Winter Tires/Rims--Dropping from 16" to 15"

MASTERNC · Sep 18, 2005

I am seriously considering snow tires in the near future. However, for some reason, Tire Rack does not stock steel wheels for the Mazda3 16" configuration--I have to order alloys (which don't do as well in winter I've been told and cost 3 times as much).

They have 15" steel wheels and the prices are quite reasonable. Since I have the i model with the 16" alloy option, can I use 15" wheels in the winter?

Sethlan · Sep 18, 2005

MASTERNC said:
I am seriously considering snow tires in the near future. However, for some reason, Tire Rack does not stock steel wheels for the Mazda3 16" configuration--I have to order alloys (which don't do as well in winter I've been told and cost 3 times as much).

They have 15" steel wheels and the prices are quite reasonable. Since I have the i model with the 16" alloy option, can I use 15" wheels in the winter?

You should be able to. I use the 17" alloy for summer and 16" steel in winter.

MidnightSpeeder · Sep 18, 2005

I don't believe you can. It wouldn't clear the calipers.

mazdaspeedpower · Sep 18, 2005

Definatly not, you need 16 atleast to clear the breaks. Don't be discouraged by tirerrack.,..get theirr tires if you want, and just go to Canadian tire or whatever store near you that might sell tires and s*** and just pick up steelies there. And trust me, the 3 is much fun on snow tires

wongpres · Sep 18, 2005

MASTERNC said:
I am seriously considering snow tires in the near future. However, for some reason, Tire Rack does not stock steel wheels for the Mazda3 16" configuration--I have to order alloys (which don't do as well in winter I've been told and cost 3 times as much).

They have 15" steel wheels and the prices are quite reasonable. Since I have the i model with the 16" alloy option, can I use 15" wheels in the winter?

Yes, since you have the 2.0l, you can use 15-inch for winter.

For more info on this topic, take a look at the 'Mazda3 OEM wheel & tire sizes ' sticky at the top of this sub-forum

MASTERNC · Oct 29, 2005

I ended up with the 15" wheels. Got four of them with four Dunlop Winter Sport M3 tires for about $575 with shipping. They handle great on dry pavement (a lot of Tire Rack customers said they used the tires year-round); I can't tell a difference between the stock tires and these tires (at least not yet--we'll see how it handles in the snow).

Winter Tires/Rims--Dropping from 16" to 15"

MASTERNC

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Sethlan

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wongpres

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