winter set up

[kingtut]

Does anyone have experience with these? MB Boost wheels, specific to Discount tire, but I'm likin' the look and gunmetal-



http://www.bridgestonetire.com/tireselecto...?productID=2007.

Also, I'm assuming as these would be for strickly winter use, it would be advantageous to drop to 16's?

Also if anyone has the ability to photoshop these suckers, I'd appreciate it.



Thanks!

[4doord]

I suggest driving a different vehicle for winter. Keep that one looking nice. Cheap honda or something.

[kingtut]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (4doord @ Jul 23 2008, 01:17 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=57853]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

I suggest driving a different vehicle for winter. Keep that one looking nice. Cheap honda or something.[/b]

This brings up another good question- what do most people do during the winter? I'm assuming most everone here only has one car? I had pretty much ruled a second vehicle as not an option at this point, and the 18's and performance potenza's just don't seem logical either. I can hang with spending ~800.00 on a winter tire/wheel set up, but not a whole other car...you get a sh-- car and you get sh-- reliability. Knowing my luck, I go out and find a cheap Honda, then I either get stuck on the side of the road, or am looking at potential upkeep/repair bills on a regular basis

[TheNewBlack]

Winter tires do pretty well on the speed3 (I went with 18" tires on the stock wheels)...there were only 3 or 4 days last winter that i couldnt drive.

[tsx_guy]

it's up in the air there,
some don't do winters in their mazdas
others mount snows on their oem rims and still others have winter/summer wheels/tires.

I have opted to use a single set of rims/all seasons all the time...not the best dry performance or the snow performance but i get by...one day at a time.

[kingtut]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TheNewBlack @ Jul 23 2008, 02:10 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=57859]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

Winter tires do pretty well on the speed3 (I went with 18" tires on the stock wheels)...there were only 3 or 4 days last winter that i couldnt drive.[/b]

Thanks for the reply. It's good to know you've had better luck with snows, as I've heard similar elsewhere. I figured using a smaller wheel with a higher profile tire would help with the potential weather conditions. Sorry if I sound ignorant, I'm still learning :P

[kingtut]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (6i_guy @ Jul 23 2008, 02:28 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=57870]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

it's up in the air there,
some don't do winters in their mazdas
others mount snows on their oem rims and still others have winter/summer wheels/tires.

I have opted to use a single set of rims/all seasons all the time...not the best dry performance or the snow performance but i get by...one day at a time. [/b]

Right on 6i_guy! I did that with my A4...just a decent run of the mill all season Yokohama. Summer performance could've been better and I was really unimpressed with winter (even with the AWD). I do however blame it on the tire mostly. I just figured this is more the reason to get a nice gripey winter tire....and I wanted to drop to 16's (which I assume would perform better in the snow). Also, I sure do like my rims...dey be pretty , and all the sh-- they put on the roads, crap that you drive through, etc. tends to harm them.... so I wanted to get a darker colored rim that I would expect to see some rougher driving- if that makes any sense? HA!

[AIM WO4]

Don't know how they'd look on a MS3...

[kingtut]

Thanks AIM W04. It's amazing how one can "think" something will look good, then you can have a completely different perception once they're on-

[Rich]

I am running Eagle F1 All Season, 18" rims. In general, winter setups benefit most from a skinny tire with alot of sidewall. Going to a 205/50/17 sounds most logical to me, but I can't say I've tried it. I just use good tires and AWD to get me around.

[kingtut]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rich @ Jul 23 2008, 04:00 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=57903]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

I am running Eagle F1 All Season, 18" rims. In general, winter setups benefit most from a skinny tire with alot of sidewall. Going to a 205/50/17 sounds most logical to me, but I can't say I've tried it. I just use good tires and AWD to get me around.[/b]

Damn you and your AWD...damn you! [jealousy roars its ugly head]

Seriously though, thanks for the advice- I'll keep everyone updated as far as the route I decide to take.

[TheNewBlack]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (kingtut @ Jul 23 2008, 01:31 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=57871]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

Thanks for the reply. It's good to know you've had better luck with snows, as I've heard similar elsewhere. I figured using a smaller wheel with a higher profile tire would help with the potential weather conditions. Sorry if I sound ignorant, I'm still learning :P[/b]

Trust me im still learning too! A higher profile tire would def. be ideal for the winter...i think they look funny on a speed 3...especially in 16" IMO.
Let us know what you decide to go with!

[kingtut]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TheNewBlack @ Jul 23 2008, 04:25 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=57907]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

Trust me im still learning too! A higher profile tire would def. be ideal for the winter...i think they look funny on a speed 3...especially in 16" IMO.
Let us know what you decide to go with![/b]

Coolio- It's a constant mental battle...look stupid and perform well, OR look cool and slide all over the place. I think I'll try and split the difference: look kinda stupid and have mediocre snow performance...besides, I'm used to looking stupid anyway!

[TheNewBlack]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (kingtut @ Jul 23 2008, 03:30 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=57910]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

Coolio- It's a constant mental battle...look stupid and perform well, OR look cool and slide all over the place. I think I'll try and split the difference: look kinda stupid and have mediocre snow performance...besides, I'm used to looking stupid anyway![/b]

[MazdaTom]

The thing with 16" wheels is that the available tire selection is kinda crappy and the prices are kinda high.

I went through something similar when trying to decide whether to run snows on my 16" factory wheels or get a set of 15" wheels and tires. Basically it all came down to tire replacement cost. When it was time to replace the first set of snows, the 15" package became cheaper overall (even after figuring in the cost of the wheels) so I went with a set of used 15" Konig wheels and some 15" tires.

I don't know what is available in 16" MS3 sizes or 17" MS3 sizes, so I can't say for sure. A little more sidewall is nice to help smooth out the bumps on snow packed roads, but not a deciding factor IMO.

And I've never not been able to drive when I wanted. Of course, I wasn't here for the big blizzards in 2006/2007. But this passed winter there wasn't any problems.