My friend, DrDeco, just got rid of traded his ’06 300C SRT8 for an ’08 Mazdaspeed3. (Who says we have no influence?) He loves it for the most part but is being 
driven batty by numerous squeaks that seem to come from the dash down near the pedals and up around the defrost vent. Do any of you who have a Speed3 suffer from this problem or have suggestions as to what he can do to lessen the noise? Perhaps there is a TSB out that you know of that addresses this?
Also, he notes that the rear-door BOSE speakers leave a lot to be desired. My friend is an audiophile who replies when I asked if he sings in the car, “Yes and I like a good stereo as I play it a lot and loud since our roads are noisy here.” Sure, he can peruse Crutchfield but someone must have a personal recommendation to share.
DrDeco lives near Seattle where all-season tires are a must. But we’re talking about a 263 hp, turbo hot hatch with front wheel drive. He needs tire suggestions since, as he puts it, “The tires on it only work well on dry pavement which we don’t have much of up here. They slip a lot when I push the rpm’s.”
DrDeco’s going to write up a review for us, so look forward to a new MazdaSpeed3 take in the near future.
…being driven batty by numerous squeaks that seem to come from the dash down near the pedals and up around the defrost vent… suggestions as to what he can do to lessen the noise?
Magnaflow Cat-back exhaust.
I have a re-occurring rattle that appears to come from behind the gauges in my 3i. It doesn’t appear as often now that it has warmed up outside. I recommend turning the music up.
Don’t know about the rear speakers, as I only replaced the front ones in my car, and I have the rears turned all the way down. There are some good 6x8s out there though that should help with bass. I got some Boston Acoustics 5×8 plate speakers for the fronts which I like. Don’t bother buying them from Crutchfield though; you can get them new for over $100 less. And that goes for most speakers. Try Amazon marketplace.
I’m planning on moving into a Speed3 as well. I test drove one yesterday and the power is intoxicating. Especially for a car that you can get for under 20k with the rebates.
I wouldn’t buy a car with blows speakers. 150% marketing. White van speakers are only slightly worse.
I have a 2008 Mazda MX-5 that has that same rattle behind the dash. Maybe It’s a corporate thing that runs across all models. Anyway, if anyone can find that rattle and figure out how to fix it let me know. I’m all ears.
Some highs, no lows, BOSE. I hate Bose speakers. You bet, more marketing than sound quality. I am pretty fussy with audio equipment. The Bostons mentioned above are good, as are Polk Audio, as long as you buy the better units. Sadly, many of the great names in audio have pulled a “Jaguar X type” in order to gain market share.
Not familiar with the configuration in your car, but some speakers may need more amplifier power than you have presently have…
There are two ways to fix rattles.
1. Separate the offe3nding parts so they can’t touch.
2. Bind them tightly together so they can’t move relative to each other.
That said, nothing beats getting under the IP and starting to take things aopart until you find the offending parts. Nylon tie straps can tie things together, and foam rubber can keep them apart.
I worked on a programto get rid of the rattles inthe first Mark VIIIs, and that is essentially what we did. For 6 months.
Bob
Just wait a while. The suspension bushing will wear out soon and the squeaking and clunking should drown out any other noises.
For a cheap, solid summer tire with pretty good wet traction, I have a set of Fuzion ZRi’s on my daily driver. On a rainy March day, they earned myself and a newbie codriver #2 and #3 in PAX at a local autocross.
Mock (’03 Protege)
I have a regular 3 hatch with 155 hp. no rattling… after 4 years everything like on the first day. Great car. But with FWD the 155 hp are too much when it is wet. I don’t understand why anyone would buy a 263 hp. Mazda limits power on the turbo in 1st and 2nd gear. But when I high-rev and go into 3rd gear I’m already at the speed limit. so what’s the point?
The 6 with the same motor has AWD… that would make sense.
If they did offer, I’d take the 2.0 l in the hatch.
I have a 2007 MS3, and it has a dash tick from the cowl/windshield area. I am bringing it to the dealer, there is a TSB out to have this fixed. They use special inserts to stop the noise.
Other than that, no other noise issues or complaints. Car is fantastic, and puts a surprised look on a lot of people’s faces.
Tell him to bring it to the dealer, they should be able to fix the noise issues.
