Winter/Snow tires

Finally got my winter tires installed on 17" wheels. The clearance with the front calipers is about 1/2" (3/8" under the weights). It's more than I had anticipated.
https://ibb.co/qFG3HRh
https://ibb.co/YkGsn6J

Ride is smooth and quiet. Not much noisier than the oem tires at low speed. I have yet to try them on the highway.

I think they are more quiet than the Hakka R2 were on my previous car. Less of that whistling noise on dry and warm pavement

Looking at my spare tire, it's a 190/90D16. So unless the wheel has a different shape than a regular one, it must be very tight on the front.

Now I'm ready for winter. Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow.
 
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Finally got my winter tires installed on 17" wheels. The clearance with the front calipers is about 1/2" (3/8" under the weights). It's more than I had anticipated.
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Ride is smooth and quiet. Not much noisier than the oem tires at low speed. I have yet to try them on the highway.

I think they are more quiet than the Hakka R2 were on my previous car. Less of that whistling noise on dry and warm pavement

Looking at my spare tire, it's a 190/90D16. So unless the wheel has a different shape than a regular one, it must be very tight on the front.

Now I'm ready for winter. Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow.

You're not supposed to use the spare on the front.
 
I thought that the rubber compound in the WS90 is the same as that in the old WS80's, (as well as in the current DM-V2), so, why would they reduce the number of sipes?

No, this is a new compound.

So far no complaints with the WS90s. Seem to be performing at least on-par with my WS80s I had last 2 years. I only really slipped on one uphill intersection from a stop, but I did there on the WS80s too.

Yeah I wonder about the sipes as well, but so far no problems. I will see as time goes on, whenever we get more snow.
 
I contacted Bridgestone today to enquire as to any differences in performance between the new WS-90 and the DM-V2. He gave me a rundown on the changes incorporated into the new WS-90 but when I finally asked him, if he was about to buy a new set of Blizzak tires for a CX-5, which of these 2 models would he personally choose he unfortunately was non committal and would only say that they both were very comparable in performance and either would be a good choice. Not the answer I wanted, but I see from the performance information graphs on the Bridgestone website it would seem that the DM-V2 edges out the WS-90 in all categories. That helps me in making my decision. Too bad the new DM-V3 hasn't been released in North America as of yet.
 
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Those of you who purchased a set of new tires, don't forget to claim your reward from the manufacturer. I did my claim online on the Bridgestone web site. About a week later I got confirmation that I'll be getting a 50$ prepaid card in 6 to 8 weeks.
 
Hello everyone

I am about to purchase a standard 16" steel rims with 245/70/16 winter tires for a 2018 Grand touring, two questions;

1- am I going to have brake fitment issues?
2- will the oem lugs work with the typical steel rim? or do I need to buy a different set of lugs?

Thanks to all who contributes to this awesome forum.
 
I contacted Bridgestone today to enquire as to any differences in performance between the new WS-90 and the DM-V2. He gave me a rundown on the changes incorporated into the new WS-90 but when I finally asked him, if he was about to buy a new set of Blizzak tires for a CX-5, which of these 2 models would he personally choose he unfortunately was non committal and would only say that they both were very comparable in performance and either would be a good choice. Not the answer I wanted, but I see from the performance information graphs on the Bridgestone website it would seem that the DM-V2 edges out the WS-90 in all categories. That helps me in making my decision. Too bad the new DM-V3 hasn't been released in North America as of yet.

I'll have to lookup the reviews/articles again, but the WS-90 definitely has some things better than the DM-V2 from what I read, though some trade-offs I imagine since not as many sipes.

It snowed again this morning (rain last night), so it was pretty icy out. I had no problems at all on the ice.
 
I'll have to lookup the reviews/articles again, but the WS-90 definitely has some things better than the DM-V2 from what I read, though some trade-offs I imagine since not as many sipes.

It snowed again this morning (rain last night), so it was pretty icy out. I had no problems at all on the ice.

The Bridgestone links I was referring to were on their Canadian site but I am assuming the info is similar to the U.S. site. Here are the links I looked at.... about 1/3 of the way down the page click on "See More Tire Details" to see the 7 Performance Information bar graphs:

https://www.bridgestonetire.ca/tire/blizzak-ws90/
https://www.bridgestonetire.ca/tire/blizzak-dm-v2/

Unless I'm missing something it sure looks like the DM-V2 is the outright winner, but just by a small margin, although I'm sure that anecdotal comments by owners of either of these tires may disagree with what Bridgestone is saying. Regardless I have to make up my mine by Wednesday as that is the day I'm booked in for a tire change!!
 
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The Bridgestone links I was referring to were on their Canadian site but I am assuming the info is similar to the U.S. site. Here are the links I looked at.... about 1/3 of the way down the page click on "See More Tire Details" to see the 7 Performance Information bar graphs:

https://www.bridgestonetire.ca/tire/blizzak-ws90/
https://www.bridgestonetire.ca/tire/blizzak-dm-v2/

Unless I'm missing something it sure looks like the DM-V2 is the outright winner, but just by a small margin, although I'm sure that anecdotal comments by owners of either of these tires may disagree with what Bridgestone is saying. Regardless I have to make up my mine by Wednesday as that is the day I'm booked in for a tire change!!

