[Lars Honeytoast]

I don’t get why Mazda3, intended to be among the sportiests cars in its segment, 60 series tires! Sure, they will soak up bumps better, but the 3 isn’t meant to be a cruiser.

Would it be okay to put 55 series tires on when I replace the stock ones? Anyone else done this? Do they look awkwardy small in the wheel well?

 

[arathol]

I don’t get why Mazda3, intended to be among the sportiests cars in its segment, 60 series tires! Sure, they will soak up bumps better, but the 3 isn’t meant to be a cruiser.

Would it be okay to put 55 series tires on when I replace the stock ones? Anyone else done this? Do they look awkwardy small in the wheel well?

At the end of the day, its still an econobox. Its about cost savings. The lower end trims have 16" rims (steelies for the fleet or lowest end cars) with 60 series tires, the higher end cars have 18" rims with 45 series tires.
I saw one a couple days ago with 16" alloys and what looked like 50 series tires. They looked far too small.

 

[Stewie]

I don’t get why Mazda3, intended to be among the sportiests cars in its segment, 60 series tires! Sure, they will soak up bumps better, but the 3 isn’t meant to be a cruiser.

Would it be okay to put 55 series tires on when I replace the stock ones? Anyone else done this? Do they look awkwardy small in the wheel well?

Depends what model you got but at the end of the day you can always replace them with whatever you want within specs.

All of the gen 3 can take up to 245/40R18 without rolling which is what the IGT uses.

 

[Lars Honeytoast]

Well I just got my 2014 M3 2 weeks ago, the tires still have plenty of life in them, tho I’m expecting them to wear out faster due being much more fun in back roads than the Kia Forte I had before. I don’t want to end up spending money on a new set of bigger rims, but I figured when I replace the tires, I’d put 55 series tires on it instead of 60’s, in hopes of handling that will be a bit tighter. I understand this may slightly affect the speedometer by 1 or 2 MPH, but other than that, will 55’s be doable on these rims?

I’ve never modified anything on a vehicle, nor even done an oil change, so yes I admit I’m largely clueless about many aspects about vehicle mechanics.

 

[ADarkerBreed]

55s would be OK, however the biggest downfall to the stock 16" tires is their economy bend, mine came with Bridgestone Ecopias that sapped a lot of fun out of the car. The stockers are meant to achieve that crazy 30 City/41 Hwy MPGs. Replaced them with Falken Ziex950 A/S and had a world of difference even at the same 60 sidewall ratio.

 

[Lars Honeytoast]

Thanks, my current ones are low rolling resistance tires, too. I may just try stickier tires instead of ones with a shorter sidewall. I’m afraid of having to large a gap between the tire and wheel well, will leave the car looking funny. Which may very well be why Mazda went with 60 series tires.

The Mazda is on a whole other level compared to my 2014 Kia Forte, though. The only thing the Forte was comfortable doing was driving in a straight line. And even, potholes and uneven pavement pushed the Forte around much more than my 3. I’ve never driven a BMW, but I think of the Mazda3 as a front wheel drive, Japanese BMW 3 series, from what I gather from reviews I’ve read on the BMW.