Thanks, rls1400 and relton. This is just the help I knew our B&B could provide!
OlympicTorchI have a 2008 MX-5 with the most annoying rattle coming from the dash behind the stereo as well. It sounds like it’s coming from somewhere between the stereo and front window defroster vents. I find that if I hit the ridge that runs above the climate controls firmly with the the bottom part of my palm it goes away for a while. I’m hoping it’s related to the chilly weather and will go away when it gets warmer.
I’ve never had a car that didn’t rattle from somewhere. The rattles used to drive me crazy, and I would search them out with determination, but was rarely able to remedy them completely. I’ve since given up on eliminating them for my sanity (although the Miata’s rattle is starting to make me go nuts).
First see if you can find the offending panels that rattle. Have someone else drive and try pressing down on different panels and parts with your hands to see if one in particular is the culprit. Sometimes noises seem to be originating from one place and are actually coming from somewhere quite different, for instance my old 300zx has t-tops and I could swear I was hearing a rattle from them. Well, quite by accident, I discovered that the rattle was actually coming from the ashtray, which is behind the stick shift, in particular a small screw under the ashtray had come loose. Tightened that screw and the rattle went away.
Once you find the offending parts, get a roll of felt tape, take off the panel and felt tape the seams. When you put it back together your noises should be gone. I went through my whole car with felt tape and it is dead silent now. This an 18 year old car with 140k miles on it. Probably quieter than brand new.
As for speakers – I really like my Polk DB speakers. So much that I’ve installed them on my last two cars. They’re pretty cheap, around $70/pair depending on size. Do not get Pioneer speakers whatever you do. They are the worst.
Hello!
YES, there is a TSB concerning this noise, and the repair involves removing the windshield lower cowl and installing insulating pads to the 8 clips that engage the windshield lower edge. Ive done many of them.(27+ years with Mazda)
The squeaks that have developed in my 2004 Mazda6s are definitely from the pedals. Eventually, I’ll be driven to lubricate them like I was supposed to do 25k miles ago (30k service). I also have a squeak from the steering whell where it rubs at certain temps. It drives my wife to distraction, but it is barely audible (not at all with the stereo on); so, I don’t mind. Otherwise, I’ll second rls, relton and Terry. Sounds like good advice.
Kaleun,
The Mazdaspeed6 actually is tuned differently and produces even more power with no electronic nannies to cut the engine output in first and second. But, Mazda was trying to keep the Speed3 affordable, and an AWD ssytem would have added quite a bit more engineering and expense.
“I don’t understand why anyone would buy a 263 hp.”
If it didn’t run out of steam at 6k rpm it would be even higher. I had no problem with the power going through the front wheels; no torque steer or understeer when accelerating out of the curves. The power was just effortless and really sold me on turbos after having been turned off by an old WRX.
Funny…..
Normally everyone talks about how bad American cars are (especially Chrysler), but here is a Japanese car that makes sweaking noise and it’s brand new !
However, my opinion would be to take it to the dealer and tell them that they fix it. It’s a new car ! It’s under warranty ! Why mess with trying to fix something yourself ?
no torque steer or understeer when accelerating out of the curves.
Sorry, but this is not true by any means. I test drove a MS3 while cross-shopping a 2006 WRX Ltd wagon. The MS3 does have torque steer coming out of the corners and it does understeer. Your comments leads one to believe you do not know how to identify torque steer and understeer. The WRX has torque steer on curves; all FWD and AWD vehicles exhibit torque steer of various degrees. On the MS3, it is characterized by a slight tug on the wheel when accelerating. It is not nearly as bad as early cars, but it is there.
FWD cars by their design understeer. ALL mainstream cars are designed to understeer at the limit. Understeer is characterized by the nose “plowing” through a corner. The only way you can get the rear end to come around on a FWD car is to purposedly flick the wheel on a slick surface, use the ebrake, or lift off the accelerator when powering through a corner.
I wanted the MS3, but the dealers (3 of them) refused to budge off of MSRP so I went with the WRX (dealer gave me $1k under invoice).
…However, my opinion would be to take it to the dealer and tell them that they fix it. It’s a new car ! It’s under warranty ! Why mess with trying to fix something yourself?
Yo! That’s what warranties are for…hello?
The TSX, a front wheel drive car, does not exhibit torque steer, because it simply has no torque. Talk about going directly to root cause!
