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Mazda 3 Tire & Wheel Questions
Im trying to check and see if anyone has any ideas on what other wheels we can use on our 2005 Mazda 3. There must be a narrower steel wheel that would be usable. It just makes more sense to me to have 2 sets of wheels and tires,one being much narrower and snow worthy than the factory 17s. Any help on this issue would be great.. My email is [email protected]
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Comments
You shouldn't have any trouble putting 16's on as long as the tire diameter is similar to the 17's. This will keep the speedometer fairly accurate and not cause any problems with ABS.
I guess there's an outside chance the brakes could be too large for 16's, but I would really doubt it. The brakes are probably all the same size, except maybe for the MazdaSpeed3.
HTH
IMO, it would be easier to just find a tire of similar diameter, give or take an inch. then your speedo and ABS should still work fine.
PS: I have run a 27.4 inch tire on the front, and a 28 inch on the back with no ill effects.
I just got an 07 Mazda3 s 5-Door (I LOVE IT) - and it came with the Goodyear's. Not good in the snow. We drove the car home from the dealer, and couldn't make it up our driveway. Nokian WR snow tires solved the driveway hill problem.... the traction control klicks in pretty often. The snow tires are 17" also low profile perfomance tires mounted on the factory rims. I'll need rims for the summer tires now.... Anything special about the rims? Do I need special Flat Tire Warning sensors in the rims?
About your vehicles. Did you find problems with either the Flat Tire warning, or the speedometer when you went to 205/55/16's?
Sorry about multiple question in one post..
Thanks
Pete
Thanks for any info.
Pete
That's fine if your only concern is whether the rims/tires will fit without rubbing in the wheel well. But it doesn't take into account whether or not the brake rotors/calipers will fit within the smaller size rim.
Regarding the sedan vs. the 5-door: are the 16" rims on the sedan offered only on the 2.0l version (possibly with smaller brakes) or are the 16" rims also offered on the 2.3l version?
Scott
I would go with the 17's and choose the best tire that's right for you. Even though a taller, narrower tire would be better when the conditions are really bad, one plus with the 17" is that it will handle a little better when the roads are clear or there is just a little snow. The other advantage is that they will look better.
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For winter wheels and tires I've usually downsized for the reasons you mention. I live in Minnesota so I have lots of experience driving in inclement weather. On one of my other vehicles it comes stock with 20" wheels, but when I ordered a wheel/tire winter package I went with 18 inchers. A smaller size winter tire makes the biggest difference in heavy snow, with its taller sidewall, but it also helps on compacted snow and ice as you get greater contact pressure - more weight on a narrower width. Like most everything else in life there's tradeoffs - maintaining the stock size will give better handling for the 90% of the time when the roads have been cleared or are otherwise dry, plus as we've mentioned they look better too.
PROBLEM: About a month ago (before rotors resurfaced and after new pads) a small squeaking noise began in my rear left wheel. Its an intermittent squeak which gets faster and louder the quicker I go. When I brake the noise disappears. To me this rules out a bearing problem (bearing failure is more of a grinding noise also, isn’t it?). My mechanic thought it might be an out of place shim, or some other type of interference. I plan on taking off the wheel to see if there is anything obvious.
I am confused b/c if it was the bearing then the noise shouldn’t stop when I apply the brakes, right? Also I just got new pads about 8,000 miles ago, and there is still plenty of pad left, and the resurfacing occurred after the noise popped up. So, the noise didn’t appear directly after any brake work. The only conclusion that I can make w/ my little knowledge is that something perhaps wasn’t installed quite right when the pads were done and now the interference is causing the noise.
Anyway its annoying the hell out of me, so if there is anyone out there who has any clues, I would greatly appreciate the help. Thanks.
Also check this site out...has some TSBs that refer to the rear brakes. See if what they describe sounds like your problem.
http://www.finishlineperformance.com/mazda3/bulletins.html
Re: TPMS Warning Light (!) - Mazda3 GT HB by m3fan3
"i had the same exact problem the first day i bought my mazda 3. one of my sensors were broken. the dealer replaced it on the warranty with no problem."
My dealer inspected the vehicle and found that the TPMS module was not aware of the wheel sensors. Their corrective action was to "re-learn the module".
This did not fix the problem however, and the TMPS warning light still comes on after driving 10-15 miles.
I'm in the process of scheduling a 2nd service appointment for this problem and would appreciate hearing from anyone that has had the same problem and subsequently had it fixed by the dealer.
I'd be interested in knowing what exactly your dealer did to fix the problem.
Regards,
argb
Just for kicks I contacted a second dealership and I was told by one person (over the phone) that 16" is OK and then a second person told me (when I visited the dealership in person) that 17" is OK. Both people worked in the same parts department.
Can anyone tell me what the correct size is? Also, are there any aftermarket rims available for this car? I am under the impression that the stock rims have a non-standard +50mm offset.
Thanks for your help.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
Any help would be appreicated.
P.S. No offense was meant by the term "idiot light" as I am a little old school.
Thanks!!
May not be a problem just a bit of a nuisance. Alternatively, you could record the exact date, the tire, psi and pressure loss to document the problem.