[zoomydu]

In our 11 year old 3s Touring hatch we have Mazda's all-weather floor mats and I purchased a custom made dead pedal. It appears that Mazda STILL doesn't build the 3 with a dead pedal.

So I'm considering purchasing Weather Tech's floor liners for our next 3, which will kill 2 birds with one stone -- look like they'll collect all of the crap that comes off of our shoes in the Winter and protect the carpeted foot well area where a dead pedal SHOULD be. Are they as highly recommended as other Weather Tech items? I don't think I know anyone with the floor liners, just all-weather floor mats and cargo liners.

 

[laoshun78]

I have these in my M3. Super helpful because you do not have to tap your shoes while getting into your car during winter. When the mats get dirty with mud or dirt just keep in mind that its harder to restore it to "like new" if that matters to you at all.

 

[AxelaBm]

I have the same thing. Highly recommended. It's in the thin side but sturdy enough. Rarely anything escape the weather tech liner. If it get wet it'll naturally dry up....... in the liner.

 

[Axela12]

I have factory rubber floor mats in my M3 and I love them. As others have said, it's great to not have to clap your feet when getting in or out when walking in muddy or snowy grounds. I've thought about getting Weather Tech floor mats in the future if I can find them at a really cheap price.

 

[zoomydu]

I have the same thing. Highly recommended. It's in the thin side but sturdy enough. Rarely anything escape the weather tech liner. If it get wet it'll naturally dry up....... in the liner.

Glad to hear someone has them and likes them. Our VW has the Weather Tech all-season floormats and we really like them, but with that lack of a dead pedal the liners make more sense.

 

[da_jokker]

I just saw this for the first time based on a suggestion from someone on another topic. Love them and would buy them in an instant if I wasn't getting the OEM all weathers on VW's dime.

Maybe I should sell the new OEM's and buy the weathertechs instead

 

[zoomydu]

Love them and would buy them in an instant if I wasn't getting the OEM all weathers on VW's dime.

$500 Dieselgate dealership card? We used ours to buy new tires for our 11 year old Mazda 3. They were nice to let us do that, so we plan to buy our new 3 from them in another month or two.

 

[Studum]

From someone who's owned both.

Weathertechs are great for ultimate protection. But they're harder and less forgiving under the feet. They can also warp slightly over time.

The OEM premium liners are softer / more luxurious / more natural under the feet while still providing excellent protection. However, they're more expensive and the channels built into them are not as deep / as forgiving as the weathertech's.

You're 3rd option are "3D Maxpider" or "Aries 3D" mats. These are essentially the same fit and finish as the OEM liners, but without the OEM branding and without the water channels.

My experience:

Had Weathertech's in my 2nd gen 3, and looked at them for my new one.

Have the Maxpider mats in my wife's car - where I first learned that these were unbranded OEMs. I went with these at the time because the OEMS were double the cost for her car.

Have the OEM premium liners in the front row of my new 3. Have the Maxpider second row on order hopefully arriving soon. I bought the front row OEM mats second hand and they didn't have the 2nd row. I don't care about the branding so saved the coin on the OEM and got the Maxpider for the rarely used rears in my car.

Only thing to note is the color. When clean the Maxpiders are black. The OEM premium liners are sort of a charcoal dark grey. Weathertech's are black until they age / get stained. All of them clean up well enough with all purpose cleaner and a hose.

If you work in construction or are climbing in and out of the car with big boots or dirty / muddy / rocky shoes all the time get the weather techs.

If you just daily drive and all you have are regular shoes / boots with muck from sidewalks and parking lots you may be just as happy or happier with the softer feel of the OEM liners or Maxpiders.

 

[Road Trip]

Much prefer the Findway floor liners to how Weathertech's look (Model F518 Style D). Finway's look like carpet yet clean up with a brush or a vacuum, or if trashed with a hose so easily when you want. And at $99.98 (Canadian) for a complete front and rear set, a great price. And they too have "up molded" side edges. Have them now in my WRX and despite being tested with snow, ice and temps in the teens already this winter, holding up great. Have seen others' post who have run them for three to five winters in northern Canada and they still say they look real good. Going to put Findway's into my Mazda 3 hatch. While temp out of stock, just called them and they said they will have them back mid-Feb. Will wait and order them then.

And as to @Studum's comment that if you work in construction (or similar) with muddy boots, he is "spot on," and I too would be getting Weathertech's if that is what my car would be experiencing.

 

[da_jokker]

$500 Dieselgate dealership card? We used ours to buy new tires for our 11 year old Mazda 3. They were nice to let us do that, so we plan to buy our new 3 from them in another month or two.

That would be it! I have to drive 150 miles but there is a dealer that is both a Mazda and a VW. So about 6 months ago I went up there and dropped my first $300 on a new Mazda Battery (for my older CX-5), and I bought a crap load of OEM Oil filters since both my CX-5 and my new 3 use the same ones.

Now I'm blowing my last $200 on the All Weather floor mats and the all-weather trunk liner ... once the back order is over (which reminds me I should call them)

 

[zoomydu]

I have to drive 150 miles but there is a dealer that is both a Mazda and a VW.

We're lucky -- our nearest VW/Mazda dealer is only about 30 min. away. Really nice business, too.

 

[zoomydu]

If you just daily drive and all you have are regular shoes / boots with muck from sidewalks and parking lots you may be just as happy or happier with the softer feel of the OEM liners or Maxpiders.

The Maxpider ones look really nice. I'm going to look into these a bit more. Reviews on Amazon look good, too. They have a liner style that looks similar to the Weather Techs, but without the rubbery surface. As long as I could still hose road salt off, they'd probably be perfect.

 

[Bishamon]

I have the WeatherTech liners in my 3 and I love them. I have also had them in two of my previous three cars, and I would have had them in the third but they were not available. They were the first thing I installed when I bought my 3 last year. They are expensive, but worth the investment. I also purchased the rear set, which I have not done before; they are a slightly softer material from the font liners, but still seem very durable.

 

[Studum]

The Maxpider ones look really nice. I'm going to look into these a bit more. Reviews on Amazon look good, too. They have a liner style that looks similar to the Weather Techs, but without the rubbery surface. As long as I could still hose road salt off, they'd probably be perfect.

Taking them out and hosing them down isn't an issue. The set in my wife's car is 2 + years old now and they're holding up well. The salt doesn't just rinse away though, I do find I need to use a cleaner, usually simple green or similar, with a brush in the spring. However the Weathertech's needed the same so it wasn't really any different between the 2 sets.

I forgot about the other thing that I like about the OEM / Maxpider over the Weathertech's. The bottom of the Weathertech's I had were perfectly smooth. They had holes in them for the OEM mat anchors but they still shifted around ever so slightly which drove me a bit mad. I'm not sure if they've added any spikes to the newer models or not to help stop this.

But the Maxpider / OEM liners have a textured back, almost like velcro. Those things don't shift one bit once they're in place but they are still easy to install and remove.