Upgraded Tires

[GrotonMAGuy]

I signed the paperwork on a CX9 GT AWD over the weekend. I spend a lot of time driving through snow to get to the ski resorts of New England. I know the difference tires make on any car, 2WD, AWD, or 4WD. The last three vehicles I’ve purchased I have negotiated with the dealer to buy the stock tires that come with the car from me for $70-80 per tire and put upgraded tires on that I choose using tire rack reviews. Every other dealer has had no issue with it except the local Mazda dealer. They really didn’t want to do it. I had to tell them they could easily put my tires on a lease return that has bald tires since they will have plenty of cars with the same size specs coming into the dealership. I had to threaten to walk out but we finally settled in $70 per tire for the falkens and $950 installed for Goodyear Assurance Weatherready. I have these on my 2016 and 2017 highlanders. They’re great. Will be interesting to see how they perform on the CX9.

 

[youri]

They should be a lot better for winter conditions than the OEM tires, which are definitely more geared towards summer driving and handling. They will most likely be softer and won’t handle as well however, but that is the tradeoff to be expected for winter driving. I have a dedicated set of winter tires and the CX-9 has been great in snow. My disappointment is actually that the stability control kicks in early and doesn’t allow me to go sideways as much as my teenage self would like.

 

[GrotonMAGuy]

Update to this thread, I've driven in snow a few times now and the performance is outstanding. I highly recommend this tire.

 

[sm1ke]

Update to this thread, I've driven in snow a few times now and the performance is outstanding. I highly recommend this tire.

Thanks for taking the time to give us an update! Sounds like a very capable all-weather tire (meets industry requirements for the three-peak mountain snowflake).

I took a quick look and it appears that Goodyear currently offers a $120 CAD rebate when buying 4 tires. These tires also earned favourable reviews on Tirerack.com, who is offering a $75 Prepaid VISA with the purchase of qualifying Goodyear or Dunlop tires.

 

[mikef150]

If anyone interested, I spoke with Michelin the other day about Cross Climate 2 tires - have been getting very good reviews but not available in 255/60-R18 (I have 219 Touring). They will be releasing a number of new sizes in early Feb 2021 including 245/60-R18 which I'll be going with...

 

[roundle1979]

They should be a lot better for winter conditions than the OEM tires, which are definitely more geared towards summer driving and handling. They will most likely be softer and won’t handle as well however, but that is the tradeoff to be expected for winter driving. I have a dedicated set of winter tires and the CX-9 has been great in snow. My disappointment is actually that the stability control kicks in early and doesn’t allow me to go sideways as much as my teenage self would like.

I am impressed with my CX9's sideways action. In my 2018 GT AWD, I find that if I dial in a half lock of steering angle before I put the hammer down the car throws power to the rear rather than the front (probably to avoid 'torque steer' on dry pavement) which provides the desires sideways actions. Obviously, shutting the traction control off before these teenage maneuvers is prefered.

As for tires, the stock Ecopias are geared towards summer use (and helping the CX9 achieve its stopping distance and skidpad stats).

 

[kennnn]

If anyone interested, I spoke with Michelin the other day about Cross Climate 2 tires ~~~ They will be releasing a number of new sizes in early Feb 2021 including 245/60-R18 which I'll be going with...

Have you thought about going with 265/60r18? That's half inch bigger in width and diameter. You are going half inch smaller (with 245/60r18).

I really want the cross climate 2 too...