Studded Tires on an 05 mazda 3 with 17" rims
 

I live in oregon and this season it has been snowing like crazy! we got about 12" of snow and so we went out and bought some chains...DISASTER! they were too big and scratched up my fenders and front bumper. The company i bought them from will pay for the damages but im not comfortable using chains again. I want to buy studded tires for my car (with rims) and i cant seem to find them for a cheap price anywhere! help would be greatly appreciated!

You shouldn't need to go to a studded tire. A good winter/snow tire set up will turn the 3 into a beast to be reckoned with in snow, and won't destroy dry pavement/wear down the studs should the snow disappear while you're driving.

If you have the storage space I suggest buying some steel wheels to use as dedicated winter wheels, that way you don't have to deal with having the snows unmounted and your regular ones remounted/balanced at the end of the season. It's advisable to go with a rim with a smaller diameter and a smaller width as taller/narrower tires are better for snow traction. If you have a 3i you can go down to a 15" rim, if you have a 3s or a MS3 then you can only drop to a 16" rim. Another point in favor of smaller rims is you'll have a bigger selection of tires to choose from and since they won't be the odd 205/50/17 size they should be cheaper.

Thanks! i will try to do that and see what i can buy.:bt: