How many miles did the OEM (factory) tires last on your CX-9?

Had them installed this week, driven about 30 miles so far, but only at speeds less than 40mph (traffic)! Even so, they are quieter than the Duellers. Had the installer inflate them to 40psi all around.

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Surprised to see you guys getting as many miles on your OEM tires as you are. My '13 has 30k and I'm thinking they will need to be replaced pretty soon. Perhaps they changed the OEMs for 2013 model?
 
Surprised to see you guys getting as many miles on your OEM tires as you are. My '13 has 30k and I'm thinking they will need to be replaced pretty soon. Perhaps they changed the OEMs for 2013 model?

Well, I just passed 56,000 miles on my OEM Bridgestone Dueler 400s and they still have life. Probably not good for another winter but they have been just fine on pavement. Sadly one was badly punctured by road debris last week so I am looking around to decide what to replace them with.

The internet prices for a number of other tires seem attractive until you add in the shipping and mounting charges as well as the hassle factor. I just checked my local Costco and they have the Dueler 400 in P245/50R20 with a quote of $971.79 for four tires mounted including tax (MA). Not sure it is worth futzing with other brands given that out the door pricing and the generally hassle free experience of Costco. I wish they had the 422 Dueler but apparently those are not available through Costco here.

There is a lot of pissing and moaning about Dueler 400s here and on tirerack but IMO it is mostly biased baloney. Why would Mazda go out of it's way to put an expensive tire on the CX-9 and tune the suspension for such a tire if they could get equal performance from a cheaper tire? There is virtually no data or controlled comparisons of Dueler 400s to any other tire that demonstrates any shortcoming of the 400. Some people complain about performance in snow....Duh!, it's a P245/50R20. No one in their right mind would expect good snow performance with that size tire regardless. I live in New England and just drive appropriately. If I needed more I'd just get some 18 inch wheels and put proper snow tires on. I should have done that but our town is very aggressive with snow plowing so it hasn't been necessary.

I'll call around a bit to make sure there is not an attractive alternative before taking the car to Costco but it looks like I'm going to get a second set.
 
If you're open to exploring other tire sizes, they are much cheaper. Not sue why Mazda went with 245/50, not a common size thus not fairly priced.
 
If you're open to exploring other tire sizes, they are much cheaper. Not sue why Mazda went with 245/50, not a common size thus not fairly priced.
I guess I am open to other sizes so long as they fit the OEM 20" wheels and don't look ridiculous. As noted earlier, I don't have any objection to the Duelers which have served me well but I am also not adverse to other brands. I don't want to invest in new wheels but I think I would be perfectly happy with 19" wheels and taller sidewalls. Potholes in New England are a fact of life and while I've not had any trouble with the 20" wheels on the CX9, I have lost tires and rims on other vehicles to such potholes so one thing I would not do is get tires with a smaller sidewall than the Duelers.

What are the more common sizes that fit the 20" wheels?
 
I guess I am open to other sizes so long as they fit the OEM 20" wheels and don't look ridiculous. As noted earlier, I don't have any objection to the Duelers which have served me well but I am also not adverse to other brands. I don't want to invest in new wheels but I think I would be perfectly happy with 19" wheels and taller sidewalls. Potholes in New England are a fact of life and while I've not had any trouble with the 20" wheels on the CX9, I have lost tires and rims on other vehicles to such potholes so one thing I would not do is get tires with a smaller sidewall than the Duelers.

What are the more common sizes that fit the 20" wheels?

255/50/20 suggested wheel width is between 7-9". These are 30.1 OD, so you get an addtional .3 of OD.
265/50/20 suggested wheel width is between 7.5-9.5". These are 30.5 OD, so you get an additional .7 of OD.

The stock wheels are 20x7 I believe. But putting a tire with a recommended width of 7.5 would be ok too. They are just recommended ranges. I know there is a fine line here, and if you are uncomfortable crossing it, I understand.
 
