Finding an OEM replacement tire is impossible

[Hambone]

A large piece of metal decided to stick itself in one of my tires during my travels this weekend. It has been impossible to find a matching replacement tire. (pissed)(bang) I don't really want to drive around on mis-matched tires that only have 4000ish miles on them. I guess this is the sign for me to buy some decent all-season tires that will get me through the winter. (sad2)

Oh, and thanks Mazda for the discreetly colored spare wheel. There's nothing like seeing a bright yellow wheel on the 5.

[was98strat]

A large piece of metal decided to stick itself in one of my tires during my travels this weekend. It has been impossible to find a matching replacement tire. (pissed)(bang) I don't really want to drive around on mis-matched tires that only have 4000ish miles on them. I guess this is the sign for me to buy some decent all-season tires that will get me through the winter. (sad2)

Oh, and thanks Mazda for the discreetly colored spare wheel. There's nothing like seeing a bright yellow wheel on the 5.

I guess they are trying to discourage people from treating the spare as a regular use tire! It's amazing the number of people I see on the highway doing 120-130 on a donut! I regularly see drivers on my commute to work who are riding on their spare for weeks! Pretty scary stuff!

[wongpres]

Yes, it is very difficult to find the OEM tire model, try your Mazda dealership. The reason why it's so difficult is it's a dedicated tire model for OEM use (I wrote a little bit regarding this on this thread: http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2656001&postcount=5 ).