Winter Tire Set

Matt1147

Member
:
Mazda CX-5 GT
Hey,

I am looking at getting a set of winter tires for my 2016 CX-5. Ideally I would like to keep with having 19" tires for the added height to clear snow drifts but having troubles finding a set of rims. On my previous vehicle I had 16" tires and I got hung a couple of times. A few places have offered 17" as their biggest rim. Looking what everyone recommends. Also has anyone had any experience with Michelin x-ice xi3 or Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1 on their CX-5?
 
Hey,

I am looking at getting a set of winter tires for my 2016 CX-5. Ideally I would like to keep with having 19" tires for the added height to clear snow drifts but having troubles finding a set of rims. On my previous vehicle I had 16" tires and I got hung a couple of times. A few places have offered 17" as their biggest rim. Looking what everyone recommends. Also has anyone had any experience with Michelin x-ice xi3 or Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1 on their CX-5?

All the OEM sizes have the same tread diameter so there is no performance advantage to sticking with 19" rims for your winter setup. The ground clearance doesn't change. In fact, the 17"s will feel substantially lighter and save fuel/be a bit quicker off the line. If you get some lighter aftermarket rims the difference will be even more substantial. And there is a MUCH better tire selection in the more typical 17" size and, due to volume efficiencies, you will find much lower prices.

All major name winter tires available today will offer so much more snow/ice traction than summer tires that the relatively small difference between them is probably splitting hairs when it comes to other characteristics like tread life, steering feel and bare pavement performance. Since I travel more on bare pavement than snow/ice, I avoid the tires that sacrifice every other quality to get the absolute best winter traction, driving dynamics on bare pavement be damned. I also avoid dual compound winter tires. It makes no sense for the tread to turn into a less capable rubber compound right as soon as you're at half tread depth and have that challenge too.

I've found the Goodyear IceGrip WRT's in 225/65/17 to get along with the CX-5 like peas in a pod. I might choose a winter tire with more specialized snow grip if my CX-5 was FWD and I had steep, icy hills to climb but, with AWD, this is a non-issue and the better cornering and braking on cold, wet roads and more precise steering are more than worth it for me.
 
i got the blizzaks on 19" MSW Type 26 rims

tirerack says Blizzak's won't fit on 19x8.5 so the selection of 19x8 is rather limited (and other than Type 26's, expensive)
 
Ideally I would like to keep with having 19" tires for the added height to clear snow drifts

As MikeM said, that's not how it works.

The 17" tire size for the CX-5 is 225-65-17. The 19" size is 225-55-19. This works out to be approximately 5mm of difference in diameter. You gain 2.5mm of ground clearance.

If you think 2.5mm is worth the extra $$$ for upsizing to 19", then go for it I guess. But it's not.
 
If you think 2.5mm is worth the extra $$$ for upsizing to 19", then go for it I guess. But it's not.

He's talking about staying the same, not upsizing. He has 19" OEM now. MikeM suggested downsizing, which is what I did to Blizzak DM-V1's on OEM 17" wheels. Works great for me in Minnesota.
 
I'd get a set of cheaper 17" OEM wheels from eBay or somewhere, and a set of 225/65-17 snow tires as the ground clearance is almost the same as getting 19" tires and you don't mess up speed sensors by using factory specified tire size.

Among 225/65R17 snow passenger tires, Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 (102H) rated better than Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT (102S) in all category except the treadwear according to consumer survey from TireRack.com in addition to the higher H speed rating.

Among 225/65R17 snow light truck/SUV tires, Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1 (102R) or DM-V2 (102S) rated better than Michelin Latitude X-Ice Xi2 (102T) almost in every category according to consumer survey from TireRack.com.

Among 225/65R17 "performance" snow light truck/SUV tires Pirelli Scorpion Winter (102T) is the one.

As for 225/55R19 tires, you can choose Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1 (99R), Yokohama Iceguard IG51V (99T) or Pirelli Scorpion Winter (99H) and surprisingly Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1 has the same price as 17" one.

Glad I don't need to worry about finding a good set of winter tires anymore. :)
 
Among 225/65R17 snow passenger tires, Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 (102H) rated better than Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT (102S) in all category except the treadwear according to consumer survey from TireRack.com in addition to the higher H speed rating.

Among 225/65R17 snow light truck/SUV tires, Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1 (102R) or DM-V2 (102S) rated better than Michelin Latitude X-Ice Xi2 (102T) almost in every category according to consumer survey from TireRack.com.

Among 225/65R17 "performance" snow light truck/SUV tires Pirelli Scorpion Winter (102T) is the one.

I would take consumer tire ratings and even professional testing with a huge grain of salt unless the testing is specific to the tire size and vehicle that is applicable to your intended usage. And it rarely is. Even then it's problematic because ice and snow comes in hundreds of varieties and individual winter tires have definite preferences for different types of snow. Yet professional tests typically only test one weather condition of many. Furthermore, all tires are a compromise. For example, improving water evacuation will negatively impact dry stopping distances. Improving ice/snow traction will generally reduce treadwear and cornering performance. The list goes on.

The fact is, any major brand winter tire is going to be quite capable in the snow and ice. Even if your local winter driving is typically 80% on roads coated in snow and ice, I recommend avoiding the tires that have the ultimate snow/ice traction. They tend to perform poorly on bare or bare/wet pavement, have poor steering response and wear out quickly if driven at highway speeds at temperatures above freezing. But, if you live in arctic type conditions all winter, by all means, these specialized tires might be a good choice and the shorter life may be worth it. Personally, I'm done with louder, squirmy feeling winter tires that feel nebulous and only inspire confidence on snow/ice because there are a number of options that provide more balanced performance in a mix of road conditions.
 
He's talking about staying the same, not upsizing. He has 19" OEM now. MikeM suggested downsizing, which is what I did to Blizzak DM-V1's on OEM 17" wheels. Works great for me in Minnesota.

Most people go with the 17's for winter. I meant "upsizing" in relation to that.
 
It is worth knowing that Mazda uses the same bolt pattern and offset on most of there cars. I was able to buy a very inexpensive set of 17" OEM Mazda rims from a Mazda 3 or 6 The stock tires on those cars were low profile. Put the rims on my CX-5 with 225/65R17 Nokian Hakkapeliitta R and I am set

Frank
 
Thanks for the information. I'm looking at going with 17" with the Ice-x. Found a place with a decent price and to my understanding that those tires will be about the same physical size as the 19" that came with the CX-5
 
IMG_2132.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
IMG_2135.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]

This is the 17" Michelin X-Ice against the 19" Toyo's.
 
I would appreciate getting your feedback in the winter with the xice 2. I went with the 3 at tire size 215/65/17. Michelin claims of improvements with the 3 but I wish it came in 225/65/17.
 
I would appreciate getting your feedback in the winter with the xice 2. I went with the 3 at tire size 215/65/17. Michelin claims of improvements with the 3 but I wish it came in 225/65/17.

I ran a set of the original X-Ice on a different vehicle. Like all modern winter tires they were great in the snow/ice. But I did not like their bare road performance/feel. The X-Ice 3 look improved in this respect but I haven't tried them.

Today I drove through a sloppy/wet Cascade snowstorm. A joker in a Jeep Cherokee 4x4 couldn't make it to the ski area. In fact, he was helplessly sideways in the road when I came upon him. He backed up traffic for at least a mile or two on the narrow road before they got him enough out of the way that we could get around him. Another gaper who thought 4 wheel drive excused him from needing winter tires. Delayed my morning ski by at least 20 minutes (times maybe 600 people = about 300 wasted people hours). That's almost two months of 40 hour work weeks! Not to mention all the gasoline burned idling in line. What a waste. Many other idiots with all season tires making mayhem, aborting their mission and trying to install chains in dangerous places. It was bad. The AWD CX-5 with half worn out winter rubber was as composed as a princess greeting her guests as they arrived at the ball. And 2WD vehicles with winter tires were doing just fine.

Cheap insurance.
 
I would appreciate getting your feedback in the winter with the xice 2. I went with the 3 at tire size 215/65/17. Michelin claims of improvements with the 3 but I wish it came in 225/65/17.



I have been really enjoying my x-ice xi3's. This is my first set of winter tires I have had (previous set was Michelin Defenders) and first time with all wheel drive. I notice barely slip at all when I drive through known icy spots and driving through snow/snow storms I have no issues at all.
 
I went with General Altimax Arctic, studded. Absolutely no problem in last year's harsh winter. Important to note, these are not summer road-race tires, so do not expect the same handing characteristics. Plus, the studs will emit more noise. All considered these tires have saved my bacon more than once and I can easily get through a foot of snow/ice.
 
Back