255/50/20 suggested wheel width is between 7-9". These are 30.1 OD, so you get an addtional .3 of OD.
265/50/20 suggested wheel width is between 7.5-9.5". These are 30.5 OD, so you get an additional .7 of OD.

The stock wheels are 20x7 I believe. But putting a tire with a recommended width of 7.5 would be ok too. They are just recommended ranges. I know there is a fine line here, and if you are uncomfortable crossing it, I understand.

Thanks for the info. I did a quick search but found most of the options for 255/50R20 to be about the same or higher priced than Costco has for the Dueler 400s. Only the Hankook line seemed to be significantly cheaper but that would be a rigmarole to organize via Internet etc. I really had no complain about the OEM tires and as I am a bit of a rush (can it stand driving on the compact spare!) I think my best option is the Duelers. Wish Costco had the 422 version as I would be willing to give up a bit of perfoance for better mileage but I'll live with the 400s.

Thanks again for the advice.
 
Thanks for the info. I did a quick search but found most of the options for 255/50R20 to be about the same or higher priced than Costco has for the Dueler 400s. Only the Hankook line seemed to be significantly cheaper but that would be a rigmarole to organize via Internet etc. I really had no complain about the OEM tires and as I am a bit of a rush (can it stand driving on the compact spare!) I think my best option is the Duelers. Wish Costco had the 422 version as I would be willing to give up a bit of perfoance for better mileage but I'll live with the 400s.

Thanks again for the advice.

According to Edmunds, stock wheels are 20x7.5. So I was wrong in thinking they were 20x7.

Yeah, 255/50 isn't a common size either....I just know of it cause that is what came on my 9-7x.

265/50 is more common and is what I run on my 9-7x.

I wish the Cx9 wheels were 20x8, then you could run a 275/45/20, which is super common and very cheap. With the aftermarket wheels on our CX9, I run 275/45.

I didn't know you were running around on a donut, and I agree to get that off ASAP and go with what is quick and easy and somewhat reasonable.

Curious, why Costco? Why not Discount Tire, or don't you have any of those around you? I like DT for the free rotations and air checks for the life of the tires.
 
According to Edmunds, stock wheels are 20x7.5. So I was wrong in thinking they were 20x7.

Yeah, 255/50 isn't a common size either....I just know of it cause that is what came on my 9-7x.

265/50 is more common and is what I run on my 9-7x.

I wish the Cx9 wheels were 20x8, then you could run a 275/45/20, which is super common and very cheap. With the aftermarket wheels on our CX9, I run 275/45.

I didn't know you were running around on a donut, and I agree to get that off ASAP and go with what is quick and easy and somewhat reasonable.

Curious, why Costco? Why not Discount Tire, or don't you have any of those around you? I like DT for the free rotations and air checks for the life of the tires.

Nearest Discount Tire is over 250 miles away. Local equivalent called Direct Tire which is by reputation very good, could only offer a Toyo equivalent for $100 more than Costco wants for the Duelers. Direct Tire wants $1300 for the Duelers and Costco quoted $970.

I guess the other reason for Costco is that they are simply very easy to deal with. No baloney or up selling. For example they charge only $3 per tire to replace the innards of the TPMS.

I don't recall exactly what extras Costco throws in other than free air and punctures but they do include a five year pro rated road hazard policy.
 
Nearest Discount Tire is over 250 miles away. Local equivalent called Direct Tire which is by reputation very good, could only offer a Toyo equivalent for $100 more than Costco wants for the Duelers. Direct Tire wants $1300 for the Duelers and Costco quoted $970.

I guess the other reason for Costco is that they are simply very easy to deal with. No baloney or up selling. For example they charge only $3 per tire to replace the innards of the TPMS.

I don't recall exactly what extras Costco throws in other than free air and punctures but they do include a five year pro rated road hazard policy.

Makes sense, not much for competition around you.
 
