Having the right tires for your vehicle is very important since this is the part of your vehicle that is always in contact with the road. Finding the right set of tires will depend on what you're going to use your car for or where you live. You can have all-weather or winter tires for places that have a lit of snow, summer tires for everyday driving in places that don't snow or rain a lot, or performance tires for people who like a bit more handing for race tracks or twisty canyon drives. We have consulted experts on the best tire for your Mazda 3. Here is what we got from them.
For all-season driving, you could use the Hankook Kinergy GT. This tire is great for daily use since it can handle both extremely hot and cold weather. For performance tires, it's best to use Pilot Sport 4s or Super Sport; either tire will give exceptional grip and handling even at high speeds. When it comes to winter tires, the Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 is a great choice.
When choosing your tires, make sure that the size of the tire will fit your wheel. Choosing the right tire for the season will greatly increase the safety of your car and will help you control your vehicle even in harsh conditions. Lastly, if you are going to get new tires try not to mix and match different tire models to avoid handing or grip issues. For more information about the Mazda 3 and tires, keep reading below.
What Wheel Size Can a Mazda 3 Take
You could fit up to a wheel of 275/35/19 (tire width of 275 millimeters/aspect ratio of 35/wheel size of 19 inches). With this tire size, you still have a little gap between your tire and the Mazda 3's shock absorber. Getting a larger or wider wheel size may not be able to fit on the Mazda 3 without doing some modifications to the vehicle, and doing this is not practical for daily use.
There are pros and cons to changing the wheels of your vehicle to a larger one. The pros are you get better traction, grip, braking, and appearance. Some of the cons for installing larger tires are increased fuel consumption, quick tire wear, slow acceleration, and incorrect speedometer reading.
For daily use, the stock wheel setup of a vehicle is perfectly fine. The only thing you have to think about is the type of tire you need to have -winter, all-weather, summer, or performance. You can also make your tire smaller, and the effect of that will almost be the opposite of having a larger one.
What Do Tire Numbers Mean
When looking for new tires, you may notice a seemingly random letter and numbers on your tire's sidewall. There are a lot of letters and numbers on the sidewall of a tire, and all of them have a corresponding meaning, such as the tire size, speed rating, and max load. Here is the most common information you'll see on the tire of your vehicle.
When looking at a tire, you will notice a big batch of numbers located on the sidewall of the tire. These numbers indicate the exact size of the tire. There are three sets of numbers, and the first number indicates the width of the tire in millimeters.
The second number indicates the sidewall profile and is the percentage of the width of the tire; even if two tires have the same percentage, they will not have the same sidewall since the size will depend on the tire's width. The last number indicates the size of the hole of the tire to know what size of wheel to put in it.
Located right beside the tire size information, you can also find the tire's load and speed rating. You may find a number followed by a letter, and that number refers to your load rating while the letter refers to the speed rating.
The tire's load rating operates using a system of numbers. The higher the number, the higher the load rating; a tire will indicate its max load rating, its position will differ by model.
If you want to drive fast, you need tires that can handle it. Constantly driving above your tire's speed rating can cause it to come apart over time. The speed rating of your tire is measured from A to Z, with Z being the fastest, with a rating of about 150 miles per hour or above.
Does Changing Tire Size Affect Transmission
When you change the wheel of your vehicle, you can expect some changes to the performance of your car. If you've installed a smaller wheel than your car's stock wheel, this will be lighter, but your vehicle will worsen. While having a big wheel will increase your vehicle's handling in exchange for more weight.
Now will changing your vehicle's tire size affect its transmission? Yes, it could somewhat affect it. Having larger wheels on your car can cause extra stress on your transmission since it will require a bit more torque to get it going.
Having larger wheels on your vehicle is not bad at all and will definitely help with grip; what is bad is having a wheel that is too large for your vehicle?
Cars have a certain wheel size that they could take, and as long as you are within that size range, your vehicle will be just fine whether you installed a smaller or larger wheel. Having a wheel that's too large could cause rubbing, instability, and stress to components such as your transmission.
Should I Change 2 Tires Or 4
When planning to replace your tires, it is always best to replace them all at once. With new tires on all four corners of your vehicle, in perfect condition, this should wear all four tires at the same time. You should also avoid mixing tire models with one another since tires will have different ratings, sizes, and tire threads depending on the manufacturer.
You also would not want to mix tire types like all-weather tires with snow or performance tires. Mixing up tires could greatly affect your car's handling and stability, which in the end could cause some safety issues for you and your passengers.
Note that wearing out all four tires at the same time is not always possible. Vehicle design, driving conditions, and lack of maintenance could be the reason why your vehicle's tires wear out differently. If you don't know how to choose the right tires for you, an auto supply or mechanic shop could help and provide you with what you need.
What Is The Driving Range Of The Mazda 3
The Mazda 3 has an excellent driving range for a compact sedan. A vehicle with a long driving range and good fuel economy is important, especially if you plan to daily drive your car.
With the Mazda 3, you have a wide variety of trims and engines to choose from, and all of them have different driving ranges and MPGs. Here are the driving ranges of the Mazda 3.
- Mazda 3 Sedan Select/Preferred/Premium FWD has a range of 343.20 miles city/462 on the highway
- Mazda 3 Hatchback Select/Preferred/Premium FWD has a range of 343.20 miles city/448.80 on the highway
- Mazda 3 Hatchback Premium Manual FWD has a range of 316.80 miles city/435.60 on the highway
- Mazda 3 Sedan Preferred/Premium AWD has a range of 317.50 miles city/419.10 on the highway
- Mazda 3 Hatchback Preferred/Premium AWD has a range of 317.50 miles city/393.70 on the highway
- Mazda 3 Hatchback Turbo/Turbo Premium Plus AWD has a range of 292.10 miles city/393.70 on the highway
The Mazda 3 sedan and hatchback has a great driving range and is an excellent vehicle to drive in the city or on highways. Having a vehicle with a long driving range is great since you can drive for a while before needing to fuel up, this saves you both time and money.
Closing
It's important that you choose the appropriate tire for your vehicle to ensure that you get the best grip and handling in any weather or road conditions. The right tires will also increase the safety of your vehicle.
If you plan to change the wheel and tire of your vehicle, make sure that you don't get a wheel that is too big or too small. A large wheel can cause rubbing and may interfere with other components connected to your wheel. While a smaller wheel can cause stability and handling issues.
For more automotive topics and tips, check out the following post.