Recommendations for Tires in Seattle Options

[JML]

The thing is, the tires that come on the 6 as OEM are almost certainly not the same tires that scored very well. They do make a similar tire with a similar name, the MXV4 which is a tire that is leaps and bounds better. I never had any real complaints with the stock tires for what they were, but pretty much any tire represents an upgrade.

My OEM tires on my 2008 Mazda 6i Touring were the Pilot HX MXM4. The tires tested by Car & Driver were exactly the same tires, the Pilot HX MXM4. Same name, same tire pattern, same tires. These were/are also OEM tires on many similar cars. Mine were OK, but lasted only 27,000 miles (I think PA roads are very abrasive). I thought they were not very good in snow, but were fine for OEM all-season in the dry and wet conditions. But I just got a set of Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 winter performance tires. In the dry and wet, I like them better than the MXM4. Quieter, smoother riding, superb steering feel, and great grip in the dry; at least as good as the MXM4 in the wet, and probably better (although we haven't had downpours yet, the new PA3 was far better than my worn MXM4 in light rain; the MXM4 wore rapidly and lost wet weather performance as they wore down). We've not had any snow yet, but when it was in the high 30 and low 40 degree range last month, the PA3 were really, really great on dry and wet roads. Pretty much what C & D reported, and for highway winter driving at high speed they're better than the X-Ice (we don't get deep sustained snow here, but plenty of snow showers). The PA3 are super for high speed highway driving in cool/cold weather. But I have learned the benefits of a set of winter tires from having two sets of Blizzaks on my other car, and will get a set of dedicated summer tires this spring, on new rims.

I was surprised at the MXM4 showing in the C & D test. They compared them to the Pilot Sport A/S, the Pilot Alpin PA3, and the X-Ice Xi2.

(IMG:http://www.michelinman.com/images/pic/tires/detail/pilot-mxm4.jpg)

Michelin & Tire Rack has these listed. My understanding of the names is that the "Energy" are low rolling resistance tires for mileage, the "Pilot" are the performance tires for handling, and the "Primacy" are touring tires for comfort. The Primacy HX MXM4 tires have different tread patterns and are totally different tires; you may be thinking of those.

Energy MXV4 Plus
Energy MXV4 S8

Pilot HX MXM4
Pilot HX MXM4 ZP

Primacy MXM4
Primacy MXV4

[triplejumper18]

The MXM4 tires that came stock on my old 6s were garbage in dry and wet.

[Dopke]

You may want to look at the Michelins again. Your original tires, which you don't name, may not be representative of current production. A recent Car & Driver test of winter tires looked at four Michelins: two all-season, one winter performance, and one dedicated snow tire. Very interesting results regarding the last generation OEM tires on the Mazda 6, up to the 2009 redesign of the car. The HX MXM4 did very well in the wet, which I cannot argue with.

It's actually rainier here in Pittsburgh than Seattle, and we have hills galore. My 17" MXM4 were excellent in the wet, but not good enough for me in the snow.

I believe they are the Pilot MXM4.

[JML]

I believe they are the Pilot MXM4.

If they were, and they didn't perform well for you, then forget what I said about the C&D test and look for something else.