I think I had read that the WS-90 has better directional grip than the WS-80 or DM-V2. But I think for straight up which is better, you're right. I figure the WS-90 had to sacrifice some performance to have better wear life, which appealed to me living in Colorado where we have lots of dry time (and warmer days) between snows. But 2 snow storms now, and a lot of ice yesterday, and they worked great, so I am happy. Since you are in Canada, I'd probably opt for the DM-V2's too.

The problem I had with my WS-80s were that they were worn after 2 winters. Hoping these WS-90s can last at least 3. If not, I'll maybe opt for Michelin X-Ice next time.
 
We had 8"of snow last night. This morning, I got out of the snow bank, no problem. At a stop sign, there was an ice patch. I could stop but the abs came on. When cornering in heavy snow, the car understeered but I didn't loose control. Right after when I stepped on the gas, the rear swung sideways but I think it's more an awd issue than a tire issue (my previous suv would apply brakes on the outer wheels to stop oversteering). All in all, I think they compare with my Hakka R2 suv, which were good.
 
I think I had read that the WS-90 has better directional grip than the WS-80 or DM-V2. But I think for straight up which is better, you're right. I figure the WS-90 had to sacrifice some performance to have better wear life, which appealed to me living in Colorado where we have lots of dry time (and warmer days) between snows. But 2 snow storms now, and a lot of ice yesterday, and they worked great, so I am happy. Since you are in Canada, I'd probably opt for the DM-V2's too.

The problem I had with my WS-80s were that they were worn after 2 winters. Hoping these WS-90s can last at least 3. If not, I'll maybe opt for Michelin X-Ice next time.

Well, I finally bit the bullet and chose the DM-V2. I liked the slightly better performance specs compared to the WS90. No testable amount of snow or ice yet, just a bit of slush. Still waiting for a good dump of snow to give them their first workout. Now, oddly enough these DM-V2's seem to turn easier on pavement then my OEM all season TOYO's. Or maybe I'm just imagining this.(uhm)
 
That is to be expected; winter tires are made of a softer compound that retains grip and traction at lower temperature, but it suffers as far as tread longevity.
 
That is to be expected; winter tires are made of a softer compound that retains grip and traction at lower temperature, but it suffers as far as tread longevity.

I got 5 winters of wear from the WS70's I just replaced. If I can get that from my new DM-V2's I'll be happy. It does help that I leave my winter tire change overs as late in the year as possible, right up to the first snowfall, then get them off in early spring.
 
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Any feedback on rim specs? Oem appears to be 7jx17, +45mm offset, 5x114.3 pcd. I think tire rack is recommending 7.5x17 +42/48 mm offset with their snow wheel package. Wondering if I should stick strictly to oem spec or others have experience deviating a bit.
 
Any feedback on rim specs? Oem appears to be 7jx17, +45mm offset, 5x114.3 pcd. I think tire rack is recommending 7.5x17 +42/48 mm offset with their snow wheel package. Wondering if I should stick strictly to oem spec or others have experience deviating a bit.

If you can lay your hands on a good set of discontinued CX-7 alloy rims (like I did) you will be good to go for your winters
 
Any feedback on rim specs? Oem appears to be 7jx17, +45mm offset, 5x114.3 pcd. I think tire rack is recommending 7.5x17 +42/48 mm offset with their snow wheel package. Wondering if I should stick strictly to oem spec or others have experience deviating a bit.
kdaug has an excellent recommendation to search out other Mazda wheels. The CX-7 wheels are ideal - an exact dimensional match for the 17" wheel. Look on Craigslist and at car-part dot com for salvage yards near you with these. I've seen decent ones at salvage yards for ~$50-60 each.
However, the 7.5 wide wheels with 42mm offset are nearly a perfect match to OEM and I'm certain the 48mm offset will also work.
Going with aftermarket wheels with different width and offset the concern is too much wheel behind the hub - where the lugs are. You see this referred to as backspacing. A wheel with too much backspacing will rub against suspension components. How to calculate backspacing: 1/2*wheel width+offset (convert width to mm using 25.4mm/inch)
Other 17" Mazda rims that will work:
Mazda CX7 (2010, 2011) are exact dimensional match
Mazda Millenia 17" wheels (1999 - 2002)
Mazda Miata 17" wheels (2006-8 with 5 lugs and 7in wide)
Mazda Miata 17" wheels (2006-8 with 5 lugs and 7.5in wide)
Mazda Miata 17" wheels (2009-2015)
 
DAVMAC has suggested some great places to check, but first, do as I did and ask your local Mazda dealer(s) if they happen to have a set of old CX-7, Millenia or Miata rims gathering dust up in their storage area. If they do, you might get a really good deal on them like I did, as they were happy to get rid of them.
 
So, drove quite a bit in yesterday's Denver snowstorm. 8+ inches in spots.

Overall thoughts on the WS-90? Slipped in a couple of spots on a straight road I don't think I would have had problems with on the WS-80. Not a bad slip or a spin out or anything crazy like that. Just momentary slippage, that quickly recovered. Overall still drove like a tank, no problems going up icy and snowy hills, left or right turns at intersections, unplowed roads, etc. So I'm overall pretty happy, but will agree that for straight up winter performance, probably not as good as WS-80 and DM-V2.

That said, WS-80 only lasted 2 winters here due to the weather and temperature swings we have in the winters/springs between storms. So if these last longer, I'll be happy.
 
Did a bunch of driving up in Maine this weekend in some pretty nasty snow/sleet, everything from country roads to highway, and immediately bought Conti Crosscontact LX25 when I got back home. The stock Toyos were not good at all. Swapping even though they only have about 1000 miles on them.
 
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