Ha! I thought I was the only one that had that problem. I have 17" stock rims too and it took me 20 minutes to get the wheels off and only 5 minutes to change my brake pads. Just using a rubber mallet gently on the inside of tires worked, but it was hard and annoying. I was chalking it up to me being a girl....sounds like that's not it!

Back to the kitchen! ... to get some hot water to pour between the wheel and the rotor to get it to come off :)

... oh and to make me a delicious dinner haha

yeah i Was amazed the first time I washed my car, the brake disk became all rusty, so i guess chances are, that other less visible parts of the car suffer this rusting too.
My car, has the OEM TOYO Proxies, They have great traction, practically no Understeer or Oversteer, on dry, never tested them in wet... yeah i live on a desert so i get scared when it rains and i tend to drive properly... I have heard that TOYO sucks because is so cheap, but you wouldn't know just by driving them, they perform great.

Hey, i never said I can cook. I can boil water though..for lobsters and rotors

or both?

Bridgestone Potenza SO-2 or SO-3
Michelin Pilot Sport
Yokohama AVS Sport

Yokohama AO32R
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup

Nokiyan Hakkapelita 4's or 5's

That pretty much does it for me when it comes to tires.

Michelins are way overpriced. They aren't bad tires but i'd get a bridgestone over a michelin any day.

To each his own. I've run all three on the Porsche and/or the Audi at one time or another with no complaints. How they will act on a FWD car is what I'm worried about.

I like the general exclaim UHPs/ Sporting, but seem to be comfortable as well.

I went with the Toyo Proxie, t1-s series, and if there is better street tire I have never found it. . .I have the best ride out of any low pro I have ever owned. The T1-s are worth the money.

Good to know...thanks!

Nitto NT555's if they have them in your size. Great tires, had thm on my mustang.

Try Goodyear F1 GS-D3
 

Dear folks, I had a Ford Laser 2000 (Mazda Protege Venezuela). I put it a whole set of Toyo Proxes TS-1 205-50-R16 on OZs. Those were a tires that I cried a lot when I sold the car. The best tire I thought I had. The tire feels like having nails and the water was seems non existant up to aquaplanning speeds. It seems that Toyo sold out the tread pattern to Goodyear to make these F1 GS-D3. In a test from TireRack they won hands down on every category. My pity is that I can't find those tires in Venezuela.

I have now a Mazda 3i. I brought a set of Dunlop Direzza 225/50R16. They set wonderfully in the car, and surely provides a much better ride quality. The roads here are in a pretty bad shape, so lower profile tires could damage the rims.

These Direzzas ride with a little noise but they are so wonderful in the dry, rather sticky. The first time I ride them I feel myself going 20% faster than the originals Pirelli P6 205/55R16, softer and no squeals. Later, I went to ride 200 Kms in a twisty highway by here. I could drive up to 205 Kmh (120 Mph) peak and a 100 mph average. It was the first time that i felt pain in my neck's muscles. That was pure speed and pure grid. By the way, no squeals at all. 34 PSI setup all around.

Just try any of them and tell me.

Hey Jzoomer are you still able to get discounts at Discounttiredirect.com?

Bringing the tire issue back- Advise...
 

2005 3s sedan - 17s
I just wore out my stock RSAs and got stock size - Potenza Grid 016
is it me or am I dreamin...?

-my ride feels squishy and sluggish (quiet though)
-also Firestone set my PSI at 32 and my tires seriously look flat!
- I took the car back to firestone and they said use whatever PSI is on the door!
- how can my tires be safe and get normal wear if they look compressed at the contact patches?

-Has any one else had a similar issue or knowledge that can shed some light on my ride??:dunno: