Biggest profile winter tire 17” Rim

Discussion in 'Mazdaspeed 3 General Discussion' started by lenniejames, Sep 26, 2020.

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  1. lenniejames

    lenniejames Greenie Member

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    Hey there guys,

    I have some worn out winter tires that I will be replacing this winter and I’m wondering about ground clearance. I live in an area which receives a very large amount of snow and I am wanting to increase my ground clearance with a set of higher profile winter tires.
    What’s the highest profile tire you’ve run on a stock suspension Gen1 with 17” steel rims?

    I know it’s a specific question but I’m thinking if I can get a 55 profile tire that will raise the ground clearance but at least an inch or so
     
    lenniejames, via an iPhone, Sep 26, 2020
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  2. Awafrican

    Awafrican Moderator Gold Member

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    Awafrican, via a mobile device, Sep 26, 2020
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  3. Easter Bunny

    Easter Bunny Professional Engineer Motorhead Platinum Member

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    I run 235/45-18 on my 2010 and have no issues with height. A little bit of rubbing on the width but for winter tires you should be going narrower for whatever that total height works out to.
     
    Easter Bunny, via a mobile device, Sep 26, 2020
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  4. lenniejames

    lenniejames Greenie Member

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    lenniejames, via an iPhone, Sep 29, 2020
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  5. Easter Bunny

    Easter Bunny Professional Engineer Motorhead Platinum Member

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    Stock dunlops sucked in the winter

    All season Continentals I have never given it a second thought in Maryland

    Based on my experience if you buy snows it will be unstoppable
     
    Easter Bunny, via a mobile device, Sep 29, 2020
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  6. Awafrican

    Awafrican Moderator Gold Member

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    Where in Canada are you? When I was in eastern Ontario speed was great in the winter with a good set of snows now I'm in Manitoba same applies sometimes they don't clear the road of snow drifts Enough so I do hear the undertray on the ruts so I'm considering a small SUV for the winter only for that reason.

    Edit: I'm running 225/45/17 myself and plenty of clearance and tires have served me well in the snow it's nice to have some tire well clearance I'm usually not getting buildups in the wells
     
    Awafrican, via a mobile device, Sep 29, 2020
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  7. lenniejames

    lenniejames Greenie Member

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    haha yeah I’m not even going to attempt to drive it on summers, pure insanity

    I was just wondering mainly with the lsd how much it actually helps

    I’m in Canmore, Alberta in the mountains. So lots of snowfall to deal with ahah, lots of travelling to and from ski resorts. Do you have a Gen 1 or Gen 2?

    ahhh true, I never thought of well clearance with higher profile tires. That’s a good point. Maybe I’ll just stick with the 205/50/17’s then.
    Have you caused any damage to your car by wintering it?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 29, 2020
    lenniejames, via an iPhone, Sep 29, 2020
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  8. Awafrican

    Awafrican Moderator Gold Member

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    got a gen 2, my buddy has a gen1 and he used to winter it you could do 225/50/17 if that's available, wouldn't go too narrow (guess it depends on what wheels you have).

    Car's been fine in the winter I crown coat it every year so my rust is very minimal surface rust on the undercarriage, I've had to replace the undertray thanks to ice chunks thats really the end of it.
     
  9. lenniejames

    lenniejames Greenie Member

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    Why would you not recommend going too narrow? Is that the tire he was using? I’ve got 205/50/17 already on Steelies that I got when I bought the car. (I haven’t seen a winter with it yet)

    Is the crown coat just an under body anti rust spray?
     
    lenniejames, via an iPhone, Sep 29, 2020
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  10. Sho

    Sho Silver Member

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    Narrower tires are better in snow.

    On a 16 inch crown vic steely on my ms3 I ran 205/50/16 snow tires. Car was a beast in the snow. Never got stuck. We get a ton of Lake effect snlw where I live. And even lowered, I never had issues getting stuck
     
    Sho, via a mobile device, Sep 29, 2020
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  11. lenniejames

    lenniejames Greenie Member

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    Gen 1?

    Did the ground clearance hurt you in +6”snowfall?
     
    lenniejames, via an iPhone, Sep 29, 2020
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  12. Sho

    Sho Silver Member

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    Yes gen 1

    Only thing I ever worried about was smacking a block of ice on the road with the oil pan.

    Beast mode
    FB_IMG_1601425137828.jpg Screenshot_20200929-202726-01.jpeg Screenshot_20200929-202801-01.jpeg
     
    Sho, via a mobile device, Sep 29, 2020
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  13. lenniejames

    lenniejames Greenie Member

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    Shit man that’s f****ing awesome. Looks sweet smashing through it like that. Did you ever do any damage to the car throughout the winter? How about corrosion? How did it go climbing steeper hills? Thought the weight would fall a bit to the rear wheels on an incline
     
    lenniejames, via an iPhone, Sep 29, 2020
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  14. Sho

    Sho Silver Member

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    No damage other than rust. Because Ohio loves overusing road salt. Especially in temperatures where salt doesnt do anything anyways lol.

    Hills are no issue. Just turn off traction control completely (when starting the car, hold finger on dsc off button while cranking...when you let go you should see dsc off light as well as the squiggly traction light remain on once the engine is running) . Its more of a hinderance and safety hazard leaving it on. Any time the wheels slip at all with traction control on it cuts throttle completely.

    But with traction off, no issues keeping momentum
     
    Sho, via a mobile device, Sep 29, 2020
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  15. lenniejames

    lenniejames Greenie Member

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    I’m in Alberta so hopefully the cold temps keep the need for salt pretty low then

    oh okay, thanks for the tip man. Do you believe the LSD has helped you through the deeper stuff too?
     
    lenniejames, via an iPhone, Sep 29, 2020
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  16. Awafrican

    Awafrican Moderator Gold Member

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    I turn off traction control in the deeper stuff, if im spinning that is then i pull through no prob
     
  17. lenniejames

    lenniejames Greenie Member

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    So I’m looking at 215/55/17 or 205/55/17. Does anyone know what the offset of the steel 17” is?
    I want to run the highest profile I can to soften ruts and the overall ride in the winter

    Also 215/55/17 is considerably cheaper than 205/55/17
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 1, 2020
    lenniejames, via an iPhone, Oct 1, 2020
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  18. Easter Bunny

    Easter Bunny Professional Engineer Motorhead Platinum Member

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    You want to run the same offset as the stock wheel
     
    Easter Bunny, via a mobile device, Oct 1, 2020
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  19. Sho

    Sho Silver Member

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    And stock wheel be +52
     
    Sho, via a mobile device, Oct 1, 2020
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  20. lenniejames

    lenniejames Greenie Member

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    So your steel wheels were +52 aswell?
     
    lenniejames, via an iPhone, Oct 3, 2020
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