P5 'winter' wheels and tires installed *pics*

[Benfolio]

Wheels had some corrosion bubbling of the clearcoat, so I sanded them down and sprayed them semi-gloss black quick (too quick, if you look close enough) and threw on some 205/55R16 Blizzak LM25's. We'll see how they are in the snow but they fit perfectly and look kinda bada$$. (glare)

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/451421/fullsize/w3.jpg

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/451420/fullsize/w2.jpg

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/451422/fullsize/w4.jpg

Hopefully now when it snows the wife won't crash it. (ughdance)

[KYMP5]

that looks pretty good, and the blizaak is a great winter tire.

[Benfolio]

I know, I sell lots of em here. I wish I would have went with a skinnier tire though, looks a little TOO meaty on those wheels. The skinnier the better for snow, but with as little REAL snow as we get, I'm sure the wife'll appreciate the better grip of the wider tires I put on.

[tviera]

You have the perfect drive-by vehicle. Blacked out with sliding doors, if I saw you coming at me at night I would educate my underpants on why I take them off to shit.

[Shift_Lost]

Thats a mazda 5, Not a p5.. damn it man, you had me going(peep)



lol

[zr27]

Wheels had some corrosion bubbling of the clearcoat, so I sanded them down and sprayed them semi-gloss black quick (too quick, if you look close enough) and threw on some 205/55R16 Blizzak LM25's. We'll see how they are in the snow but they fit perfectly and look kinda bada$$. (glare)

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/451421/fullsize/w3.jpg

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/451420/fullsize/w2.jpg

http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/451422/fullsize/w4.jpg

Hopefully now when it snows the wife won't crash it. (ughdance)

Can't tell from the pictures and your description; are those steel wheels? Alloys?

[Foolish]

Thats a mazda 5, Not a p5.. damn it man, you had me going(peep)



lol

They're P5 wheels, that's what he was getting at.

[chuyler1]

can't tell? They are stock Protege5 wheels...which means they are alloys.

[zr27]

can't tell? They are stock Protege5 wheels...which means they are alloys.

Thanks for the correction, my bad. Thought they looked too good to be a set of 'steelies'. I was considering doing the same with a set of snows. The difference between the least expensive alloys from Tirerack and their steel set is approximately $125 for the four. Which look better is my question; the original alloys from Mazda or the replacement set alloys for the snows? Or do I just throw on steels.

[chuyler1]

Shop around here and on eBay and look for a set of Mazda wheels. If you can't find anything, its up to you whether you want to spend the extra money for alloys.

[zr27]

Shop around here and on eBay and look for a set of Mazda wheels. If you can't find anything, its up to you whether you want to spend the extra money for alloys.
Have you had a good experience with buying wheels on E-bay?

[chuyler1]

Not me personally, but eBay varies from seller to seller. Always bid with caution. I purchased a set of OEM RX-8 wheels for my car from a board member. At the time I was searching eBay and several other places. Depending on your area, craigslist.org sometimes has great buys too.

[Benfolio]

OEM wheels go for way to much on eBay most of the time. I've sold several sets and am always suprised on how much people will pay. Junkyards are just as bad. There are some places that sell reconditioned or aftermarket OE style wheels, sometimes you can find a deal there.

[mcola]

I'm looking to use a slightly different looking P5 rim as winters. They are 16's with 50mm offset. The stock M5 rims are 52.5mm. Any idea if this will be a problem?
Thanks

[livelyjay]

that looks pretty good, and the blizaak is a great winter tire.
Those do look pretty nice. You can get pretty decent deals on wheels if you shop around online. Tires.com has decent deals some times and you can get new steelies for cheap.

The Blizzak is a piece of crap winter tire for the price if you've actually used good winter tires. Nothing beats Nokian winter tires, period. You'd be better off buying a cheaper winter tire like the Hankook iPike than the Blizzaks. Better performance and way cheaper. How do I know, I've used all three kinds, along with Firestone Winterfires (discontinued).

[$chocker]

I wouldn't classify all Blizzaks as pieces of crap. I've had 2 types of Blizzaks; the WS50's and the Revo 1's. From my experience, I would put the Revo 1's that I have for my 5 on the piece of crap list, but the WS50's that we had on my wife's PT Cruiser were absolutely fantastic winter tires. I have no doubt that the Nokians you refer to are a great tire. I'm willing to bet that the WS50's would be comparable.

PS - Don't worry, PT Cruiser was replaced by Mazda 3 Touring in June.