s no question that dedicated winter tires are safer than all-seasons. Not only for traction while accelerating, but more importantly for braking and handling. It\'s a small cost considering the added safety. It will also mean that you won\'t have to replace the all-seasons as soon.

Here\'s a great article from Car & Driver. It compares FWD, RWD, and AWD cars and how they perform with all-season tire vs winter tires. It\'s a must read.
Winter Traction Test - C&D (http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=4&article_id=3888&page_numb er=1)

true... but if i can live with the RS-A\'s I will... The thing for me is that i don\'t have the finances to buy winter tires.

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by majic


costco parking lots

ironic thing is, my buddy bent his suspension at a costco lot ....slid into a curb that was covered in a foot of snow. it\'s all good, gave him incentive to get JIC coilovers ;)

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by Xenon

true... but if i can live with the RS-A\'s I will... The thing for me is that i don\'t have the finances to buy winter tires.

ask the parents for money and say you\'ll pay them back when you have the means.

spend a little now, or a lot later....besides, the winters will definitely last 4 seasons, if not more.

[billyfo]

who voted \"no\"?

I got my car on Feb, so I decided not to have snow/winter tires last winter cause Apr was not far away. The RS-A stood quite good for wet snow and light snow, as I remember there was not to much snow storm after Feb, but beware cause cities didn\'t clear the snow for residential street in the early morning, I ended up drove back home and took the CR-V instead, cause too much wheel spinning and skid towards stop sign. Remember the RS-As are still V-rated tires, which means pretty close to performance tires, so no good for winter driving, don\'t cheap out several hundreds of $ for winter tires, you may end up paying alot to repair after crash.

[bluntman]

That was probably Xenon, he\'s always so antagonistic. :D

[Gatekeeper]

I guess I\'m just old school, but I will definately get winter tires. I\'ve seen what winter tires can do. Mind you, I\'ve always driven a rear wheel drive vehicle and a set of winter tires always improved my winter driving. Who knows, I might test out the All Seasons this year first and make my judgement later.

[chaser]

since i put on Nokkians for winter many years ago, snow tires became a must in winter! although in some very bad conditions i still got skid, i knew the car was under control ... in fact, i found it fun to drive in snow with snow tires (of course not in heavy traffic) :p

[M34ME]

The only thing about fulling your ABS fuse is that in snow if your tires are locked and you try to steer away from something you will likely go into a spin. With ABS it may increase the stopping distance a bit, but you can steer while braking. And definately go with winter tires, after owning a pair you\'ll probably never go without them.

[david3]

Originally posted by majicalso ther is this lot when you get off at ford drive (going on 403West) and it usually has ford cars on it - but lately i\'ve seen it empty.. i would assume it\'s their property tho so i dunno about that one

It\'s not paved anymore. They ripped it all up. No way you wanna do tests in there :)

[wtom]

Originally posted by majic

yeah.. looking for winter tires BEFORE i even have the car..

Looks like I\'m joining the club here, majic... :)

When I did have my 3 tho I was introduced to the Kumho KW17\'s by MajesticBlueN. I shall stick with those once I get the new 3... hopefully there aren\'t any major delays (other than the typhoon I heard?) on the 05\'s...

[majic]

Originally posted by wtom



Originally posted by majic

yeah.. looking for winter tires BEFORE i even have the car..

Looks like I\'m joining the club here, majic... :)

When I did have my 3 tho I was introduced to the Kumho KW17\'s by MajesticBlueN. I shall stick with those once I get the new 3... hopefully there aren\'t any major delays (other than the typhoon I heard?) on the 05\'s...

yay :D

i mean .. i\'m sorry for your loss tho.. but yeah.. i\'m shopping for mine.. wanna go to the same dealers? :p

[///M]

I still can\'t decide which tire to get. I want something that doesn\'t turn my car into an SUV lol. I do mostly highway and downtown driving so I don\'t think I\'ll need a particularly aggressive tread, but I do want something grippy just in case I get stuck.

