I put bridgestone potenzas on my 05 3s with the 17" stock rims and they are a hell of a lot better than the goodyears that came with the car. i already put about 10,000 miles on them and they still are good only problem i see with them is that they are not the greatest in the snow but they are performance tires so that is expected. good luck.
khemosabi2
6/9/2007 5:09:49 PM
Thanks Lev! That's exactly what I was looking for....someone who has tried Bridgestone Potenzas on the 3. Thanks again!
digit
6/9/2007 7:06:41 PM
falken tires are not bad. another alternative?
virgin1
6/10/2007 3:14:19 AM
Nasty winters and all-season tires are a non-sequitur. Even the best AS's won't get you through really bad winter weather.
Best advice: Get a second set of winter tires (4) and swap them out in the fall.
UrbanmanUSA
6/11/2007 7:00:23 PM
quote:
ORIGINAL: khemosabi2
Ok, I just seached all of the past threads and couldn't find a single mention of Bridgestone tires. I have a '05 Mazda 3i and I'm on a tire search. I'm replacing the OEM Toyo tires at 19,000 miles. I can't stand them and they're almost bald. 
I definitely will not be putting Toyos back on my car.
You are the first person I have heard knock Toyo tires. I have them on my car, given everything I've heard about the Goodyear tires, I am happy to have Toyo. They grip superbly on wet pavement in my experience. They are rated for way more than 19K miles ... are you burning rubber all the time? Rally driving, squealing around every turn?
MazdaN00b
6/11/2007 7:06:23 PM
Anything at Allied discount tires or tire kingdom will do right?
Draconius
6/11/2007 7:59:25 PM
OEM tires on the Speed 3 are Bridgestone Potenza. They have been nice to me so far.
MikeMzda3
6/12/2007 3:46:45 PM
I got the bridgestone pole position for my car...the "upgraded version of the G009"...great traction in wet, good dry, pretty crappy in snow...but what isn't (besides a pure snow tire)...toyos melt - you sacrafice longevity for great handling...unless you get one of their touring tires. I had Toyo Proxes4 on my jetta...those things were by far my favorite tires for dry handling - but they had to be replaced after 20 - 25k.
UrbanmanUSA
6/12/2007 5:20:15 PM
quote:
ORIGINAL: MikeMzda3
...toyos melt - you sacrafice longevity for great handling...unless you get one of their touring tires. I had Toyo Proxes4 on my jetta...those things were by far my favorite tires for dry handling - but they had to be replaced after 20 - 25k.
The treadwear rating on the Proxes FZ4 is only 300. The Proxes A04s are rated a mere 180 or 200, depending on the specific size. So I can understand why your 4s had a relatively short life.
The Proxes A05s that came on my 2007 have a treadwear rating of 600, so hopefully I'll get 50K or more out of them. They don't say touring on them, but 600 is certainly in the touring range.
MikeMzda3
6/13/2007 8:02:09 AM
I got under 30k out of the AO5s. I was a freak about keeping the tire pressure at a constant 31 lbs - mazda recommended - and i rotated them ever 5k miles.
goodluck and drive lightly if you want higher mileage - which proves hard in sucha fun car = )
UrbanmanUSA
6/17/2007 11:37:34 PM
Only 30K from a set of tires? I don't like the sound of that.
I'll be inflating mine to 35, which is a number I have found on the net for these tires. Hope that makes a difference.
UrbanmanUSA
6/18/2007 9:09:45 PM
Ooops. Upon closer inspection, my A05s have a treadwear rating of 300. It help with the accuracy when you look when in the sunlight, not in a dark garage ...
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