I’m in the process of shopping for a new set of dedicated snows for my stock rims and Amanda wants to replace her OEM 2009 Mazda 3 tires with a new set that doesn’t make her car feel so unpredictable/unstable. She doesn’t want a dedicated winter setup so they need to be able to get me to work in the snow (we switch cars when it snows) and be suitable for the other seasons too. The stability issue is something she only notices and she says she’s gotten used to it, but I’m hoping new tires take care of the issue. Hopefully I can find a tire known for stiff sidewalls or something. Thoughts?
This means we’ll both be taking off tires with decent life on them if anyone is looking for cheap used tires. Mine are 205/55/16 (stock size) Dunlop Wintersport 3D’s. (Scotty S, do you still want these?) She has 205/50/17 GoodYear Eagle RS-A’s. Anybody want them for $50 OBO? They have something like 50% tread left.
I'll post some resources for my research below. Please feel free to add your own thoughts, links, and ramblings to this thread.
Tire Rack
Tests
Finding the "Ultra" in Ultra High Performance All-Season Tires - July 26, 2010
Winter Testing at the Arctic Circle: Ultra High Performance All-Season - September 6, 2009
Testing Winter Weather Specialists: Studless Ice and Snow Tire - August 6, 2010
Testing the Newest Crop of Studless Ice and Snow Winter Tire - September 30, 2009
Bridgestone Blizzak WS70 Introductory Drive - January 28, 2010
Survey Results
Winter
High Performance All-Season
Ultra High Performance All-Season
Consumer Reports Ratings:
(Hover over the below images for the filename which reflects the category)