Weighing 19” tire options for Mazda 6

T

t1snwrbrdr12

Joined
Feb 28, 2015
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746
Location
MD
I have 225/45r19s.

Stock Dunlop sp sport something or others lasted about 41k.

2nd set was (is) Continental dws06 (non-plus).

Up until the last year or so, they have been quiet enough and comfortable enough. They did surprise me how they’ve gotten noisier with age and no abnormal wear at all. I rotate every 5k and as stated, no abnormal wear at all. Certainly not as comfortable as a typical taller sidewall-ed tire, but not sure it gets much better given a low-ish profile. I’m in maryland, the little bit of snow we get, these did not handle well (and I believe the only time I encountered snow with these tires was in their first season so tread depth was still healthy).

Considering:

-Continental dws06 plus

-Michelin pilot sport all season 4 (a bit rich for me, but the wrong tire can ruin a car for the life of the tire, so I may bite my tongue and splurge) (seem to be a lot of bad reviews stating noisy and hard to balance, which I find hard to believe with Michelin?!)

-Vredestein hypertrac (no experience at all with this brand, only things I read that worry me are noise. The tires don’t look like a noisy pattern at all, but reviews note noise a lot)

-General gmax 05 (if I can still find them) (07s are out now and not reviewed. Tread looks more directional now, but description still states asymmetrical)

-Kumho ecsta lx platinum (experience with these in the past on customers cars, not my own, we’re that they were relatively noisy)

And advice, other recommendations, personal experiences with any of these?

Thanks!
 
Michelin pilot sport all season 4. You'll love them.
I have them on my Mazda3 GT. You get what you pay for. I've had the the DWS06 plus and always had a vibration for the first four or five miles which was very annoying after being parked inside overnight. This occurred with other cars I had hem on.
No flat spotting and smooth as silk. They handle excellent in the dry and wet. Not the best in snow traction.
 
There's a few things you never want to cheap out on... like toiler paper and tires. Cheaping out like that will leave you dealing with sh*t you don't want to deal with.

I second the PS AS4. From what I've read from every review, it's a great improvement on the AS3+ in virtually all aspects (slight dry, slight wet, much better snow), which I had previously and loved; I only switched to CrossClimate 2 because I don't to deal with winter tire swapping and no room for wheels at the moment. They were great with handling and noise and ran close to 52k miles (think they were rated for 45k) at 4/32 left, but winter was coming up so I opted to get new tires.
 
The Kumhos are likely much cheaper than the other choices, so get those. You can't beat that price at Walmart :)

If you like General, it's probably worth getting the new AS-07 rather than old 05.

If ride quality is a concern, Tire Rack says you can safely step down to 17" tires and tires of the size 225/55-17. You can buy a pre-mounted tire and wheel package ready to bolt on :)
 
I have absolutely loved my Vredestein Quatrac 5s. They last much longer (minus the half-wear 3PMS wear out) than their 40k rating, and have remained far quieter even as they wear than their traction abilities would suggest. No clue on Vredestein's newer, non-AW rated tires, but I would probably gamble.

The DWS06/Plus has a long, proven track record of overall excellence, plus noise. Especially on a Mazda.

The LX Plat is a VERY old design that had many loyal customers, with many excellent qualities. I'm guessing Kumho put it back into production in a limited number of sizes, because it was phased out around 2014-2015 to my knowledge.

My pick of the above would be the General. Near-DWS level overall quality, seem to remain fairly quiet, a good chunk cheaper, proven tire from a proven manufacturer.

Pilot Sports are a mix of fantastic, long-lasting, quiet, and impossible to balance, 15k wear-out, massive noise, depending on seemingly plant, day of manufacture, moon phase during manufacture, what type of tea the plant security guard had on the day of manufacture... Michelin quality is and always has been inexplicably spotty.
 
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Additional: I would heavily consider the Quatrac Pro from Vredestein based on it being an older product and less performance-inspired and more traction-intensive. No clue on noise other than excellent Tire Rack ratings in most categories.

The Yokohama Advan Sport A/S+ is also an extremely solid pick. I'm not sure they're necessarily better than some of the other options, but they are an older, proven product that can be found with deals and doesn't give a thing up in any category. The older non-Plus had weaker sidewalls and readily bubbled from impacts, but that was fixed for the circa-2018 update to A/S+
 
t1snwrbrdr12 said:
I have 225/45r19s.

Stock Dunlop sp sport something or others lasted about 41k.

2nd set was (is) Continental dws06 (non-plus).

Up until the last year or so, they have been quiet enough and comfortable enough. They did surprise me how they’ve gotten noisier with age and no abnormal wear at all. I rotate every 5k and as stated, no abnormal wear at all. Certainly not as comfortable as a typical taller sidewall-ed tire, but not sure it gets much better given a low-ish profile. I’m in maryland, the little bit of snow we get, these did not handle well (and I believe the only time I encountered snow with these tires was in their first season so tread depth was still healthy).

Considering:

-Continental dws06 plus

-Michelin pilot sport all season 4 (a bit rich for me, but the wrong tire can ruin a car for the life of the tire, so I may bite my tongue and splurge) (seem to be a lot of bad reviews stating noisy and hard to balance, which I find hard to believe with Michelin?!)

