Hi folks,

I'm a complete novice when it comes to cars, and this is my first post here.
I have a 2008 Mazda 3 Sedan GS.

I need to buy new all season tires. I live in Manhattan. Don't drive every day, but when I do drive it is often long distance.
I think i have the option of 15" or 16".

Any specific recommendations?

Also, and much less importantly, any recommendations for wipers? I bought a pair at Autozone last year, and they have been awful since day 1.

Thanks so much!
Ari

 

You should determine whether you have 15" or 16" wheels on the car, then go to TireRack.com and buy the correct size tires.

 

Hi,

My car has the option of 15" or 16". I currently have 15"

Tirerack.com gives close to 100 options.

So...

does anyone have a recommendation based on experience?

Thanks very much,
Ari

 

Unless you're planning on changing the wheels as well, then your ONLY option is 15" tires.

Regarding the actual tires, I don't know which brands and models are available in 15" these days; as I suggested before, go to TireRack.com and determine what is available.

Regarding wipers, I am a fan of Bosch ICON wiper blades.

 

I agree with the recommendation to go to TireRack. On their site, you can select your vehicle and the wheel option. From there you can select the type of tire. I agree that All Season are likely the best option for you. You can narrow down the selection by price range. You should be able to get it to down to 10 to 15 options fairly quickly. From there, look at the tires with the highest ratings and read the TireRack and Customer reviews for the ones you think are best. You will notice that some tires are great at one type of condition but fair at another while some tires will be good (but not great) at nearly everything. Identify a few options that best meet your needs and address your concerns. Compare the price on TireRack realizing you will need someone local to install and balance them to the prices advertised at local shops. The local shops may not carry all of the tires on your short list but with this research, you should be comfortable knowing you are getting a good deal on a good tire for you. Make sure the tires you find locally have the exact name and size as the ones you find on TireRack. A little difference in the name often means a completely different tire.

This is the process I go through each time I buy tires. While I have been completely satisfied with some of my tires, I still do the research each time since my needs change and new tires are released to the market and there may be better options. I have bought tires from TireRack and had them installed locally, used the site for research and bought locally and even bought tires with wheels that I put on myself.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

The process should take you an hour or two at most even if you watch all the videos of their reviews.

 

Thanks very much everyone. The problem I'm facing is that Tirerack and other websites list the models differently.

When I bought my car, there was GX, GS, and GT. I have GS.

However, websites currently list things as:
i Sport
i Touring
i Touring Value
S grand touring
S sport
S touring

So I'm not sure how how these line up with the models in 2008...

Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

Really? I bought a brand new Mazda3 in 2008 and there was no such a thing as a GS. Looking back at your posts, my 99% bet is you have a 2008 Mazda3 i Sport. Is your car a US market car? What is leading you to believe you have a "GS" model?

 

Great point! I didn't think of that! The car was bought in Canada.

I'm attaching the specs I found online.

I distinctly remember in Canada, the sport was only the hatchback version.

Hopefully the attached can help determine what my US equivalent was.

Thanks!

 

Interesting dilemma. Next thing to try is to go with Shipo's suggestion and confirm in TireRack that the tire size is the same as what is indicated on the door jam of your car. If it is the same, I would assume you guessed right and go from there.

You could also call TireRack. I have called them in the past and their customer service was great.

There are also other sources such as 1010Tires, they list GS, GT, GX, i, i 16" option, S, and S17" option. I have never used this site but it is worth a try.

 

I reviewed that PDF and it is pretty safe to say, if you have a GS with 15" wheels (steel or alloy), then the U.S. version of your car is a Mazda3 i Sport.

FWIW, in the U.S. there were two "Sport" models, the "i Sport" and the "s Sport"; the most significant difference being the 2.0 liter engine on the "i" models and the 2.3 liter engine on the "s" models.