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How could I have forgotten about "blinding" snow and headlights vs. fog lights ?? I've been driving in NE for more than 40 years !!!! Yes, snow is even worse than fog and most cars I've owned with fog lights work quite well.. Must be because they had factory installed fogs ??
Would you care to give some hints on what needs to be done with the wiring to separate the fogs from the headlights on your '04 Mazda6 to see if it translates to my '09 Mazda6 ??
Mazda 6
- The 272-HP V6 is simply a gem. Smooth, quiet idle, but throaty and aggressive when pushed. Power is both abundant and intoxicating, and the 6-speed works well with it.
- Interior that's IMO one of the best-in-class in terms of layout, fit-and-finish, and quality of materials (and miles ahead of my '04).
- Available features (HIDs, LED tails, memory seats, Bluetooth, Homelink, etc.)
- Still handles and drives like it's on rails.
- Size has grown, but it's roomier in the back seat, and the trunk is huge!
Ford Fusion Sport
- The 3.5L is also very smooth and has plenty of power.
- SYNC. 'Nuff said.
- Impressive interior, with nice materials and good fit-and-finish. The center stack is a little busy, but controls can be easily memorized after a few drives.
- Back-up camera is cool.
- Ride and handling is also one of the best-in-class (but IMO one notch below the 6).
- Exterior styling is nicely aggressive and sporty, similar to my 1st-gen 6.
After going back and forth for a week straight, I choose the 6. I still contend that the Fusion Sport is an excellent choice in this segment for a "sporty" midsize sedan, and the features, powertrain, and overall quality are top-notch. But in the end, the 6 still felt more tied down when cornering, the interior is immaculate, and after 6 trouble-free years and 92K with my last Mazda (only needing a new fuel filler cap), I'll gladly take another one without hesitation.
So I picked one up last Thursday. It's a 6S GT, Brilliant Silver Metallic with black leather, with Tech package (HIDs, keyless start, auto-dimming and heated mirrors, driver's seat memory, etc.). Have already put over 300 miles on it, and I've been loving every minute of it!
Congratulations on your new 6!!
I say to myself almost every day that the second gen Mazda6 is way too over looked, especially in regards to build quality and ride / drive. The interior is really superb, and rivals even luxury vehicles in terms of how well it is put together and the abundance of soft touch materials.
From what I have seen in terms of reliability in the Mazda6, the V6 has been a little better then the I4, to my surprise. As you are well aware, the drivetrain is directly from the CX-9, which it it's own right has been pretty flawless since they started using the 3.7L in 2008.
Why this car does not get the love it deserves is mind boggling to me. The only real knock I have on it is how the 17" wheel look and the lack of dual exhaust outlets for the I4's. The car in s GT form looks the best with the 18" wheels and dual exhaust.
Again, congrats on your purchase. Keep us posted as to how you enjoy it!
p.s. I drive one as a demo, and I absolutely love it! My wife now drives my 2005 on a daily basis.
The Mazda6 is built in Flat Rock, Michigan and the Ford Fusion is built in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.
I hate the 17" wheel design...it takes away from the overall look of the car, to say the least! On the 2009 model, the 18" alloys were standard on the s Touring and s Grand Touring trim levels. But for 2010, the s Grand Touring is the only model with the 18s. I think all 's' models and the 'i' Grand Touring should get the 18-inchers standard...or at least redesign the 17" to look more like the 18"....
Couldn't agree more. In fact, had I got the i GT, I'd probably insist on swapping out the 17" stock wheels for the 18s.
It's funny. According to my wife, the wheels on my 6 remind her of the wheel design on her '00 Neon.
Well, they're close, anyway...
Supposedly you'd gain the benefits of both.
I haven't heard anything further on this so maybe it wasn't technically feasible.
I think it would be ideal...a comfortable ride while looking 'gansta' (or pimpin...if you would)
The only good part was I was able to replace the old 6 with the 5-door model and blue color I really wanted.