Lumbergh, there is a noise that came from the brake pedal on the Mazda6s in ’03-’05. This particular noise was eliminated by replacing the brake fluid by a flush through the bleeder valves and refill.
The oem fluid caused the seals in the brake master cylinder to chatter upon pedal application and send this noise into the pedal assembly.
I have a 2007 M3. There was a persistant squeak as you have described by the defroster vents especially in colder weather. The issue has been addressed with some succcess by the dealer by tightening some large “bolt” that passes thru the firewall and supports the IP. (I think this is made of plastic) If you look under the hood at the firewall it is roughly in the center. I silenced an additional squeak by placing foam tape behind the plastic bezel that covers the radio and climate controls.
“Your comments leads one to believe you do not know how to identify torque steer and understeer.”
I absolutely do. I’m sure it does both, but the limits are high enough to where I didn’t experience it. It has a lot of grip, unlike my 3i, which will commence understeer a little early for my liking during high speed curves, such as cloverleafs and highway interchanges. I blasted though several ramps and cloverleafs in 3rd gear with the Speed3 and had no issues. I also had the electronic nannies on which I’m sure helps. Didn’t drop it in 1st gear as I figured that would be a little too crazy for a test drive, but I dropped it in 2nd and it didn’t torque steer any worse than my 3i.
I’d be interested in the WRX but it costs more than the 3 and they don’t have any discounts on it. 08 Speed3 has a $2.5k rebate on it and is going for invoice.
Speed 3s are VERY inexpensive right now for the 2008 and 2009s… a Sport can be had for $19,500 and a GT can be had for $20,995. Definitely the best deal there is in that price range!
“263 hp to the front wheels only = recipe for disaster no matter what tires you put on it. ”
Tell that to your buddies at Veedub. My dad’s Passat sends 280 up front. It also has a rattle and has stranded him twice.
DO NOT try to fix this squeak yourself unless the car is out of warranty. Let the dealership handle it so you don’t void anything, and so you don’t piss away your time fixing something they’ll get paid to do. If you find a dealer that knows what they’re doing, they should have an idea of what it could be, judging by the other squeaks people here are reporting. There’s got to be a bulletin, or at least some knowledge about what it could be out there. Bottom line, let the dealer fix it!!!
You’d better study up before just replacing the Bose speakers with standard aftermarket types. Bose OEM systems often use funny amplifier arrangements that may not jive well with standard aftermarket speakers.
Far as the rattle, if it is repeatable and consistent, just keep taking it into the dealer until they fix it.
If it’s intermittent, have fun with the tracking it down and fixing it yourself. Rattles are not usually a big deal and are not too bad to find, felt is your friend. Can’t recommend foam rubber as it can make noise too.
If it’s a mouse squeak… sorry. A loose weld or rivet is a much more challenging mission.
(Owner of three F-bodies and therefore a certified expert of squeak and rattle fixing)
But then again, the intended audience is not exactly “refined”. Similar to Subaru buyer..
???????? Because somebody needs a set of affordable wheels that puts a priority on handling means they are unrefined? They would be better off with an unreliable but “refined” Volkswagen, perhaps? Talk about an inflammatory comment…
Bridge2far went too far. Comment deleted.
Jeff,
I’ll never understand how anyone can buy speakers from a catalog without listening to them first.
That’s like buying a car without test driving it.
That goes double for car speakers. If you are going to be removing panels to install speakers, why would you want to do it twice? That will just make squeaks and rattles more likely.
I worked in car audio during my college years and have done my share of high-dollar installs. What I’ve learned is that every ear and musical taste is different.
Go to a local audio shop and LISTEN to speakers with familiar music first. Speakers are the one thing in car audio that really matters. Amps, head-units, processors, and cables all really sound the same to me. Speakers, on the other hand, each have unique sonic characteristics and should be heard before they are bought.
-ted
My 3 has annoying squeaks/rattles mostly in removable/replaceable parts. The most current and annoying one is a truly obnoxious seat squeak/creak that seems to come and go as it pleases; some days it’s there, some days it’s not, and when it is every time I accelerate, decelerate or otherwise move there’s a loud long squeak to accompany it. Ugh! I’ve heard this has happened to other Mazda3s though and some WD40 fixes it.
