CX-9 Buyer concern. Help!!

[msam]

Hi,

I am new here. I was seriously thinking about getting a Mazda CX9 Touring AWD. I live in the North East of the US and am very concerned about the comments that I am seeing here about the handling of the CX9s in the snow.

I currently drive an SUV with permanent 4WD system that can be switched on/off manually. It performs great in the snow with All Season Tires. I have been using it for many years.

I am noticing that the comments here pertain to the GT version. Does anyone have the same issues with their Touring version? I don't want to be in a situation where I buy the CX9 right in the middle of winter and find that I need to spend $$$ for new tires immediately.

Your comments are highly appreciated.

Thanks,

[squidly]

It pertains to all versions. They all come with the same tire.

[sbmrinaldi]

If Mazda is still putting on the Bridgestone Dueller then no matter what model you buy you will have the same issue in snow. Those tires are terrible. Work a deal with the dealer to either include a different set of tires or just advise them of the worthlessness of those and neg. your price down accordingly.

[todd92]

If our CX-9's with these Bridgestone tires isn't the definitive example of snow tires > AWD I don't know what is. Personally, I wouldn't waste my money on AWD, but the marketing hype for 20 years has been relentlessly successful and many now feel they can't negotiate a 1/2" of snow without it.

I get a separate set of winter wheels and tires for my cars that are going to be driven in the winter. Right now my winter drivers are a RWD BMW 330i and a FWD Mazda CX-9. Both sets of tires were around $1100 from the Tire Rack (including TPMS for the Mazda). I go right around AWD drive vehicles with all-season tires regularly that are struggling in winter conditions.

So for less than 1/2 the price of AWD, I get much better traction (remember AWD does NOTHING for turning and braking). I also don't suffer from the lower everyday performance and gas mileage that the extra weight and driveline friction of AWD saps.

[Mazda3]

I get a kick out of people who can afford a $40k vehicle, but can't afford to put proper tires on it. There's nothing wrong with the handling of the CX-9 in snow, it just needs prpoer tires like every other car on the road should have.

[rk2112]

I get a kick out of people who can afford a $40k vehicle, but can't afford to put proper tires on it. There's nothing wrong with the handling of the CX-9 in snow, it just needs prpoer tires like every other car on the road should have.

I have to disagree to a point. Before the CX-9 I had a Murano SE ($39,000) and though it wasn't exceptional in the snow, the stock tires were much better in bad weather than the CX-9's. I think you could look at it that for $40,000 you should get tires that are at least decent in bad weather and last more than 12,000-15,000 miles. I actually got 20,000 out of the orginal Bridgestones, but the tire installer was shocked that I got that much. I now have Yokohamas, we really haven't had enough snow for me to judge these tires yet.

[CX9inMA]

The problem with the Duelers is they are an ultra high performance tire and not even all-season. That is my only beef and the snowy regions should have all-season tires on them. The Duelers handle great on dry and wet roads but are absolutely atrocious in the snow and ice.

I would echo the advice to use this as a negotiating edge when haggling your price.

[msam]

Thank you all for your comments. I will try to negotiate new tires into the price and see how it turns out.

[squidly]

The problem with the Duelers is they are an ultra high performance tire and not even all-season.


Wait, what? Ultra high performance? Where do people come up with this stuff?

[rk2112]

Wait, what? Ultra high performance? Where do people come up with this stuff?


I am with you on this......The Bridgestone's are just a regular all season tire. They are NOT ultra high performance.


http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp?width=245%2F&ratio=50&diameter=20&filterType=oe&skipOver=true&autoYear=2008&diameter=20&sortCode=59938&autoModel=CX-9&skipOver=true&ratio=50&autoMake=Mazda&minLoad=S&autoModClar=Grand+Touring+AWD&minSpeedRating=S&width=245%2F&manufacturer=Bridgestone&filterType=oe&vehicleSearch=true&startIndex=0&search=true&pagelen=20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1&speed_rating=S&speed_rating=T&speed_rating=U&speed_rating=H&speed_rating=V&speed_rating=Z&speed_rating=W&speed_rating=Y&speed_rating=(Y)&RunFlat=All&loadRank=2

[CX9inMA]

Ok, I should have said they perform like ultra high performance summer tires, based on my experience. My mistake. But other sites (http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Ordern&cart_id=36777351.135.12522&typ=R-144954&ranzahl=4&Breite=245&Quer=50&Felge=20&weiter=0&kategorie=6&Ang_pro_Seite=10&Transport=P&F_F=&dsco=135&Achse=) do in fact list them as "Summer tires" and with a "V" speed index rating of up to 149 MPH. (By the way ... this is all fairly new to me, so I'm not looking to get into a tire head p!ssing contest, by the way.)

Interesting tidbit from the above link:

"Original equipment tire for : Acura MDX, Audi Q7, Mazda CX-9, Toyota Highlander, BMW X5"

So I guess a lot of folks have the same complaint, not just we CX9 owners.

Be sure to let us know how you make out msam.

Good luck.

[todd92]

Whatever category the Bridgestones might be placed in, we all agree they behave like high performance tires in the snow. These may be the worst all-season tires ever made for use in the winter. But the bottom line is even the best all-season tire is pretty weak in the snow compared to real snow tires.

Isn't it amazing, when I was growing up, everyone put snow tires on their car for the winter, and almost every car was rear wheel drive. No one seemed to have a problem driving in the snow. Now everyone seems to think they have to have AWD and very few people switch to winter tires. Yet more people seem to complain about driving in the snow now. Coincidence?

[SC300ES]

Isn't it amazing, when I was growing up, everyone put snow tires on their car for the winter, and almost every car was rear wheel drive. No one seemed to have a problem driving in the snow. Now everyone seems to think they have to have AWD and very few people switch to winter tires. Yet more people seem to complain about driving in the snow now. Coincidence?

Well, the problem is when you live in an apartment in a big city like, say NYC, you don't have any place to store different tires for different seasons. So it makes sense to invest in an AWD vehicle that is going to be much better than a FWD when you need to get out of that tight parking spot, without investing in a different set of tires. It's the easy, logical way out but we all suffer when it snows more than a few inches.

Just a thought...

Ed

[DashingMax]

I have to agree with everyone on here about the OEM Bridgestone Duelers on all points.
(a) They are bad in snow
(b) With 20k miles, the tread is a little over 1/8" remaining.

The CX-9 AWD system is directly borrowed from the company that makes one of the safest cars on the road, Volvo.

I've driven the CX-9 and my buddy's Acura MDX, back-to-back on the same road, same hour, same conditions and the CX-9 was significantly better.

As long as you're willing to either (a) get a seperate 18" set of dedicated winter tires or (b) Replace the Bridgestones with tires that perform better in the winter, you will surely love every mile that you own this vehicle.

The CX-9 didn't just win so many awards for no reason.
2008 Truck of the Year
2008 Motor Trend SUV of the Year