Has anyone tried 14" steel rims on their MP5 yet? I want to go with 14" because of the cost savings.

 

You may have a problem with clearance on your disc brakes. You may be able to get a 15" wheel over it. You may want to check on Tirerack.com or better yet call Mazda's customer support line and ask them, they should be able to help.

Shawn

 

Sorry Onehawaiian, this message is most likely not directed towards you!

Just wanted to see what everyone in Calgary or in Canada is doin about snow tires...is anyone really gonna use the all-season's that the P5 comes with?
what are the options?

 

The dunlop 5000's that we have are fairly capable tires in the snow from what I understand. I think given the relative new nature of the tires they will be fine for sure this winter, next winter I will likely look into winters.

 

I was thinking about waiting a year, just coz they ARE newer tires and it should be okay, but I hear that it's supposed to snow big time this year so that's all I'm scared of

 

Apparently, the regular 4 door Protege uses the same calipers and brakes as the P5. On that car, the standard size is 15 inch. A garage told me that he regularely put 14 inch. winter rims.

 

I have no experiance with the SP5000's in the snow, but they look like they will suck. Take a look at the tread pattern. They are fairly closed and will quickly clog up with snow. There is no replacement for REAL snow tires! The 500 bucks you spend now could save you a 500 insurance deductable plus the points on your record. For the past two winters I have had real snow tires on my cars in the winter and I will never go back. In fact I think it is plain dangerous to drive with all seasons in a Canadian winter.

15's will fit the 4 wheel disc equiped cars, 14's will not clear the rear brakes. You can get 15 inch steel wheels from Kaltire for around $55 bucks each, expect to pay around 100 a tire a decent snow tire.

This winter I am using my 195/60/15 Yokohama Guardex 600's that I used on my (now sold) ZX2 last winter. I'm picking up a cheep set of alloys from Kaltire for 110 each.

If you want the ultimate winter tire look into the Nokian Happaplita. I had these tires on my old AE86 Corolla. Their performance in deep snow and ice is unbeatable. Their downside is that they are super soft so they wear quickly on dry pavement, which is often in Calgary from what I understand. The Guardex are a good compromise, ok on dry great on snow and ice (though not as good as the Nokians).

One final thought, the other good thing about winter tires is that it makes winter driving fun! On all seasons you have to tiptoe around because you never have any traction in snow and ice conditions. With a good snow tire you can pretend to be a rally driver!

 

I am going to see how it goes with the factory tires for now. They say big snow this winter, but given the conditions we have had up until now, I'm not so sure...

I have read some user reviews on tire rack about the SP5000 (not the SP5000Ms like we have, this is a new oem tire I think, but similar to the SP5000), and they sound like they should be relatively good in winter. I agree with the post that said the tread is relatively closed (compared to a full on winter tire), but there are a lot of sipes compared to most high performance all season tires, which makes me think that they may be OK on ice (ice or bone dry roads are normally what we get here).

I do also agree that there is no substitute in snow and ice for a good winter tire. I have some Dunlop Graspics for my VW, and I can drive like normal on snowy surfaces, unlike the all seasons I had on my Toyota. If I don't like the performance of the SP5000s when it starts to get slick, I will definitely be getting winter tires and rims.

Dale.

 

I have drive though some pretty snowy winters and bad ice both here in Calgary and back in the Okanagan on just winter tires. The difference is that I know how to drive...

The thing many people forget to do is slow the hell down when the snow starts falling!

It never fails, the first frost or snowfall of the year late oct early nov around Calgary there is always a few 10-15 car pilups because people are driving like asses... Especially these SUV's.

On my second last 5L Auto Mustang I had BFG Radial TA's that I drove YEAR ROUND and I only got stuck once when this hill I was on turned to a sheet of ice covered in 2 inches of snow, but on the same token, not a single car or truck made it up that hill...

 

from what I understand, the rims on the 4drs will fit EXCEPT for the fact that our current rims are 5bolts and not the 4bolts on the 4drs.....what to do? what to do?

 

The bolt pattern from the 626, MX-6, Probe, and Millenia is the same as the 5-bolt Protege and Protege-5.

The 15" alloys from some of those cars will fit...but test fit first for offset.

Richard

 

I need to get winter tires and rims soon.
Has anyone successfully tried 14" rims on a Protege5?
I'm getting a lot of mixed optinions.

Thanks for the help

Robb

 

My friend just orderd 14" for her P5.

 

why?

 

Who confirmed that these will fit?