There’s something rattling around in the glovebox lid near the latch, it sounds like a loose piece of something, but I just ignore it.
The passenger headrest also rattles sometimes, sometimes not.
If the Mazda has speaker grilles that independently separate from the main door/dash panels I would recommend DrDeco pursue the Crutchfield route. Mainly because Best Buy and most local installers are pretty lousy in terms of product quality and selection.
They generally have a pretty good idea of what will fit your stock openings, they usually throw in wiring adapters for your factory harnesses, their tech support is pretty good, and their return policies are pretty accommodating if you don’t like your purchase.
The one gotcha I’d point out is that they aren’t always dead accurate when it comes to rear clearance for the speaker magnets. They also seemed clueless that the ’90-’94 Talon/Eclipse/Laser with premium audio can accept a double-DIN height head unit.
I concur with prior posters that BOSE is basically well-marketed trash. I also have to wonder if DrDeco had the premium Boston Acoustics system in his 300C SRT8. That would be ironic.
That Boston system is actually very good. It’s the first factory system I haven’t wanted to immediately rip out, and I enjoyed mine during all 1200 miles of my annual Xmas journey to see the folks.
Another irony is that the LX cars have issues with squeaks and creaks from the giant sheet of plastic that serves as the top of the dashboard. This is easily fixed with some foam padding and two-sided tape.
Lemon-law it…. :)
That what y’all would do if this was a domestic car, right?
I agree 100% with zerofoo. Unfortunately, the stuff usually on display at Best Buy isn’t the greatest and who knows what kind of setup they’re using with; it could sound a lot different once you get it into your car. If you go to a local shop, the selection isn’t very good, and the prices aren’t either, although I suppose you could just use them for testing purposes. I’ve been going by trial and error. I had some great Polks in the early 00s (EX series), but the later models haven’t been good to me (dB and MM series). The Bostons are pretty solid, but I’m sure there are better things out there. I’d like to try some MB Quarts but Crutchfield doesn’t carry them, so I have no clue if they will fit.
@ Demetri, zerofoo, et al:
I would counter that a typical automobile isn’t a very high quality critical listening environment unless one has gone to extremes of adding sound-deadening material and suppressing squeaks and rattles.
Thus, I don’t find a lot of added benefit in spending a great deal of time auditioning speakers for that application.
However, I would propose a few general guidelines that should benefit most listeners.
1) Avoid metal dome tweeters. Stick to poly or textile domes UNLESS the stock sound has absolutely no treble presence when the tone control is set to +/-0.
2) Avoid paper cone woofers at all costs. Spend the extra $20 per speaker to get units with polypro or fiberglass cones if you plan on having any chance at tuneful bass output from your audio system.
Demitri… golf as in the sport, not the car. Although, I did own a Golf at one point which I liked, but would never imagine putting 263 hp through the front wheels. It had torque steer with the wheezy 2.slow!
I agree with listening to speakers before purchase, as some sound horrible even on a sound board (and they’ll sound worse in your car, especially if doors are the enclosure), but I’ve installed and listened to enough Infinity speakers to recommend them.
As for tires, check out the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. I have them on my (regular) Mazda3.
rochskier, I think you’re generalizing speaker materials. I’ve had speakers with metal tweeters that sounded great (Paradigm, anyone?), and I’ve had speakers with paper cone woofers that sounded great.
I’m somewhat of an audiophile, I wanna share some things.
Its true that speaker materials don’t particularly matter in a lot of ways. All can sound great.
I suggest top of the line Polk, JL audio, Pioneer and Alpine.
The Alpine and Pioneer ones are really good and most affordable. Diymobileaudio.com has some reviews and comparisons off all these speakers, along with measurement tests with literally the best speakers in the world.
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/klippel-reviews-driver-specs/11026-pioneer-ts-c720prs.html
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/member-product-reviews/7302-pioneer-premier-ts-c720prs.html
Do squeaks lessen or get worse when the dashboard gets hot from sun?
Try running heater to see if squeaks diminish. If so, look under dash to see if plastic hoses or other parts are well secured. If not, silicon rubber, foam or felt, applied in the right places, can go a long way towards keeping items secured.
