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I'm at a little over 30k miles on my stock 17" tires and will need to replace them soon. I'm looking for something with a good mix of ride and FE, any suggestions? I know theres not alot of options for low rolling resistance tires for these rims.

No idea. Im going to need new tires soon also.

Someone was talking about Michelin Energy, I don't know if they will fit Mazda3.

What size(s) are they?

I've been looking lately (just to look, I don't need them yet) and I can't find any LRR tires for the Mazda 5.

205/50/17's on my 5. The Continental ContiTouring are about the closest.

GeneralTire General Exclaim UHPs received decent reviews on past Consumer Reports, so I might go with them when I need a replacement. Plus they're only around $100 a piece. I have the same size on my 3.

I have Kuhmo Tires, I upped the PSI to max @ 50 PSI and they seem to be helping...for the price they are awesome...

Did you get the Ecsta ASX, SPT or something else? I have also been consindering these. Hows the road noise at 50 psi with these?

One possibility you could consider would be to "downgrade" to 16" wheels. These are standard on S sedans, and S sedans and hatches both have the same breaks, so there is no fitmet conflight.

I have 16" wheels (tire size 205/55/16) on my hatch. 17" tires are generally performance-oriented. In the 16" size, you have a lot more choices, and can probably find something in a lower LRR.

If I downgraded to 16's my car would no longer have OEM wheels(hurting resale), I would have an extra set of used rims I would have to try and sell, and it wouldn't look as good. In addition I would have the additional cost of a new set of rims.

All for a 1-5% gain (maybe) and diminshed handling.

However, future tires on the car would be less expensive.

I'm considering General Altimax HP's for my '07 Mazda3i. They've gotten good reviews and pretty good tread life (55,000 miles), one review even mentioned an increase of FE when they switched to this tire. Has anyone had any experience with this tire? I'll be researching tires for another two months (that's when I'll need to replace the stock tires). If I end up with the Generals I'll keep you informed as to my results.

Dunlop SP Sport 5000 was the highest rated performance all-season in CR's most recent testing. I bought them for my Focus in April. They also come in 215/50/17. The results were: Dry Braking and Wet Braking 5 out of 5. Handling, Hydroplaning Resistance, ROLLING RESISTANCE, Ice Braking, Noise, and Tread Life 4 out of 5. Snow Traction and Ride were rated 3 out of 5. There was not a tire in this category that had any higher rating for Snow Traction. The only two tires in this category with better Rolling Resistance were Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus (which are stinking expensive if you can even find them in your size) and Continental ContiPremier Contact H.

I noticed the better rolling resistance over my Falken Ziex ZE-512's right away up to 30-35 mph. They are slower over that speed because they are a new, deep tread compared to my old, very bald tires, and aerodynamics take over. But, according to CR, they're better than my old tires were in "new" condition. My 195/65/15's max sidewall is 44 psi and I have been riding on them for two months at 48. They are also non-directional, so you can rotate them to any postition on the car unlike all of my past tires. I imagine this will help give them longer life with more even wear. I'm pleased as punch, though I haven't used them in snow yet.

I have Yokohama Avid H4S's on my minivan which excelled at most of CR's test (and mine), but they're awful in snow compared to some other all-seasons I've used. The van gets "snow-shoes" in the winter anyway because it carries the kids more miles than the car does and we use it for our out-of state trips...for now.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for your input FocusGuy. I'll definitely put the Dunlops on my short list.

I ended getting a set Yokohoma YK520s for my 3 today. They had the best warranty (60k) of the 205/50/17s that I looked at and have gotten pretty good reviews. They're def. better than the OEM RSAs, but I'll have to see how they effect FE.

I have Kumho Ecsta ASX's on mine now, and they are a huge step up from the stock RSA's, but I think my next ones will be Michelin Pilot Exalto's.

Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum

They are SUPER cheap, and read their reviews they ALL have said about the greater fuel economy.
http://www.tirerack.com/survey/SurveyComments.jsp?additionalComments=y&tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Ecsta+LX+Platinum&tirePageLocQty=&commentStatus=P

I'm at a little over 30k miles on my stock 17" tires and will need to replace them soon. I'm looking for something with a good mix of ride and FE, any suggestions? I know theres not alot of options for low rolling resistance tires for these rims.

See thread http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7517
The General Altimax HP seems to be highly regarded and is showing good FE from other CleanMPG members who had them installed.

I just ordered a set from TireRack for my mom's Lincoln LS. She is "anti-hypermiling" so I won't know if there is any difference in FE (she's getting about 12mpg in all around-town with lots of idling), but I will be able to provide feedback on ride quality and quietness. That is because if they are not smooth and quiet, I am sure to hear about it! :D

A few months ago I got Federal Super Steel 595's. I have them at 50 PSI. The wear is great and milage is good. The only problem is the road noise. Mazda 3 hatchbacks already have a lot of road noise and now it sounds like I put super swampers on. Other than that though, great tires.

