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Noob to a Mazda

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escort1991

New Member
Just wanted to hop in here and introduce myself. Name's Mark, living in St.Paul. Just picked up an 04 Mazda3 hatch, 5spd, tint, aftermarket HID headlights, a little over a week ago.

Been looking around for some info on the cars and also some wheels, due to the car having winter tires on it when I bought it. I'm just too poor to buy some nice wheels and tires at the moment. Have been looking at used MS3, MS6 wheels/tires. Not much around.

Anyway, getting a little long for the intro.

Mark
 
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1Kris06

1Kris06

MAD LIGHTS YO
Welcome.

If you can't afford new wheels/tires, maybe pulling the winter tires of and putting on summer/all seasons is your best bet at the moment.
 
mndsm

mndsm

I'M OFFENDED!
Welcome sir. The nice thing is the mz3 shares a bolt pattern with the subaru line as well, so keep an eye out for 05+ subaru wheels.
 
mndsm

mndsm

I'M OFFENDED!
Additionally, MSP wheels can be had cheap from time to time and are pretty trick. Most anything sold in a 17" wheels you find on CL with a 5x114.3 bolt pattern will fit.

As far as winter/summer vs. all season- stick with the winters. Those will save your ass more times than I care to think about. Also- then you can get super ballin summer tires.
 
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escort1991

New Member
Thanks all. As of right now, the main concern are being able to take the winter tires off when the time is right. The next 6 months, I will drive about 80% of the miles I put on in the year(having 3 jobs takes it toll). The winter tires on the car right now are the Icebear W300, if I remember correctly. They get mixed reviews, but definitely an improvement over my old all seasons on my focus.

If I have to drop the money on new tires, I have to drop the money on new tires. Just figure over time, I will save money and time by having 2 sets(summer/winter) of wheels and tires vs swapping sets twice a year with the same wheels.

I would love to find MS3/6 wheels and tires for a reasonable price local. Anyone know any local shop or anything that might be of service for either wheels or tires?

Lastly, thanks for all the recommendations thus far. Appreciate it.
 
ohsixspeedsix

ohsixspeedsix

Owl Exterminator!!
Welcome! Good to see noobies getting in and active.
My first place to look would be discount tire. Sometimes they have great deals on wheel/tire combos. I'd sell you my ms6 stuff if I could afford new ones lol.
 
mndsm

mndsm

I'M OFFENDED!
Tires new- I go with Discount Tire. Tires slightly used/maybe new- check out Tirezoo in Bloomington. Cheap as hell.
 
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escort1991

New Member
Discount Tire was the first place I was going to go.

I will have to look into Tirezoo.

I suppose I could buy some wheels with TPMS and sell the sensors to fund the tires since I don't have TPMS. lol
 
M

MazdaMINI

Guest
Tirezoo sells new tires and are a local company in Bloomington. The guys there are awesome and usually will cut you a deal. I would recommend them highly for new or used tires!!!

also welcome:) I am mndsm's wifey
 
YSOSLO

YSOSLO

is the word, beotch
Welcome to the crew! Looking forward to seeing your ride in pics or in person sometime this year.
 
mndsm

mndsm

I'M OFFENDED!
So 3 jobs, really? How you gonna have 3 jobs and no money? I kid of course.... but yeah. It's a great platform to start with. I had a regular non turbo hatch before my ms3. I still think I shoulda made the wife buy that car from me.
 
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escort1991

New Member
mndsm said:
So 3 jobs, really? How you gonna have 3 jobs and no money? I kid of course.... but yeah. It's a great platform to start with. I had a regular non turbo hatch before my ms3. I still think I shoulda made the wife buy that car from me.
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That's a damn good question. Been wondering about that also. Its actually a combination of a few things: private school loans, all 3 jobs do not equal 1 ok job, and mistakes made in the past I'm still recovering from.

The Mazda is a release.
 
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escort1991

New Member
After doing research, looks, or more sounds, like I will need some new suspension on my right side. It's developed some clunking on both right front and right rear. Hopefully will take it into a tech this weekend or next. So, wheels/tires and finishing my motorcycle project will be on hold til this gets sorted.
 
mndsm

mndsm

I'M OFFENDED!
Clunking could be as simple as bad endlinks. They're sort of a notorious weak spot with these cars. Thankfully, they're dirt cheap. And if you don't intend on ever doing a sway bar, they're like 30$ a side or some number like that. I know the last time we did suspenders on a car we just cut the endlinks off, because that was easier and the cost was negligible. Could also be shocks and struts- fortunately OE ones are equally dirt cheap. Guess it depends on how far you want to take the car.
 
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escort1991

New Member
mndsm said:
Clunking could be as simple as bad endlinks. They're sort of a notorious weak spot with these cars. Thankfully, they're dirt cheap. And if you don't intend on ever doing a sway bar, they're like 30$ a side or some number like that. I know the last time we did suspenders on a car we just cut the endlinks off, because that was easier and the cost was negligible. Could also be shocks and struts- fortunately OE ones are equally dirt cheap. Guess it depends on how far you want to take the car.
Click to expand...
The end links have been notorious for my Escort, my Contour, my Focus and now you're telling me the 3. hmmmmmm....pattern? maybe/maybe not.

dmention7 said:
Clunks could also be strut bushings, depending on how and when it clunks and what it sounds like.
Click to expand...
I'll just have to take it to a tech and see what they say. Doesn't seem to affect the handling and it's just annoying.
 
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