, heyy what about those sweet wal-mart/ canadian tire spinners. bet they would look good on a mazdaspeed3 LOL. you would look retarted with em but it would be better then looking at steel for the winter LOL

 

I disagree.A wider tire is better on any slippery surface, be it snow, iceor simply wet.A wider tire gives youmore contact area, whichis more surface area to establish grip. You don't want to cut through the snow -you want to grip the snow. Take a look at a snowy road ... what do you see? ... tread marks ... the tire treadgrips the snow (it does not cut through it). And ona veryicy surface, wider will give you more contact with the road, which equals more grip. Wide rules.

 

+1 for sstlaure. a skinnier tire is more effective in snow than is a wider tire.
a wider tire just faces more resistance.

 

From www.tirerack.comand from personal experience skinnier is better on road surfaces (what cars drive on.) Now if you are talking REALLY deep snow, then yes, you want to float on top of the snow with a very wide tire, but that isn't practical for a car to do. (I'm talking really big/wide tires....40" tall and 16-20" wide)

Priorities for Sizing Winter Tires Are Different
Does your sports car, coupe, or sedan use wide, low profile tires that are mounted on large diameter wheels? Or does your light truck use large flotation-sized tires? If you're going to drive through lots of snow this year you'll want your winter tires and wheels in sizes that help put the laws of physics on your side.
A wide, low profile or large tire has to "plow" a wide path through snow which causes more resistance. The narrower the tire, the easier you can get through snow. We'll help verify sufficient load capacity and the appropriate diameter for your vehicle when you speak with one of our sales specialists or use Winter Shop by Vehicle.
Winter tire sizes should be based on one of the following:
The Optional Tire and Wheel Size from Your Vehicle's Base Model
This is often the easiest way to select an appropriate narrow tire for your car or truck. For example, a 2003 Lexus IS300 would store its original 215/45R17 tires in favor of optional 205/55R16 tires on 16" wheels.
A Minus Size Tire and Wheel
Minus Sizing is simply traditional Plus Sizing techniques used backwards. For example, a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta GLX VR6 would store its original 205/55R16 (or optional 225/45HR17) tires in favor of Minus One or Minus Two size 195/65R15 tires on 15" wheels.
In both of these examples, not only would snow traction be enhanced, but the cost of a Base Model or Minus Size winter tire & wheel package is usually lower than a package maintaining your vehicle's original size tires and wheels

 

hmmm i want to put winter tires on my car for the simple fact i have some nice toyo proxes on my car (came with the car ) but im not sure if it would matter. i mean my tires do tend to slip every once in a while in the rain but in the snow hmmmmmmmmmm. im thinkin bout it but am not too sure.what you guys think

 

If you're running in the snow,especially if they salt the roads there, it's always a good idea to run steel wheels with snow tires (or maybe a good all season) that is a little bit skinnier than the stock. The salt will cause your mags to "pit" very quickly and look like hell and they're a lot more expensive to replace than just buying some steel rims. With a separate set of rims and mounted tires you can easily switch them yourself whenever you want to at no cost but if you use your original rims and switch your tires (you'll have to pay a shop to do that) and the constant "mounting" and "unmounting" could damage the sidewalls very quickly.If your 3 came with 17 inch wheels ( "GT" Canada, "S" U.S.) you have to use a minimum 16 inch steel rim to clear the front brake rotors. I run 205/55 16 in the winter, 215/50 17 in the summer and have no problems. I run all seasons in the winter because I do a lot of highway driving so I found that the soft rubber winter tires don't last very long although they are better in the snow than any all season. Everything's a compromise depending on your diving habits. Just my 2 cents.

 

jaimie....all weather tires work OK in the snow, snow tires just give you an extra bit of grip when you really need it. I ran Proxes FZ4's on my 3 through a few winters with a fair bit of snow driving. I just took it slow and easy. When people really get into trouble is when they have high performance tires on their cars and try to run them in the winter. Higher performance tires harden in the cold and their traction is greatly reduced. Snow tires (and to some extent all-weather tires) are formulated to not harden up like performance tires do in colder temps.

 

In addition to what everyone else is saying, that skinnier tire has an elongated triangular contact patch putting most of it on the outside edge for traction and stability. A wider tires contact is more like a square or rectangle w/little of it extending forward or back. That's why they have to "plow" through the snow.
Also, the skinnier tire has a smaller profile patch meaning that the car's weight on it is effectively increased, or to put it in other words, more pounds/sq.in. for better traction and stability while negotiating turns.

 

SST i have the same tires you have. and you say that they did fine for you this winter? well if you do say that then that is good i wont worry about it at all. however in canada we have some pretty heavy snow and that could suck for me especially in a standard.... oh well i cleaned my car today and now its all shiny... btw new avatar pic hurrah

 

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Jaime, Get some snow tires... pleeeaaasee!!
Between the snows I'm sure you get up there and your inexperience as a driver, they would be really cheap insurance imo. You have steel wheels on your 3, don't you?