I'm glad you are loving your new one too. I only wish they still made the 5-door in the current series 6. :shades:
So it got me thinking: if I go for replacement 18" tires it puts me in a hole of around $800 (for a Continental extreme contact DWS or Michelin MXV4/Sport A/S) plus around $300 to fix the bent wheels. Instead, if I get 17" Conti DWS's I save money, and supposedly get a quieter tire and I have heard people say the 17" inch wheels actually are most optimal even for handling. I can use my 17" inch wheels and put on the Conti's on those enjoy the quieter summer drive and try out the winter this year to see if they can handle a few inches of snow (tirerack reviews for the DWS seems to give some hope that this is possible). If they hold up then sell my snow tires on craiglist/ebay (and just throw the stock wheels/tires in the attic for some future use).
Any opinions on this? Has anyone gone down from 18" to 17" wheels and have any positive or negative feedback?
As for snow driving, I can tell you from experience that once you drive in ANY snowfall with winter tires, going back to all-seasons is equivalent to throwing on bald summer tires. I think you'll be sacrificing too much traction and control just to save a few $$$ with one set of tires.
Before writing off the 18" wheels, shop Tirerack.com for a few more tire options, since there are plenty of good choices that have a smoother and quieter ride than the OEM Michelins, as well as better traction, longer treadwear, and a lower price (the Yokohama AVID ENVigor, and Goodyear Eagle GT come to mind, and after owning a set of Yoko Avid W4S for over 24K miles before selling my car, I can vouch for 'em).
If you do go for 17" tires, I'd still keep the winter tires and swap them out. To me, the benefits of them far outweigh the cost savings.
I've been happy even with the regular contiprocontact Continentals on two other vehicles, but I have never done snow tires, so that does not tell you much. A nice extra with Continental is they give you a free 1 year road hazard warranty.
The OEM, Michelin Pilot HX MXM4, tires have always seemed excessively noisy on anything but perfectly smooth pavement. If you do get the continentals please post what you think about them with regard to noise compared to the OEMs.
I found the Yokos here.
Does anyone have another opinion :shades:
Ken
Having said that, I bought a set of Yoko Avid W4S for my '04 6 (the Avids are the predecessors to the ENVs), and they were nothing short of excellent IMO. The ride was smooth and quieter than the OEM Michelins. Traction was simply outstanding, showing a HUGE improvement over the Michelins in the wet. When I sold the 6 (replaced with a '10 6 BTW), the tires had over 20K miles on them and could easily go another 20K safely.
Re: snow tires, I opted for Bridgestone Blizzaks with aftermarket alloy rims for the 6 prior to last winter. I also went down one inch in rim size, from 17 to 16 (205/65-16), to get a slightly larger contact patch as well as possibly a slightly less harsh ride. Maybe because the snows are a little thicker/harder, they didn't seem any less harsh than the OEM 17's.. The Blizzaks worked really well although they aren't the best for long life. In going to that size there aren't many choices.
For those who have mentioned Continentals, 6 years ago we bought a Toyota Matrix XR that came with Conti's and in just 11K miles I had to replace 2 of them due to tread wear. Since the other two were like new, I bought two more Contis. Big mistake. They also wore out in 11K miles. I then tried another brand, which I forgot, which only lasted 16K miles. I then bought Avons from Tirerack and they already have more than 20K and still have 1/3 of their tread and have better traction and steering response than the Contis for about a third LESS money..!! What gets me is that the Matrix is NOT a performance car and tires should last FAR longer than 11K miles. And the Contis cost the same as Michelins... I'll never buy them again..
so I let them do it (bad idea) and they messed up. one of my tyres now has what is called scalloping and is the reason for all the noise. Now that I switched to my winter tyres the noise is completely gone. I also switched dealerships, QEW Mazda is the best, they fixed my alignment for free. Moral of the story is, pick your dealer carefully.
Thanks.
They track straight, no vibrations, fairly quiet, and pretty good in the snow for an all season tire. Very good in the rain.