I just got these tires for my 2000 Protege. The car is new to me, and I got the tires shortly after buying it, so I don't have a baseline MPG to compare to. However, the price is excellent, and so far they are a nice quiet, comfortable tire. I will post MPG results to my log as I get more info.

Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum

They are SUPER cheap, and read their reviews they ALL have said about the greater fuel economy.
http://www.tirerack.com/survey/SurveyComments.jsp?additionalComments=y&tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Ecsta+LX+Platinum&tirePageLocQty=&commentStatus=P

How many miles do most get out of the oem mazda 3 tires?

Just curious because my fronts seem to be wearing faster and I imagine they may need replacement around 30k.

Nobody seems to get more than 25-35k on the OEM Goodyears RSAs. I replaced mine right around 30k.

Well I have iTouring w/ 16" wheels and tires so I got the Toyo Proxes...the rears look new but the fronts look to be worn down halfway or more @ 18k

Have you been rotating every 6-8k?

Should be its been @ the dealership for every oil change

I've got 48k miles on the Toyo tires that came on my '07 iTouring. The service guys said people normally get around 32k and they are pretty shocked each time I come in for an oil change and see my tires. I plan on replacing them this fall before the snow flies, by then I'll have around 52k on them. By the way, I rotate them every 7500 miles and I run around 42 psi.

^ Well that sounds promising, maybe I should rotate them if the dealership hasn't been. I run 44 psi in mine don't think that would make much difference though.

I have Kumho Ecsta ASX's on my car now... pretty happy with them.

sig test test

I have Kumho Ecsta ASX's on my car now... pretty happy with them.

read that people like them

I had to have my OEM tires replaced at 33k with Sumitomo HTZR2. I don't know how they rate or anything. They were about $90 each. Anyone familiar with these tires?

My RSA's are getting thin. But the reason so many get bad milage out of them is because from what Ive seen they are what is known as OEM shorts. The RSA's on my car were 2 tenths short on thread brand new. I raised hell with Mazda and Goodyear. Just got the cold shoulder.

As for the tires. I like them. The coast down test I did showed the car coasted almost as good has out Accord with LRR Micky's. If your genital with them they will offer up good mpg. I also have found they stick good once you warm them up and start digging with them if you get the psi up. And unlike my 06 Civic the Mazda does not won't to flip the rear end out like the Civic would do at times. Makes sport fas'ing a lot more fun. :)

Im not going to go to LRR tires on my 3. I refuse to destroy its great over all entry level economy sport sedan gene's. Its a blast to drive for $17k bucks. The only thing missing is the speed3 mill and RWD. :)

is this normal,,,,,,for the problem ???

I finally broke down and got a new set of tires for my 3. I got a set of Kumho Ecsta HP4 based on some positive reviews. The price was pretty good for a 50,000 mile tire - $69 per tire (on sale at TireRack.com). I haven't put them on the car yet - I will keep my Toyo Proxies on until the snow flies. At 54,000 miles, the ol' Toyo's are howling pretty good - but the car still handles well. I'll give my impressions of the new Kumho's once they're installed.

I have Kumho Ecsta Platinum LX on my Protege, and I'm pretty happy with them. They seem to have good rolling resistance, and they're fairly quiet on a car thats definately not quiet.

I have Ripkin Raptor tires on my 05 3 HB, really like how they stick to the road in agressive driving on curvy mountain roads, but they are somewhat noisy on the roads here in E TN. I bought the car for FE and fun in the mountains, these tires are made by michelin, and are relatively inexpensive but will not last 40-50K miles as they are UHP tire per info I have found on them.

im actually planning to buy Mazda, can you help me to choice one, what version of mazda is good ??

You gotta give us some more info and specs to go on.

Read previous posts here.

If you're talking about a Mazda3, the 3i (2.0 engine) is the fuel sipper (relatively), while the 3s (2.3 engine) is somewhat of a guzzler. 5-speed manual transmission with either engine is the better bet.

My HB has the 2.3L engine, 5MT, and gets high 20's as a daily driver (mostly highway but only 11miles one way to work. If I drive it for a longer time frame,say 60 miles round trip, will get low 30's without trying hard. I have driven hard/aggressively in the mountains and get 33 mpg on a regular basis, so for this one, the longer you drive it at a time, the better the FE is. have not driven a sedan, (dont care for the styling) but the HB reportedly will be more fun to drive aggressively in the mountains/curvey roads if that's what you're after. Just a daily driver, then the sedan might be the best, but get a 5MT either way for FE.

Has anyone heard if the 2.0 in the 2010 Mazda 3 will be getting direct injection like the 2.5? The 2.5 has similar EPA ratings as the current 2.3 thanks to DI and a few other modifications.