Are there such things as \"high performance winter tires\" or \"winter sports tires\"? ...hahaha

[majic]

yeah.. seriously.. i haven\'t really decided on anything yet either :(

i think the pure snow tire isn\'t really what we need in tdot as the raods get cleared rather quickly.. it\'s the slush and wet snow/ice we need to worry about and personally i would like the rubbers to last longer than 1 winter so i\'d like them to be made of a harder compound.. *dilemnas dilemnas* raod noise/comfort isn\'t as important as dry/wet/slushy traction which is most of what we see on our streets in the GTA

[PlatMS6]

why do u guys like the kw17 over teh kw19....to me the kw17 loooks like a summer/all season tire with the exception of soft rubber while teh kw19 looks like an aggressive tread thats gona bite into the mush/snow

any imput

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by autoexe

Are there such things as \"high performance winter tires\" or \"winter sports tires\"? ...hahaha

Kumho KW17 (H-rated to 210km/h), Dunlop Sport M3 (V-rated to 240km/h)...basically any winter tire that\'s H rated and above will be a better slush tire than a pure snow tire.

pure snow tires that are studable rely on the studs for ice traction...but still better than all-seasons

[PlatMS6]

are u sure the one he is selling is an h tho...u can get h or t from kumho in the same size!!!!!! with a diff of about 5-8 dollars on the tire

[chaser]

i haven\'t decided on which one to get yet though i\'ve been using the well-praised Nokians for many years (winters\' of course) ..... i\'m leaning towards Kumho KW17 if i want to try some not-so-famous brand or Dunlop Winter Sport M2/M3 if i\'d feel better/safer with some well-known brands :p....


Originally posted by autoexe

Are there such things as \"high performance winter tires\" or \"winter sports tires\"? ...hahaha

i think brands/models such as Dunlop Winter Sport M2/M3, Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22/LM-25, Pirelli Winter 210/240 SnowSport, ... are considered as \"Performance winter tires\" if not \"High Performance winter tires\" since they\'re H-rated or even V-rated for some ...

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by 2004mz3


are u sure the one he is selling is an h tho...u can get h or t from kumho in the same size!!!!!! with a diff of about 5-8 dollars on the tire


the 205/55/16 is a 91H tire

the 195/65/15 is both a 91T and 91H tire...T rating is up to 190km/h (iirc) but with a softer sidewall.

more info on Kumho Tyres Global Site (http://www.kumhotire.com/int/Tires/PassList.jsp?region=PRGR2&product=SUGR4)

[dredd2099]

performance winter tires
eh hehe
who would want to go 200+ in winter time anywayz?
i know i dont

[///M]

From what I\'ve read Blizzak LM22s seem like a good choice, but they\'re pretty expensive. Any cheaper and comparable options? I doubt I\'ll be driving around in deep snow - my usual driving comprises of Yonge, 401, DVP, around downtown, and occasionally QEW/Gardiner and Highway 7.

Also, the LM22s aren\'t listed on Tires23. Any idea where I can get them?

[DriverEd]

I mentioned this on another thread, but Dave Wood Mazda in Newmarket is selling the Blizzak WS-50 mounted on steelies for $799 (205-55-16). The WS-50 is a Q-rated non-directional (I think) tire. Tiretrends has the WS-50 selling for $161.87 vs LM-22 for $169.50.

Dave Wood Mazda also has the Pirelli Wintersport 210 mounted on steelies for $799.

[Hypothrml]

I don\'t think it would worth spending +$500 for any winter tires with steelies. I\'m planning on buy used winter tires + steelies for around $200 - $250 max.

[Xenon]

Originally posted by bluntman


That was probably Xenon, he\'s always so antagonistic. :D

*ah hem* for the record, i haven\'t voted yet.

Since my finances are extremely tight, I\'m going to probably end up going with a Group buy (if I ever get time to set one up) or just go to CT and get cheap Motomaster Tires with some steelies.

I\'m really tight on cash. Promo sales haven\'t been going as well as I thought they would, so that initial investment money is still missing from my pockets too.

[billyfo]

another vote for \"no\"???

I think I\'ll be doing cheap, buy a set of steelies and using my old Nokian tires, so at most $250 to spend.