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.
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.
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
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!
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.
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.
