[AF_mike]

Do you think you will need to put winter tires on your Mazda 2?

What kind of winter tires do you recommend?

 

[mazda2-guy]

It always a good idea to put winter tires on any car. Especially if you get a decent amount of snow and ice in your area. All-seasons just wont cut it. Anything colder than 7 degrees celsius all- season tires start losing traction. Having said that I would highly recommend either Bridgestone Blizzaks or Michellin X-Ice. They're not the cheapest but definitely not the most expensive either and both provide an excellent amount of grip in deep snow and are fairly decent on ice.

 

[MazdaLove]

Is it true that you should always stay with the same size as the factory wheel size for winter tires? I know if I go an inch smaller in tire size I can save some money.

 

[car_crazy]

when you say wheel are you referring to just the rim, the tire, or both? i wouldnt recommend going with a rim size smaller than the stock size. however going with a smaller tire is better for winter. the smaller/narrower the tire is the easier it will grip in snow.

 

[Number2]

I am gonna just keep the all seasons it came with for this year and see how it goes. I suspect if I get stuck me and another person can push it out real easy

 

[mazda2-guy]

It's not really about getting stuck or not since that one is usually not a big problem. Its more about being able to stop safely and also maintaining grip while cornering. Since both of those can turn into a dangerous situation pretty quickly.

 

[inline4_driver]

It's not really about getting stuck or not since that one is usually not a big problem. Its more about being able to stop safely and also maintaining grip while cornering. Since both of those can turn into a dangerous situation pretty quickly.

I know exactly what you mean. I had one too many close calls driving in the winter time and I drive very safe when there's snow or black ice. I don't mind getting stuck since I can usually get out of those with a little bit of work. But not being able to control the car properly and getting into an accident is pretty bad.

 

[MazdaLove]

when you say wheel are you referring to just the rim, the tire, or both? i wouldnt recommend going with a rim size smaller than the stock size. however going with a smaller tire is better for winter. the smaller/narrower the tire is the easier it will grip in snow.

Same stock rim, just meant a different tire size.

 

[mazda2-guy]

Same stock rim, just meant a different tire size.

In that case, its perfectly fine to go with smaller tire. Just make sure its not too small or you might have clearance issues especially if its deep snow. Don't go with anything more than 10mm smaller sidewall or width on the new tire.

 

[JOEMAMA]

I just picked up a set of Michelin X-Ice Xi2 winter tires (same size as stock). There were some complications will the steel rims though. The tire shop tired two different styles of 15" steelies and they weren't even close to clearing the caliper. So, I ended up getting a set of aluminum rims. The setup looks great and will hopefully perform well in the winter!