I hate to have this as my first thread but I can't find anyone who can answer this question.

Is it true that you cannot put steel wheels on the new 2010 Mazdaspeed 3? I just called my local dealer and asked. The parts department manager told me no. I can only put alloys on there 17in and up. It sounds a bit rediculous. 2009 was ok for steelies but the 2010 isn't? WTF

I'm not spending $150 a piece for winter tires. Thats just obsurd. Someone please help me before I go out and waste money on a good set of allseasons.

 

as long as the TPMS sensors fit in the steel rims, I don't see any potential issues. I've got an alloy set for the winter, they were very close in price to steel, and look way better.
look around for a 2010 base model, point out if it has steel rims and ask the dealer to explain

MAZDA3 i SV 4-Door
148 hp† 2.0L DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder engine with variable valve timing
Mileage city/highway (mpg) 25/33 MT‡
Vehicle Features:
Black grill with chrome accent trim
16-inch steel wheels with full wheel covers
Variable-intermittent wipers
Cloth-trimmed seats with 60/40 split fold-down rear seatback
Power remote outside mirrors and windows
AM/FM/CD/MP3-compatible stereo with 4 speakers and auxiliary-audio input jack
Advanced front air bags, front side-impact air bags and side air curtains**
Front seat-belt pretensioners with force limiters
Active front headrests
4-wheel Anti-lock Brake System (ABS)
Tire-Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)

Do make sure what rim size is needed to clear the brake calipers, other than that go shopping for what you like the look of.

 

I have a dealer in Buffalo looking into this for me. No one seems to know anything about this car and its kind of pissing me off. If you think about it, the car has to be able to accept steel wheels because i have a spare in my trunk. I do know that I have to have 17in and up to fit the brakes.

 

Looking at 1010tires, they offer no rims to fit, the selector stated that there is a complicated fitment for the vehicle, and to e-mail them....
Hopefully the dealer can find something, but all else fails, find the rim diameter needed, offset value of the rims, and go searching. You can also measure the rims that are on the car to get those offset numbers and the online tools tell you what is what for the measurements.

This is the punishment for getting a faster vehicle I guess

 

This may not be what you want to hear but..

I wanted to buy steel rims for my MS3. The rotors are pretty big and the stock wheels have a 52.5mm offset. This makes it pretty difficult to find steel rims that will fit. If you do, they will probably be pricier than you had originally thought too.

What I did was...

I bought 03-08 RX8 wheels. They fit just fine and look pretty damn good on there too. They run $170 each now on a website that I found. Kinda pricey, but at least you won't have problems with rubbing/wheel hitting the caliper. No spacers, direct bolt on.

Hope this sort of helps..