Ok....so I went to bad last night with the temperature above zero...not too high above, but enough that it was RAIN falling. So I wake up this morning and see that my false sense of spring has been blasted away with a bitch slap from old man winter. Now I need to know where I can get snow tires AND rims in the GTA for a good price. Costco tried to rape me, and Canadian Tire....well....I might aswell deal with a bunch of....anyways...yeah, so I need some advise, tips, a location, directions, maybe a phone number...even a website.

I thank everyone in advance for their help, tips, advice, etc....

2005 Brilliant Black RX8 GT

 

www.tiretrends.com

They're in BC - they ship Canadian. Decent selection, and quite competent; you'll have better luck in the GTA area if you need it soon, but paradoxically, the selection in BC might be better.

 

I took a different approach than most everybody here. I went to the industrial sectuion of town and ordered my tires from a shop that sells tires for large (semi) trucks. They were cheaper than any of the online tire shops and I didn;t have to pay freight.

 

So far this snow tire season, I have seen everything from someone just selling 2 rear snow tires for a RX-8 to a Mazdaspeed Protege with 195/55/15's on it,( only 1 1/2 inches smaller in diameter than stock!) to a Mazda 3 whos tires hit the fenders over every bump. I guess it should boil down to the fact of paying a little more for a professional who know what to sell and how to install it. Cheaper is not always better and sometimes out and out dangerous. I am the G.M. at Scarboro Mazda, we or any other Mazda dealer can provide you with a proper 17" alloy wheel and a premium snow tire. We may not always be the cheapest, but we stand behind what we sell and will not compromise your safety. This time of year we are almost out of everything for winter, I believe we have one set of 17" alloys and could possibly get a set of Blizzaks or Toyo's. PM me if your interested!

 

or you can get the same accurate information in the wheels and tire thread and shop the price around....and sorry if I take issue with this but at many dealerships the guy changing the tires is a grunt and usually the least experienced person in the shop. At a tire shop, all they do generally is tires so I have more trust in them. In addition there are so many national chains that you can get a warranty that is valid from cost to coast.


I don't know about your dealership in particular but if you've been on this board long enough you will have read some of the horror stories from many people here about the service they have received at Mazda dealerships.

 

I had good experience with Tiretrends.com
Price including shipping was the same as buying here with mounting and tax.
If you buy wheels and tires as a package they include road force balancing which works very well.

 

Talon Tire in Montreal put a great set together for a group of owners - they know exactly what is needed! I got good cheap 17" alloys (that fit!) with Toyo Garit rubber for less than I could buy in Alberta!

S

...another tip might be "don't wait until your car is frozen to the pavement, to find a tire deal!"

 

Another suggestion (goes along with what rotten mentioned about grunts) is that if you know how to change tires, do them yourself. Obviously get them mounted and balanced by the dealer/tireshop/etc but install them yourself. That way you know that your lugnuts are torqued down properly (and not at like 1289psi with an air gun).

both tire trends and talon tires are great for rims and tires. I personally bought from a local tire shop that we have been going to for a LONG time so I was able to get a bit of discount (no freight) and bought rims through my local dealership. Mounted by dealer and installed by myself.

 

Spring ??? It's January!! You weren't expecting any more snow this year??

 

Dude, c'mon....you're right it IS January...but with this weather and snow..rather lack thereof....I'm pretty sure February will hold out on everyone in the GTA....Thank God for global warming!!