Nearest Discount Tire is over 250 miles away. Local equivalent called Direct Tire which is by reputation very good, could only offer a Toyo equivalent for $100 more than Costco wants for the Duelers. Direct Tire wants $1300 for the Duelers and Costco quoted $970.

I guess the other reason for Costco is that they are simply very easy to deal with. No baloney or up selling. For example they charge only $3 per tire to replace the innards of the TPMS.

I don't recall exactly what extras Costco throws in other than free air and punctures but they do include a five year pro rated road hazard policy.

Im the one who started this topic six months ago when I had 21k miles on the OEM Bridgestone Dueler 400s. I actually ended up replacing them in May just past the 28k mile mark. They probably had another 6-8k miles left in them, but (unlike you) I was NOT very happy with them! The two issues I had with them were premature wear and road noise.

I rotated them every 5,000 miles and they still wore unevenly and quickly. Ive spent countless hours researching why they only lasted 28k miles (might have made it to 35k miles, if I had stuck it out until they were completely worn out). I was determined to figure out why they lasted 50-60k miles for some and only half as long for others (including me)! The best and most logical explanation Ive found is that the combination of a warmer climate (and much hotter road surfaces) and spending about 75% of my time/miles on the highway going 80-85mph caused them to wear very quickly. I also live in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains where straight roads dont exist. All of the roads I drive daily are very curvy and I take advantage of the CX-9s handling capabilities more than the average driver probably does.

I had 10 tire models to choose my replacements from (excluding two Bridgestone Dueler models). I researched each of them until I finally felt comfortable making a choice. I got a set of Yokohama YK580s which were originally exclusive to Discount Tire but now are becoming available at other retailers. I paid $817 out-the-door and I couldnt be happier with them! Ive put almost 3,500 miles on them so far and they have met or exceeded my expectations across the board! =)

Handling and ride quality are both noticeably improved, especially on less than perfect road surfaces. Most importantly, road noise is definitely reduced! An unexpected but welcome surprise is improve wet weather traction. My CX-9 is FWD and it took me at least 10k miles to learn how to start off on wet pavement without causing the traction control to kick in because of wheel spin. With the Yokohamas, its much harder to cause wheel spin even in pouring rain.

The YK580 also has a 60k mile Treadwear Warranty, which is excellent for any tire with a V-speed rating. When I was shopping, I noticed that the Bridgestone Dueler 400 (OE) doesnt have a mileage warranty, but the Dueler 422 has a 65k miles warranty!? To be honest, Ive never had very good luck with OE tires that were performance-oriented. My 2006 Mazda3 had a set of $1100 Goodyears that were starting to show steel belt at 26k and I had an Acura TL that ate up a set of Bridgestone Potenzas in under 20k miles! So I definitely avoided replacing them with the same make/model of tires and went with something that would last longer. I put a set of Dunlops on both the Acura and the Mazda3 and got over 50k miles on both.

I know that you dont have Discount Tire in your area, but DiscountTireDirect.com carries the Yokohama YK580s with FREE SHIPPING (UPS Ground)! Theyre only $170 each and a set of four + TPMS Rebuild Kit would total $700 even! The only additional cost would be having them installed locally but there are plenty of local installers showing in your area who would do the job for $80 or less.

I almost forgot to mention, even though the YK580s have great handling and traction, they are also low-rolling-resistance. Yokohama accomplishes that by replacing a percentage of the petroleum-based oil used in the tire with orange oil (as in the fruit)! My MPG average has increased by 0.8mpg overall since I got them. Ive managed to stay above the 20mpg mark for the last 3,500 miles, for the first time!

One final note, I bought a 2014 Mazda6 Grand Touring a few months ago and it has just over 4,000 miles on it. According to numerous other Mazda6 GT owners, the OE Dunlop SP Sport 5000 tires (225/45R19 W-rated) are starting to wear out before the 20k mile mark! So Ill be replacing those in a year or so, Im sure..
 
