I can't seem to find a long lasting tire for my Mazda 3 H/B. But these Yokohama YK520's seem to be doing good. Smooth ride ,good as far as cornering, great traction,and THEY do look great. I have the P215/50R17 93V's.They are taller and wider. I got them at Discount Tire. They come with a 60,000 mile warranty.But they dont even come close to that. SO D/T does pro- rate them when they wear out.......Anyone has a better idea let me know.

 

yokohama tires last longer than many other brands. I had toyo tires on my previous car and they lasted about 2.5 years. I have yokohama tires on my car 4 years ago and they are not even worn out half way yet. I put about 50,000 miles on them. YOKOHAMA IS MY CHOICE OF TIRES.

 

The car had 17" Goodyear Eagle RSA's on it when I bought it (with 20K miles on it), and they were fine and dandy in the summer but absolutely rotten in the winter. The ice traction was average for all-season tires but they could not pump any snow or slush out due to the tread pattern so they would float like snowshoes on even traces of snow.

I had them replaced even though they had tread left, replaced with Kumho Ecsta's. I was very pleased, at first anyway. They were definitely better in the snow, at least when new. I did get a sidewall blister in one after hitting a pothole, but that pothole was a doozy, I'm lucky it didn't break some windows too. About a year after I got those tires though, the dealer rotated them and now the road noise is horrendous. It was fine before they were rotated though.

As for removing the wheels, here's one easy (but mildly risky) trick. Raise the car, loosen all the lug nuts but don't remove them. If the wheel doesn't budge, lower the car (lug nuts still on but loose). if the wheel doesn't break loose then, get in the car and drive it for a couple of feet. If it still doesn't come loose, move the car a few feet and and hit the brakes. Works every time. Then raise the car again and take the wheel off. DO NOT try it with the lug nuts completely off, you don't want the wheel coming all the way off the car. Also don't do it with the lug nuts too far from the tight position, you don't want to damage your lug bolt threads. Give it just enough room to break loose.

 

Agreed, those Goodyears are terrible in even 1/16" of snow. Pretty bad in the wet as well. Ought to have been recalled, IMO. As for the road noise, I don't know why it's affected by rotation, but there's a high probability you have bad front wheel bearings. I had similar issues and blamed it on tires and rotation, but it's the wheel bearings. I complained and the dealer blamed the tires, but when it got worse they ended up replacing both bearings after it was slightly out of warranty and Mazda paid the bill. Check those bearings.

 

I also have the same problem. I have a 2011 Mazda3 HB and have used so many sets of tires. I work at a mechanic shop and learned these cars come with the toe &camber off causing this issue. The longest lasting tires I have found were Pirelli P7. Im trying to decide now on trying the Falcon Pro G4 or the Firestone indy 500. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. The pirelli last a little over a year.