They handle great. Too soft? Time will tell I guess.
For what it's worth, they are a good looking tire too.
2020 Ascent Limited, 2024 Subaru Legacy Sport
I paid approx. $940 (I have the receipt here somewhere) mounted, balanced, new valves, tax. They put nitrogen in them too; which they do with all their tires. I didn't care about the nitrogen, but it was part of the package.
The best part, to me, is the handling.
I would absolutely buy them again based on the 2,000 miles that I have had them. Obviously I will have to wait to be able to say that after 10 or 20,000 miles. The reviews at Tire Rack are favorable.
2020 Ascent Limited, 2024 Subaru Legacy Sport
I found them to be even better than the Michelins after getting a little wear on them. Bend a few corners to see what I mean.
2020 Ascent Limited, 2024 Subaru Legacy Sport
Of course they're new...they may fall apart in 10k (they do have a 45k warranty)...but right now they're amazing
I got 25K on my last set of Yokos (Avid W4S) before selling my '04 Mazda6, and there was at least 3/4 tread left. Getting another 40-50K shouldn't have been an issue. These were the W-speed rated versions, I've heard the V- and H-speed rated versions do just as well if not better in treadwear.
I had the Avid put on my min-van a few years ago (80k warranty)...made a huge difference over the OEM; which is why i looked at the Yokohama's for my car.
Last Thursday night leaving work my 2009 Mazda6 iGT wouldn't start. When I press the push button, all the gauges turned all the way to the right and back to 0 right away. I tried to push the button 3-4 times and suddenly the brake was locked out/stuck/jammed! All the lights were on including both headlights and dash lights. Tried the actual key, press the push button, still same thing. My coworker jump started my car and I was finally able to go home.
Friday morning it happened again. This time the push button stayed in ON mode, there was no way to turn it off whatsoever, it also did not allow me to pop the trunk open, my jump start cable was in the trunk:-( Had to flag unknown neighbor down to borrow his cable. Jump started again and drove the car to dealer immediately.
Dealer did the test on battery and said it's GOOD. Then they did DRAW TEST and also turned out GOOD...They had me pay for the new battery replacement claiming "IT HAPPENS"...so far 3 days passed and car is OK.
I googled it Thursday night and someone mentioned about LOCK-OUT MODE? Dealer knows nothing about it and told me there is NO WAY TO POP THE TRUNK OPEN. Any expert knows how to deal with this kind of situation? I found it very irresponsible...Thank you. Car was bought brand new in Nov 2008 in bay area, currently 38700 miles.
I would have pulled and cleaned the terminals and put an overnight charge on the battery. Two years out of a battery might be normal if you live in Phoenix. You should get five years, give or take, in a cooler climate.
I know when I used to live in a cold climate 5-7 years was the norm for a battery...actually can't remember changing one.
Now in central TX...2 years and the battery is done.
They do seem to have a quicker turning response. They also seem to roll down the road better, with less resistance but those two things could be my imagination.
Basically what I did was as usual, stepped on the brake first, press the push start button, a little noise, gauges moved all the way to the right and back down to 0, Shocked!...Then I attempted to start 3 or maybe 4 times, then it locked up! Brake completely jammed and not step-able.)
Husband did this again next day AM and he said he tried maybe in 3-4times neighborhood, and same thing happened. The only difference was, I was able to switch it OFF the day before to pop the truck and grab my jumpstart cable, but we failed to do so next day AM. The push button stayed at ON.
I'll try to find that artitle from other forum that someone said his dealer told him about lockout mode. Will post later.
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123738682-HELP!-09-Mazda-6-Won-t-S- tart-Push-to-Start
This is the link that pointed out "lock out mode". (See 4/7/2009 posted by Rave_Noodles)
We did not mess with anything. I was able to drive the car to Walmart 5 hours before the 1st incident happened that night.
I live in San Jose, CA. The weather has been pretty mild.
Thanks!