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Mazda Protege/Protege5 Tires and Wheels

42 messages,  Last post on Mar 31, 2010 at 1:02 PM

You are in the Mazda Protege Forum.

What is this discussion about? Mazda Protege5, Mazda Protege, Tires, Wheels, Hatchback, Sedan

Messages Page 3 of 5

#13 of 42 Re: Tire suggestions : BF Goodrich [mazdafun] by autonomous

Dec 21, 2007 (2:11 pm)

Replying to: mazdafun (Dec 21, 2007 1:29 pm)
BF Goodrich Traction T/A H (185/65R14 size on Pro) - very weak sidewalls; I have to inflate them to at least 36psi to avoid unstable cornering, plus they are wearing unevenly and are very noisy at only 5,000 miles on them. I will be replacing these soon with a set of Dunlop SP Sport A2 Plus tires. Others seem to be happy with these, but based upon my own experience and that of a few friends and co-workers, I will be avoiding this brand in the future.
 
Interesting. The 205/50/R16 BF Goodrich Traction T/A tires I use on my Protege5 are V rated (similar to the stock Dunlops, 195/50/R16 V). The V rating means they not only handle higher speeds but are pricier than the H rated. I wonder if the tire construction is substantially better with a higher speed tire. I have no issues with the sidewalls to date. I routinely overinflate my tires as I like the crisp feel and the handling.

#14 of 42 That's why I posted the sizes. by mazdafun

Dec 22, 2007 (11:09 am)

In the same family, different-sized tires will deliver different results because of geometry and construction. The difference in sidewall height between our two tires is nominally 17.75mm. Lower-aspect ratio tires and higher speed rated tires will usually have stronger and stiffer construction (and thus, noise and responsive usually go up and comfort goes down). Perhaps that is the difference, as most satisfied users have lower aspect ratios (ProES, P5 etc. versus my ProLX).
 
Out of the tires I've had on my '99 ProLX, which uses 185/65R14 tires, the Firestone FR680 (stock) and BF Goodrich Traction T/A H (also comes in T speed rating) are unacceptable, in my opinion. And yes, they are spinning in the correct direction (the Traction T/A has a unidirectional tread design). Too bad; I thought they were decent when they were new, but I thought the same of the General XP2000 tires too, and I went through 2 bad sets (they tried to tell me my '89 323LX overloaded the tires - that was a laugh!) of those before switching to the Michelin X-Ones.

#15 of 42 Pro 5 Winter Tires by parksgirl

Jan 21, 2008 (10:50 am)

I just picked up an 02 Protege 5 and will be driving across Canada in a week or so. So I want to get some winter tires since it has Dunlop all-seasons which I hear are crap in snow and ice. My question concerns the fact that I was going to go down to '15s but Canadian Tire tells me that they can only get 15's with 4 bolts while my car using a 5 bolt set up. I was gonna get X-Ices cause they are on sale but he says they don't come in the appropriate 16' size either. Is it possible to get 14 or 15 inch winter rims for this car? If so where?
 Any other recommendations for future winter or all season tires?

#16 of 42 Re: Pro 5 Winter Tires [parksgirl] by autonomous

Jan 21, 2008 (5:05 pm)

Replying to: parksgirl (Jan 21, 2008 10:50 am)
Surprisingly Canadian Tire is not that well informed about tires! They advised me that I could not upgrade to 205/50/16 tires on my Protege5 but in fact I did with no problem.
 
Try Frisby's or another independent tire distributor. You can also search the net under TireTrends or Tire Rack or the manufacturers site (e.g. BF Goodrich). My 14" Winter Slalom tires are from BF Goodrich and the wheels are generic steel wheels with 5 bolts. Check also your car manual (in the appendix) for the precise numbers for 15" tires.

#17 of 42 steering wheel vibration by boricuasoldier

Mar 11, 2008 (8:18 am)

I had my wheels balanced and they put the clamp on weights on the inside of the rim. Is this the correct way to do this? Are they suppose to put the stick on weghts on the inside of the rim? I still have the vibration at 70-75 mph.

#18 of 42 Re: steering wheel vibration [boricuasoldier] by autonomous

Mar 11, 2008 (9:37 am)

Replying to: boricuasoldier (Mar 11, 2008 8:18 am)
put the clamp on weights on the inside of the rim
On my wheels the weights sit on the outer circumference of the rim and are clearly visible. You might want to post your question to the Tires forum for general information about these weights.

#19 of 42 Re: steering wheel vibration [autonomous] by boricuasoldier

Mar 11, 2008 (11:02 am)

Replying to: autonomous (Mar 11, 2008 9:37 am)
thanks.

#20 of 42 Re: steering wheel vibration [autonomous] by zoom_oh_2002p5

May 26, 2008 (5:46 am)

Replying to: autonomous (Mar 11, 2008 9:37 am)
"Picky people" seem to insist on tire weight installation on the inside of the wheel.
Aesthetics, you know.
ZoomOH

#21 of 42 Needed 4 steel stock 15" wheels by tds2003

Aug 30, 2008 (11:17 am)

The '03 DX I just bought has all 4 wheels bent, I can not find 4 new or used ones here, and have looked at every junk yard in the SouthEast.
Do any of you owners have some take off's for sale?
 
TDS.

#22 of 42 winter/summer tires by rloibl

Sep 08, 2009 (5:28 am)

Hey folks, I have a 2002 Protege 5 with 122,000 k's on it. Has anyone had problems changing summer to winter tires?? I always have to hammer like mad to get the summer or winter tires off. Tried using grease of several types. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thx, Ron

Messages Page 3 of 5

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