Snow tires for Mazda 3?

[patthedad]

www.tiresizecalculator.info will tell you what impact the size difference between a given set of tires would have on odometer and speedometer readings.

Excellent advice, lucaspl88.

One other bit of info you'll need if you buy used steelies is the offset of the wheel, which can be no more than 55mm and no less than 50mm (stock is 52.5mm (crazy)(uhm)(screwy)).

So like I said.....patience for this next question.....so there are tons of P205/55/R16 rims .......but most are identified as being for anything but a Mazda (VW, BMW, Pontiac, KIA, etc).....how do you know what the offset is??? and whether they will fit your car.....I've come across a couple of 1 year old winter packages for a Mazda 3 GT and I'm tempted to just go after them, even though they're a bit more expensive, just because I know they'll fit.....

 

[Google]

So like I said.....patience for this next question.....so there are tons of P205/55/R16 rims .......but most are identified as being for anything but a Mazda (VW, BMW, Pontiac, KIA, etc).....how do you know what the offset is??? and whether they will fit your car.....I've come across a couple of 1 year old winter packages for a Mazda 3 GT and I'm tempted to just go after them, even though they're a bit more expensive, just because I know they'll fit.....

Whatever you do, dont get your steelies from Costco. They carry multi-fit ones and they are not hubcentric. Last year I bought them and there was heavy vibration above 60 km/h. I returned them back to Costco.

Supposedly, TireRack has hubcentric steelies that have our offset. However, their prices have gone up this year to $57 USD. My local Mazda Dealer has them for $69 CDN each!

 

[sunrun176]

Whatever you do, dont get your steelies from Costco. They carry multi-fit ones and they are not hubcentric. Last year I bought them and there was heavy vibration above 60 km/h. I returned them back to Costco.

Good to know! Glad I didn't do that when I got mine last year.

Supposedly, TireRack has hubcentric steelies that have our offset. However, their prices have gone up this year to $57 USD. My local Mazda Dealer has them for $69 CDN each!

Yes, they do... That's what I ended up doing -- 16" hub-centric steelies w/ 50mm offset (2.5mm difference is minimal) wrapped in Goodyear Eagle Ultragrip GW3's, 205/55HR16. As an aside, it appears this tire isn't available anymore.. Maybe they're pushing the Ultragrip ICE's. (dunno)

 

[Google]

Yes, they do... That's what I ended up doing -- 16" hub-centric steelies w/ 50mm offset (2.5mm difference is minimal) wrapped in Goodyear Eagle Ultragrip GW3's, 205/55HR16.

I called Tire Rack today and the dude on the phone told me the offset was 62.5mm which is crazy. He said it won't matter. (eek2)