All of the Bose systems in mainstream cars are garbage. However, occasionally they do a very good job with a luxury car system. Not always, but sometimes. The Top level Bose system in the Infiniti M (the one with the speakers on the seats) is very good, and the Bose system in the Audi A6 is excellent. Audi’s latest B&O systems are even better, but for Bose, the A6’s system is shockingly good.
Cheap metal dome tweeters (read: aluminum) usually sound overly bright, grainy, and raggedy. I would rather listen to the recessed, dull treble out of a textile/silk dome type than pretty much any aluminum dome. Titanium is a step up from aluminum, and can sound pretty good if designed properly. The very best tweeters though are all exotics – beryllium, diamond, or ring radiators. There are some great ribbons and AMT tweeters, but most have limited dispersion characteristics that I don’t really like.
Paper cone based midranges can be absolutely fantastic – see the ScanSpeak revelators. For a subwoofer though, you want something stronger and stiffer than paper – either metal or carbonfiber/composite.
If you’re really an audiophile and you want an audiophile grade OEM stereo, you have to buy a luxury car. There’s just no way around that.
Soundstream if you’re going aftermarket.
No idea if you have them in your size, but Potenza Pole Positions, me likey.
And for a rattle, try the dealer first – it took two days for them to take apart the whole dash to isolate mine.
I also live in the Seattle area and have a Speed3. And I do just fine on my OEM RE-50 tires tahnk you very much! Obviously they are crap in the snow though. I talked to a guy who made it up to Stevens Pass on a snow day with Goodyear Eagle GT A/S on his and he said dry traction was still very good. So if you must go A/S rather than a proper sticky SPT and gummy studless performance winter, that seems to be a good tire for this car.
I have heard of these squeaks but fortunately don’t suffer them, just hopeless rattle of the cheap ebrake handle release knob and seatbelt harness squeak (shim one, lube the other is what der internetz says). As for Bose, that system worked well in my old RX-8 but not so much in my coworkers Speed3. My sport with the non-Bose is unspeakably bad…..so it could be worse!
Squeaks = warranty.
Tires = you get what you pay for
Bose = nearly impossible to upgrade or change. Go to a busy specialist shop and talk to a seasoned guy around back. These systems are EQ’d and typically use self powered speakers or 1-2 ohm speakers. Here is a link (http://forums.fastfours.com.au/showthread.php?p=825706) to a proper sub add-on though, very similar to what I had done 2 cars ago. Corner mounted fiberglass box sub = very nice bass in a h/back, if it will integrate with bose. Good luck!
I have a 350Z roadster and run all year on winter tires. I live in Switzerland so there are only 5 months where snow is not a possibility (like Seattle I guess) so it seems a waste to change them twice a year when I can’t really go above 140km/h anyway (without risking being beheaded by the Swiss traffic Nazis!!)
I have used Pirelli SottoZero ‘s and Vredstein Wintrac Extremes. Both have performed admirably in getting me to both the ski slopes in winter and to the beach in the summer! I went for the V’s this year as they are half the price of the PSZ’s and I have not noticed any difference between them at all.
Cheers! sutski
I’ve had a 2006 Mazda6 for 3 months now and I’ve heard no squeaks or rattles from the dash or pedals(yet…although the clutch does squeak on occasion) but I’d suggest taking it to the dealer to try and identify where they’re coming from.
I do agree about the Bose audio system as it leaves MUCH to be desired. Hell, the 6 speaker system in my old ’02 Hyundai Elantra was louder AND clearer at high volume than the setup I have now. I’m thinking about changing the speakers in the front and rear doors to Pioneers and leaving the subwoofer in the rear as it does pump decent bass.
I admit, the Speed3 is addictive and you can find some pretty good ’08 editions for less than $18k. The speed and power is addictive but in the end, the cockpit was just a tad bit cramped compared to the 6 that I eventually bought (plus the salesman was in no mood to bargain).
@ rpn453
Yeah, I am generalizing with regard to tweeter construction.
In a further irony, my home system is fronted by Paradigm Reference series speakers with titanium dome tweeters.
However, my guidelines stand for drop-in auto speakers. The JL Audio & Alpine units I would recommend both use ‘soft’ tweeter materials.
On second thought….nevermind
Can’t speak for the 3, but the 6 that I had, and others that friends drive are all rattle traps. One friend now drives around with a big chunk of carboard pushed between the windshield and the dash. He even painted it black because it’s now a permanent part of the car.