-Vredestein hypertrac (no experience at all with this brand, only things I read that worry me are noise. The tires don’t look like a noisy pattern at all, but reviews note noise a lot)

-General gmax 05 (if I can still find them) (07s are out now and not reviewed. Tread looks more directional now, but description still states asymmetrical)

-Kumho ecsta lx platinum (experience with these in the past on customers cars, not my own, we’re that they were relatively noisy)

And advice, other recommendations, personal experiences with any of these?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I have option 2 on my LS430 and love them. They likely won't last as long as some of the others but are great tires. In 2022 when I bought them, they were almost $100 cheaper than the other options so I thought, Corvette base tire, cheaper, that's the one I want.
 
KalapanaBlack said:
The LX Plat is a VERY old design that had many loyal customers, with many excellent qualities. I'm guessing Kumho put it back into production in a limited number of sizes, because it was phased out around 2014-2015 to my knowledge.
Click to expand...

The LX Platinum is now a Walmart-exclusive tire. This practice is common, where they use old tire designs as private labels/store-exclusive tires or other cheaper brands.
 
slacktide_bitog said:
The LX Platinum is now a Walmart-exclusive tire. This practice is common, where they use old tire designs as private labels/store-exclusive tires or other cheaper brands.
Click to expand...
I've seen that many times, the Kumho and Hankook "Mavis Traction" tires are old designs, as was the Sears-exclusive Diehard (made by Kumho). Mostly their antiquated OE tires.

I don't think I've ever seen a tire that was out of production for nearly a decade being brought back, though. The last year or so of LX Plat production, the molds were getting pretty worn and weren't clearly stamping the DOT codes as well as previous. Also, I wonder if it will really be the same tire, or just a reuse of the molds with cheaper materials. It was their flagship in its former life. Now, as a WM exclusive club tire... Who knows.
 
If I narrowed it down to Continental extreme contact dws06+, pilot sport as, but added in primacy touring as…would that shift any opinions?

Primacy are cheaper. I don’t drive this car hard, it’s my beater. I know the pilots are better suited to a low profile wheel combo but this is a commuter. I value quiet and longevity more.

Continentals will be about 900 installed. Possibility of about $100 or whatever rebate they offer in November.

Primacy’s about 890 I think if I remember right.

Pilot sports about 936
 
I have the Continental tire on my 2018 6 and they are great tires, quiet and handle well. Cornering is pretty great and they are wearing well, easily surpass the mileage warranty. Quiet tires as well.
 
texdogs said:
I have the Continental tire on my 2018 6 and they are great tires, quiet and handle well. Cornering is pretty great and they are wearing well, easily surpass the mileage warranty. Quiet tires as well.
Click to expand...
I have continentals now, at about 45k and 2/32” remain or so (on wear indicators awhile now and only “D” symbols shows). They’ve sucked in the rain for the last few thousand miles and have been noisy awhile despite 5k rotation intervals, no abnormal wear. I drove in a couple inches of snow when I first got them and that was scary as well even new. While we don’t get snow much in MD, I’m exploring other options due to all that. Not a horrible tire, and may not be much else better in this funky size, but still exploring.
 
I went on TR to look for good options for your 2017 Mazda6, and it seems like you can even go down to 16 inch wheels :D
Strangely, the 16" wheel options show up now, but they didn't show up last month when I wrote my earlier reply :unsure:

The Radius W102 and Toyo Extensa AS II tires in the size 225/60-16 cost $1039 for the package, with the wheels pre-mounted on the tires. The Toyo Extensa AS II has a 75k warranty. That's not that much more than just the tires for the OE 19" size! In addition, you will get a much better ride :)

The Goodyear Weatherready is close to the same price after a $100 rebate. They have a 60k warranty. The Cooper Endeavor has a 70k warranty.

Radius wheels are made in Italy.

The fact that your car has indirect TPMS makes the economics of new wheels better than it would otherwise be (since you don't have to spend an extra $200 on new sensors).
 
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TCL said:
.....I've had the the DWS06 plus and always had a vibration for the first four or five miles which was very annoying after being parked inside overnight. This occurred with other cars I had hem on....
Click to expand...
I was thinking of buying a set of them next year, in size 215/45R17, but flat spotting after only 14 hours of parking is a deal killer for me.

Continental says this about flat spotting:
Once you’ve stopped and parked your car, however, the contact patch of the tire can flatten slightly where it is in contact with the ground as the tires cool down. It’s especially likely to occur when the tires experience a dramatic swing in ambient temperatures, the car is parked overnight in cold temperatures, or the vehicle is in storage for a long time. Another factor is tire pressure, and whether the tires are underinflated or overloaded.

There are two types of flat-spotting: temporary and semi-permanent. The severity of a tire flat spot will depend on factors like size, load, internal structure, the ambient temperature, and the amount of time it is stationary.

In the majority of cases, flat-spotting is temporary. If a vehicle has been stationary for a few days or weeks – for example, if you’ve been away on vacation and parked the car at the airport – drivers may experience some slight vibrations during the first few miles of their journey. The flat spots will disappear once the tires have reached their operational temperature and regained their normal shape.

Semi-permanent flat-spotting will occur if the tires have been standing still under vehicle load for a month or longer. A typical situation where this can happen is if you’re storing your vehicle away for the winter months, or if it’s being transported overseas. The long standing times, especially in tandem with high temperatures and low tire pressure, can result in more severe flat-spotting that normal driving won’t remedy.
Click to expand...

Flat-spotting

Flat-spotting occurs when a tire has been stationary under vehicle load for a prolonged period. Let’s explore the causes, plus tips on how to prevent it.
www.continental-tires.com www.continental-tires.com
 
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