I’m the one who started this topic six months ago when I had 21k miles on the OEM Bridgestone Dueler 400s. I actually ended up replacing them in May just past the 28k mile mark. They probably had another 6-8k miles left in them, but (unlike you) I was NOT very happy with them! The two issues I had with them were premature wear and road noise.

I rotated them every 5,000 miles and they still wore unevenly and quickly. I’ve spent countless hours researching why they only lasted 28k miles (might have made it to 35k miles, if I had stuck it out until they were completely worn out). I was determined to figure out why they lasted 50-60k miles for some and only half as long for others (including me)! The best and most logical explanation I’ve found is that the combination of a warmer climate (and much hotter road surfaces) and spending about 75% of my time/miles on the highway going 80-85mph caused them to wear very quickly. I also live in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains where straight roads don’t exist. All of the roads I drive daily are very curvy and I take advantage of the CX-9’s handling capabilities more than the average driver probably does.

I had 10 tire models to choose my replacements from (excluding two Bridgestone Dueler models). I researched each of them until I finally felt comfortable making a choice. I got a set of Yokohama YK580s which were originally exclusive to Discount Tire but now are becoming available at other retailers. I paid $817 out-the-door and I couldn’t be happier with them! I’ve put almost 3,500 miles on them so far and they have met or exceeded my expectations across the board! =)

Handling and ride quality are both noticeably improved, especially on less than perfect road surfaces. Most importantly, road noise is definitely reduced! An unexpected but welcome surprise is improve wet weather traction. My CX-9 is FWD and it took me at least 10k miles to learn how to start off on wet pavement without causing the traction control to kick in because of wheel spin. With the Yokohamas, it’s much harder to cause wheel spin even in pouring rain.

The YK580 also has a 60k mile Treadwear Warranty, which is excellent for any tire with a V-speed rating. When I was shopping, I noticed that the Bridgestone Dueler 400 (OE) doesn’t have a mileage warranty, but the Dueler 422 has a 65k miles warranty!? To be honest, I’ve never had very good luck with OE tires that were performance-oriented. My 2006 Mazda3 had a set of $1100 Goodyears that were starting to show steel belt at 26k and I had an Acura TL that ate up a set of Bridgestone Potenzas in under 20k miles! So I definitely avoided replacing them with the same make/model of tires and went with something that would last longer. I put a set of Dunlops on both the Acura and the Mazda3 and got over 50k miles on both.

I know that you don’t have Discount Tire in your area, but DiscountTireDirect.com carries the Yokohama YK580s with FREE SHIPPING (UPS Ground)! They’re only $170 each and a set of four + TPMS Rebuild Kit would total $700 even! The only additional cost would be having them installed locally but there are plenty of local installers showing in your area who would do the job for $80 or less.

I almost forgot to mention, even though the YK580s have great handling and traction, they are also low-rolling-resistance. Yokohama accomplishes that by replacing a percentage of the petroleum-based oil used in the tire with orange oil (as in the fruit)! My MPG average has increased by 0.8mpg overall since I got them. I’ve managed to stay above the 20mpg mark for the last 3,500 miles, for the first time!

One final note, I bought a 2014 Mazda6 Grand Touring a few months ago and it has just over 4,000 miles on it. According to numerous other Mazda6 GT owners, the OE Dunlop SP Sport 5000 tires (225/45R19 W-rated) are starting to wear out before the 20k mile mark! So I’ll be replacing those in a year or so, I’m sure…..

It does sound like you are hard on tires. It will be interesting to see how long the Yokohamas last.

As I noted earlier, my Dueler OEM tires were still going strong at 53,000 miles with perhaps another 10,000 miles of tread left when my wife hit some metallic object and created a non repairable puncture through the tread. I was going to replace them before winter anyway but now I am forced to make a quick decision.

