Mazda Mazda 3, 2.3 drivers have left 9 tyre reviews on Tyre Reviews, covering 68,366 miles of real world driving. Every tyre they rated is ranked below, so you can see what actually works on this car.
The best rated tyres that fit the Mazda Mazda 3, 2.3
The rankings above can only speak for tyres a Mazda Mazda 3, 2.3 driver has already reviewed. These are the highest rated tyres we hold that are actually manufactured in the sizes these drivers run - 205/50 R17 - whether or not anyone here has fitted them yet. They are ranked on the TR Score, which is built from independent test results and every owner review of that tyre.
Summer tyres
No Mazda Mazda 3, 2.3 driver has reviewed a tyre in the Summer category yet. Of the ones made in this car's sizes, the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 is our highest rated, at 9.7 out of 10.
Highest rated Summer tyres made in Mazda Mazda 3, 2.3 sizes
No Mazda Mazda 3, 2.3 driver has reviewed a tyre in the All Season category yet. Of the ones made in this car's sizes, the Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3 is our highest rated, at 9.6 out of 10.
Highest rated All Season tyres made in Mazda Mazda 3, 2.3 sizes
Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best All Season Tyres →Test winner: Goodyear Vector All Season 4
Winter tyres
No Mazda Mazda 3, 2.3 driver has reviewed a tyre in the Winter category yet. Of the ones made in this car's sizes, the Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3 is our highest rated, at 9.5 out of 10.
Highest rated Winter tyres made in Mazda Mazda 3, 2.3 sizes
Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best Winter Tyres →Test winner: Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3
Fitment comes from each tyre's manufactured size list, and the sizes are the ones drivers reported when they reviewed. Check the size, load index and speed rating on your own doorplate before buying - a size a previous owner ran is not always the size your car left the factory on.
Tyre sizes Mazda Mazda 3, 2.3 drivers run
The sizes fitted in the reviews on this page. Each one links to the top rated tyres in that size, across every car.
These tires have proven to be one of the best things I ever put on my car. I've had this Mazda 3 for many years and have kept its mechanical condition as close to perfect as possible, but the tire type has changed routinely depending on where I live and how I was doing financially - from cheap tires, to standard touring tires, studless snow tires, and these Pilot All Season tires. They are not the most comfortable tires nor the quietest, I'll say that - you'll get better and FAR quieter ride quality out of many other types of tire, but they also aren't inherently uncomfortable. The biggest annoyance factor you may take into consideration is the large amount of road noise.
The handling with these tires, however, is something I can only describe as magical - this may seem quite specific, but the initial turn-in when going around a curve, especially at speed, is considerably more responsive and provides you greater confidence than any other tire I've personally experienced. This also includes Pirelli's direct competitor, the P-Zero All Season. You feel absolutely everything in the road and have no trouble whatsoever determining your car's limits in more aggressive driving. Even in wet driving, that confidence largely remains intact - something I very much did not expect in a performance all season tire despite the 'all season' moniker.
Temperature plays a huge role however - when the outside air gets colder, the tires do not grip as well. Winter time here never fully reaches below freezing temperatures, but even so the tires would begin to noticeably feel less capable in low temps. These tires love heat and if your journeys are typically shorter, slower, or in colder climates, you may not be able to heat the tires properly to experience them as they should be felt. It can even reach the point of danger as I found out, as a project car I'm working on has some cheap budget tires on it and can come to a stop very quickly even in cold temperatures as the cheap all seasons on it do not require as much heat to effectively grip - meanwhile, the Pilots almost sent me into a car that decided to suddenly cross multiple lanes of traffic at slow speeds on a 50mph road when they could not grip during cold, dry weather braking.
The tires have also noticeably worn after around 10,000 miles. This hasn't affected their driving feel, but their specifications listing around a 40k+ mile tread life are flat out not true. I expect these to wear out and need replacement within another 10,000 miles or so, and the Pilots are quite pricey compared even to other similar tire types from competing brands. These tires should be seen as a treat for you as a driver and for your car - something that you will greatly enjoy, but not something you should expect to last a long time or be kind to your wallet.
Old tyre was Goodyear engle F1. Everything is great. On a budget now. Try this triangle sportex tyre
Half price of the Goodyear tyre. Driving for more than two years on this tyre no problem as yet. Open road country road. Rain or shine. It a ok tyre for the price. Not bad for a chep type. I don't think it will be any cheaper for longer. The quality is getting better than or the same as the top brand tyre.
They handle the way I expected them to on wet and dry roads. I have used triI angle tyres too
Not bad either considering what I paid. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.
So many people that have left reviews are using budget tyres on
Audi and BMW and complaing about the quality or comparing budget tires with
Pirelli P zeros..... if you want your car to run the way it supposed to
then spend the money. After all you did spend the extra money on Audi and BMW.
I bought these tyres instead of a full winter as I felt that an all-season better suited the UK's weather. After a few thousand miles on them I'm pretty much blown away. Certainly for my current car I can't really imagine buying anything else for the foreseeable future. These tyres are competitevely-priced, acceptably quiet, offer good grip in the dry and brilliant grip in the wet (serious effort is required to unstick them). The only downside I can even think of is slightly increased rolling resistance over my previous hoops and therefore slightly higher miles per gallon but seriously....you can't have everything. Perhaps the best compliment I can give these tyres is to say that since putting them on I've driven through a multitude of different road and weather conditions without even thinking about my tyres. They just seem to handle everything.
I had these fitted on four wheels for my Mazda3 MPS. First time I ever have under steer on a motorway bend... Fair enough the road was damp but it shouldn't drift off at 55-60 mph. Also, because of the low profile tyre(45)and the material was very firm. The car suffered horrendous road noise. I changed to Toyo Proxies and now I feel safe on the road. Anyone wanna buy my Accelera?
A very hard tyre and it feels it especially at low speed bumps/ridges. The toughness means its long lasting and great at high speeds. Wet weather grip and traction on even lightly damp roads is quite disappointing- i got wheel spin at 40mph! The road noise is also excessive at low speeds. Mazda fit these as standard and the driving experience is arguably ruined because of them; continental or kumho greatly improve wet weather grip, ride and refinement even though they wear out ever so slightly quicker.
I drive a mazda 3 200km a day, have put over 30 thousand k's on these tires so far with no complaints. They have only broke loose once in wet weather but then again I was not behaving. For those having issues I suggest you look at something other than the tires to blame.
Hard to compare against any other makes as this is all i've used on the car, but they seem fine to me, this site does need another review category for "ice and snow" which is probably the only conditions where they don't grip very well, they are summer tyres though.
I had to buy new front tyres yesterday [late July 2010] to pass NZ's requirements [wof]. Uneven wear on the inside [which one can't really see ], I couldn't find anything online of any substantial use on the brand I was offered which is Maxxis.Therefore I am offering this info as a 1 hour user!
Mazda 3 , 2.3 has a road noise problem and apparently a 'scalloping problem' on tyres. I haven't had a wheel alignment done for at least a year [my car is 2005]. Reports are Mazda 3s are hard on tyres.
My previous tyres were from new supplied by dealer Bridgestone Potanza [spelling may be wrong] 250 x 50 x R17. I have done 36, 000 kms mostly suburban but maybe 20% on Auckland's motorways which are a mixture of smooth and horrible cheap rough stoney chip surface. The latter surface creates a lot of road noise which I never noticed in my previous car [much beloved Honda Civic GTI].
So far I cannot report on road noise but I instantly noticed that these tyres make the car so much more manoevreable - I can now get into supermarket/public car parks dead straight whereas before I was always parking on an embarrassingly amateurish angle.
The other advice I was offered is - inflate tyres to around 36 psi not 32 as per the Mazda manual. Get them aligned every 6 months or so - at least once a year. Some tyre suppliers offer a 6 month check for free. That way you will save a lot of money. My 2 front tyres were $215 each with alignment extra. Some suppliers offer alignment free and check ups free but they had not offered Maxxis tyres - Bridgestone and Toyo. If I had realized the alignment and Mazda wear and tear were such a problem the original tyres would have lasted another 2 years.
Drive a Mazda Mazda 3, 2.3?
Review your tyres and help the next owner choose. It takes about five minutes, and every review on this page came from a driver who took them.
Every rating on this page was submitted by a driver through the review form on this site, naming the car, the tyre, the size and the distance covered. Reviews are checked by hand before publication, and the page rebuilds automatically as new ones arrive.
About the TR Score
The Tyre Reviews Score rates each tyre out of 10 using independent test results and the full body of owner reviews, so you can check a car-specific ranking against the wider evidence.