Owner reviews for tires

See also: reddit.com/r/mazda3 - they seem to recommend the Bridgestone Blizzaks.

Continental Extreme Winter Contacts!! from Ottawatiresdirect

I bought [Toyo Observe GSi5](http://www.toyotires.ca/tire/pattern/observe-gsi5) for my car, I've no problems with them after three winters, driven country roads without slippage either.

Bridgestone blizzak ws80 or Michelin X-ice3.

I had P7s(17\") installed on my 2013 SEL 4 weeks ago and the difference with the crappy Hankooks is night and day...quieter,braking and handling are transformed.

I went by the specs and got 225/40/18. They fit well and have a much wider tread and overall look than the stock Pirelli P7s I replaced.

I live in Maine... as you can expect we get plenty of snow/ice. Never needed studded tires unless I was driving on a giant sheet of ice i.e. frozen lake. I run General Altimax Arctics on my 4Motion Passat, about $80/tire in 16" sizes.

I'd definitely recommend paying the little extra for the Michelins.

Because in general the 512 sucks as tire, the 912 is good but wears out fast, and I've had the best experience with the 452 out of all three models

My Pirellis got very noisy at 20K and were badly cupped by 30K. I wouldn't recommend replacing them with another set of the same tire.