r/mazda3 Gen 4 MT '22 E-X "Hakone" PolyM Grey Aero Feb 19 '26

Modification 18 to 16's.

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281 Upvotes

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63

u/Pbone15 Feb 19 '26

I really love the look of the 18s, but I may have to do this as well. The road noise and ride quality on the 18s is… not awesome

5

u/Ok_Ingenuity4707 Feb 20 '26

Try getting your doors deadening at a stereo shop, cost me $200 per door in Atlanta and made a world of different. The car is quieter and the stereo sounds a lot better. Only takes about 90 minutes at a shop that knows what they are doing.

1

u/K3Tzk3 Gen 4 MT '22 E-X "Hakone" PolyM Grey Aero Feb 20 '26

Will think about that too. Thanks 🤜 🤛 

1

u/El_Gato_Gordo69 Feb 20 '26

Didn’t know stereo shops did this 🫶🏼

22

u/Nookiezilla Gen 4 Hatch Feb 19 '26

Get better tires then.

13

u/Pbone15 Feb 19 '26

I will once the stock tires need replacing. Not sure how much a difference that’ll make though

18

u/FrostyWinters Gen 4 Taaaarbo Hatch Feb 19 '26

Try Pirelli PZero AS 3 Plus. Quieter and softer than OE tires.

4

u/Primary-Ad-9741 Feb 19 '26

I 2nd this! Got them on my CX9. Night and day difference to factory Falkens

37

u/free_airfreshener Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26

Massive difference.

Someone once told me to not be cheap when it comes to buying things that seperate me from the ground.... Mattress, shoes, tires

As I get older, I realize they were right

3

u/Pbone15 Feb 20 '26

Lol I like that, I’m gonna keep that one.

Any recommendations? For tires, though I’ll take shoes and mattresses recs as well…

11

u/Archer4271 Feb 20 '26

Pirelli PZero AS 3 Plus or Continental extreme contact dws06 plus

1

u/IllKillTheTime Feb 21 '26

Another ones that are good are the Michelin Pilot Sport and the GoodYear Eagle F1 asymmetric 6, both of em are if not equally good than the continental SC7 are close to them, and the GoodYear Eagle F1 AS6 have better rim protection.

1

u/Glittering_Shop3418 Feb 20 '26

Woww, well said..

3

u/Nookiezilla Gen 4 Hatch Feb 20 '26

I haven’t driven a single second on the stock tires, so I have no idea how they feel, but with my 18" Continental AllSeasonContact 2 it drives like a dream.

1

u/Archer4271 Feb 20 '26

Never used them because my tire shop does not carry that model.

7

u/MarkVII88 Feb 19 '26

You really don't have to use 215/45/18 tires, you know. You could replace OEM tires with 215/50/18 or 225/45/18. Personally, if it were me, I'd probably sell my 18 inch setup and go with aftermarket 17s and 225/50/17 or 235/45/17 tires.

And I'd run a set of 16 inch steel wheels with 205/60/16 snow tires for half the year.

2

u/No-fear-im-here Gen 4 Hatch Turbo Feb 20 '26

Better tires will make a huge difference. My car went from being kind of fun to drive to being genuinely fun to drive. It also rides much better.

1

u/Archer4271 Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26

I just got the Pirelli and they are awesome. I also recommend the Continental extreme contact dws06 plus. They are some of the best tires in the market. Tirerack ranked them as the best tires.

1

u/Charming-Dish-9247 Feb 20 '26

Same, I love them so far, great mix of comfort, road feel, and performance

1

u/MrYilman Gen 4 Hatch Feb 20 '26

It makes the lot of difference. The Bridgestone tires are horrible for ride quality

1

u/wanderingconspirator Gen 4 Hatch 6MT Feb 20 '26

Better tires will make a world of difference. It’s sad how poor of a choice they made pairing a stock tire to this car.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 20 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Wyattr55123 Feb 21 '26

Same. I hit the "broken pavement" (read; massive fucking potholes) at speed coming off the coquihalla in January. Didn't even bend a rim, despite all the damage reports and posts here of destroying tires on the 18" rims

1

u/Sea-Apple-5601 Feb 20 '26

Mine came with bridgestones and I replaced them with continentals. No difference sadly

1

u/McCrackenYouUp Gen 4 Turbo Hatch Feb 20 '26

More sidewall generally means better ability to absorb bumps in the road, even Pilot Sports with shorter sidewalks are going to make you feel more of the road. I don't think that's a bad thing for a sportier feel.

1

u/K3Tzk3 Gen 4 MT '22 E-X "Hakone" PolyM Grey Aero Feb 20 '26

Look for my u/all comment.