After some thought and research I have come up with the following conclusions (for me):

1) The customer comments and "reviews" on the popular internet tire company websites are worse than useless. Indeed, they are extremely misleading and biased. Every Tom, Dick and Harry gets equal billing and everyone writes their reviews essentially to justify whatever purchase they just made. They also whine about whatever the OEM tire they had before they made the brilliant switch to the new tire. I appreciate that many people think they "feel" a difference when they get new different tires installed. However, they are feeling the difference between one new set and another old set. Not a valid comparison. Nobody's memory is good enough to recall what the OEM tires felt like when they were new. If Mario Andretti drove a CX-9 with two different tires and made comments about them I would be impressed but most of the people making comments about handling have no better skills or expertise than I do so it is hard to put much weight on their opinions. Comparing MPG is very tricky as weather and age of the car can affect these numbers and it is very hard to control for that. My mileage tank to tank can vary ten percent easily and sometimes much more. Bridgestone says there might be one percent improvement in MPG with the 422 over the 400. They have real data and the strongest statement they make is that the new eco tires may save you one tank of gas a year. I presume even that estimate includes typical marketing department hyperbole.

2) There is virtually no unbiased data comparing tires other than occasional reviews and tests by auto magazines. These data are still very limited because they obviously don't test the car that I own and don't test in the conditions that I drive. Still, there is at least a modicum of objectivity which is completely lacking in the customer reviews. When I last looked, Bridgestone Duelers did as well as any other tire and typically finished mid pack compared to other luxury CUV tires.

3) The Bridgestone Dueler 400 that Mazda chose for the CX-9 GT is not the cheapest tire they could get away with. Why did Mazda choose the Dueler??? They could have saved a few hundred dollars per car by going with less expensive but well respected tires from Yokohama or any of another four or five high quality manufacturers.

4) Once Mazda chose the Dueler, they optimized the suspension tuning for that tire. They most likely did gobs of testing and tuning with that specific tire. Any other tire would have resulted in different tuning (not saying it would have been worse but it would most likely have been different).

5) When Mazda engineers choose a more expensive tire, presumably they had a good reason for it backed up with carefully controlled and unbiased test data. Who am I to wander the internet seeking "something better" and disregarding everything the Mazda engineers learned?

6) If I had to pay $1300 for a replacement set of Bridgestone Duelers and could get perfectly good alternatives for $800 or so, you can bet that I would go for the value tire. In this case, Costco has a pretty reasonable deal for 4 mounted, taxed and with a 5 yr hazard warranty for under a grand. I am willing, especially given my experience with the original set of Duelers, to pay a couple hundred more (but not $600 more!).

7) I can drive to Costco tomorrow and have the tires installed in 90 minutes while I roam around the store tasting cheese dip and crab spread. Compare that to the time and energy involved in organizing an internet purchase, shipping and then local install. If something goes wrong I just go back to Costco. Who wants to spend hours on the phone with some internet tire store trying to sort out whether the tire or the installer is responsible for something that doesn't go well?
 
island,

have you ever noticed that almost w/out exception, OE tires are pretty much ALWAYS poorly rated in tirerack.com surveys?

other than OE michelin tires... pretty much everyone thinks their OE tires suck.

one argument i will make against OE tires is that they are almost always a compromise. well, EVERY tire is a compromise between price, weight, traction (dry, wet, cold, hot, snow etc), looks, and more... but OE tires specifically try to be all things to please all customers. and i guess every now and then if you try to please all you please none.

but i think they are often unfairly bashed. i think a big part of it is because the owner had nothing to do with their selection so they are particularly harsh...

i don't think the bridgestones are a bad tire as i've posted before but for me mazda's own tuning and tire selection is a bit harsher than i would prefer so i am going for a hopefully softer construction and ride.
 
i had dunlop sp sport 5000 tires on my then new 2002 mazda protege5.

2002!!!

they were fine tires. but yeah, but i think the fronts lasted less than 30k miles (didn't do a good job of rotating back then). i sold it with 32k miles or so.

but seriously, mazda... no better tire has come out since then????

i am sure (or i would hope) they have updated their tread compound and tire construction since then but i am pretty sure the physical design of the tread is the same. at the time it was an OE tire for some mercedes benz suvs as i recall but i really can't believe they are still using it.

One final note, I bought a 2014 Mazda6 Grand Touring a few months ago and it has just over 4,000 miles on it. According to numerous other Mazda6 GT owners, the OE Dunlop SP Sport 5000 tires (225/45R19 W-rated) are starting to wear out before the 20k mile mark! So I’ll be replacing those in a year or so, I’m sure…..
 
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island,

have you ever noticed that almost w/out exception, OE tires are pretty much ALWAYS poorly rated in tirerack.com surveys?

other than OE michelin tires... pretty much everyone thinks their OE tires suck.

one argument i will make against OE tires is that they are almost always a compromise. well, EVERY tire is a compromise between price, weight, traction (dry, wet, cold, hot, snow etc), looks, and more... but OE tires specifically try to be all things to please all customers. and i guess every now and then if you try to please all you please none.

but i think they are often unfairly bashed. i think a big part of it is because the owner had nothing to do with their selection so they are particularly harsh...

i don't think the bridgestones are a bad tire as i've posted before but for me mazda's own tuning and tire selection is a bit harsher than i would prefer so i am going for a hopefully softer construction and ride.

I agree. That is one of the hints that points to ALL the tire reviews on tirerack being useless. Opinions are not data, especially when uncontrolled and non expert.

I would also agree that the old GM would gladly have compromised on tire selection to save $1.87 per vehicle. The Big 3 bean counters routinely overrule the engineers on decisions like that. However, I don't believe Mazda would do that. Look at the design features and build of newish Mazdas and you don't see many unwarranted compromises. In the case of the Dueler tires, there are very few all season tires that cost MORE than what Mazda chose. I don't think the bean counters overrule the engineers that often at Mazda. Surely they both know they are not building a McClaren S1 but within reason it seems to me that the engineers win out in the Zoom Zoom company more often.

Also, choosing a different tire purposefully to soften the ride is a perfectly reasonable thing IMO. I would not however then conclude that the new tire was "better" than the OEM choice.

My own biggest gripe with the Dueler choice is that it is All Season (i.e. No Season). I, like most folks, find it a pain in both wallet and butt to switch to winter tires. If I had a car with summer tires I would clearly switch to winter tires in mid November through March where I live but having "all season" tires tends to make me and I presume others kind of lazy on that point. I don't live on a hill, my town takes pride in clearing snow, I keep firmly in mind that AWD does absolutely zilch for stopping power, and I have never gotten stuck. That means having all seasons sorta kinda works for me, at least for my slovenly lazy self. If Mazda had shod the CX-9 with summer tires and had an easy to check box on the order form to purchase a mounted set of optimized winter tires at time of purchase, I would have sprung for it. The combination of "no season" tires and over confident drivers in AWD vehicles cause more snow and ice related accidents than I care to think about.
 
Nearest Discount Tire is over 250 miles away. Local equivalent called Direct Tire which is by reputation very good, could only offer a Toyo equivalent for $100 more than Costco wants for the Duelers. Direct Tire wants $1300 for the Duelers and Costco quoted $970.

I guess the other reason for Costco is that they are simply very easy to deal with. No baloney or up selling. For example they charge only $3 per tire to replace the innards of the TPMS.

I don't recall exactly what extras Costco throws in other than free air and punctures but they do include a five year pro rated road hazard policy.

Costco charges $15/tire install, and includes free tire rotations and free road hazard. That road hazard saved me $400 when a pothole blew out 2 tires on my Lexus when the tires were only 3 months old.

As for my OEM Bridgestones, they lasted 31,000 mi, because I just found out today that a tire had a puncture hole in it from a screw, which damaged the sidewall. At 5/32nds, they all need to be replaced now.

I'm no longer a Costco member, and unfortunately, Sam's Club doesn't offer the 422 Ecopias.
 
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