Virgin1
Thanks for all of the insight on the tires and the head-up on the GTX syntec. What do you think about changing the filter system on the 2.3L.

 

With all due respect to Virgin 1, I've used Goodyears on my last three Mazda and liked them enough to replace them with new Goodyears when needed. When I'm not in traffic I drive aggressively and use the limits of the tires and suspension. Given that, I still get from 30K to 35K no matter what the tire with the lone exception being a performance tire with a very soft tread compound that raised the lateral G numbers onmy Mx6 (with minorsuspension mods) to uncomfortable (but fun) levels of .91L/.90R. These tires only lasted 21K miles and weren't worth the extra cost on a car like the Mx6.

My wife's Tribute got 48K out ofthe original Goodyears but they were primarily tires for the rain and didn't encourage spirited cornering when dry. If I didn't use Goodyears I would look at some of the Bridgestone high performance models. There are other good tires out there, just stay away from the sedan specials and spring for a higher performance tire. Once you do you'll never go back to standard issue.(NOTE: The GY RSAs on the 3, 5-door or S sedans are quite good, I haven't found their limitsyet but am still trying and they are rated for sustained speeds well above what the '3' can do.

 

Well, there is actually more to the GY story than I told, but I stand by my convictions about them and their products. I think my wife would too.
Frogg, You're welcome and I hope you found/find it helpful. I was meaning to ask you about the conversion though. I know of the 2.0L spin-on conversion, but as an old school kinda' guy am always interested in increasing oil capacity and cooling. Do you have a link to this BIG conversion kit you speak of?