I really like Mazda and they are relatively fun to drive but they are not solid built cars. The sheet metal is very light and the fit and finish of all the interior components just aren’t up to my expectations. I’d tell your friend to either suck it up and deal with it…as more rattles will develop, or trade it in quick.
Coming from a Mazdaspeed6 owner, those rattles show up eventually. Your best bet is to get friendly with the dealer and hope they take care of them for you. I believe the creak/squeek warranty only lasts till 12k miles. Like many others noted, the MS3 does have a TSB out for exactly what you describe. Or you can do the logical thing and go with a full turbo-back exhaust :)
The Bose sound system does leave much to be desired, however if you’re electrically proficient there is a small circuit you can wire up for $5 in parts and connect to the stock subwoofer. It boosts the lows but not to an extreme point where it clips.
Lastly, I’m running Goodyear Eagle F1 all-seasons. So far I’ve seen excellent traction in wet and dry, and the carbon fiber-reinforced sidewalls are real nice. However nothing will beat a set of dedicated summer and winter tires.
“…car that makes sweaking noise”
Dang and I thought I was bad when I spelled it “squeek.” Well, with my car it is almost certainly because it is lowered on the stock suspension. Then I drove it hard on a frozen, bumpy, uneven parking lot in Winter. Squeak action ever since. The H&R suspension beckons…
I fixed a persistent rattle under my “03 Murano by shaving an artificial wine cork and inserting it in the hole of a missing fastener between a gas tank shield and a frame fitting. Worked for 3,000 miles, but a pothole knocked it out. Time for a new cork.
“Terry :
April 8th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Lumbergh, there is a noise that came from the brake pedal on the Mazda6s in ‘03-’05. This particular noise was eliminated by replacing the brake fluid by a flush through the bleeder valves and refill.
The oem fluid caused the seals in the brake master cylinder to chatter upon pedal application and send this noise into the pedal assembly.”
Thanks Terry, I’ll look into that as well. But, my squeaks occur even with the engine off and sitting in the driveway. They started around 35,000 miles on the odometer.
There’s no settled fix for the squeaks and rattles you’re experiencing. The TSB for the windshield ticking doesn’t work longer than a few months at best, only to return with a new found vengeance, and has also been covered to death on MS3 forums. Best suggestion is to turn up the music. And yes, the Bose system does indeed suck.
If anything, be prepared for blown struts (OEM ones suck, mine blew out around the 37k mark, a common occurrence in these cars) and any clunks coming from the transmission due to a bad design for our motor mounts, despite having the recall done. It was a band-aid fix at best. I also ended up replacing my clutch switch due to a squeaky clutch.
Other than that, I can’t think of much else. There were quite a few other MS3 members here IIRC, come on pipe up!
FWD cars by their design understeer. ALL mainstream cars are designed to understeer at the limit. Understeer is characterized by the nose “plowing” through a corner. The only way you can get the rear end to come around on a FWD car is to purposedly flick the wheel on a slick surface, use the ebrake, or lift off the accelerator when powering through a corner.
That’s not completely true.
Cars tend towards understeer at low speed and oversteer at high enough speeds. Angular vs. centrifugal acceleration. Manufacturers dial that out with suspension tuning, but it’s easy to bring back with different springs and sway bars. My Mk2 GTI was VERY twitchy on entry and through a fast sweeper, while the only time my E34 535i gets its ass out is when I tell it to.
It’s often the case that fast FWD cars are more oversteer-prone than fast RWD cars, just because understeer on corner exit has to be dialed out with suspension tuning rather than with the throttle. FWD cars _can_ be very quick, but in the end, it’s the latitude to set a car up for generally neutral handling that makes RWD better for a performance car.
I once solved the problem of squeaky plastics in a Honda Civic with silicone spray. It soaks into the seams and shuts things up for months at a time. Try to avoid getting it on exterior painted body panels however; it makes repainting miserable should you ever need it.
To SV:
I also have the 3 hatch 2006, I don’t have anything coming from the dash but the seat or seat belt drives me nuts, I know it can be solved with WD40 but until then it keeps me moving the seat belt every now and then.
About the tires, I live in NYC and I also need tires that will be good on wet, the originals, Good Year RS-A went dead at 30K, they were good in anything dry, wet or snow spelled disaster for them, it has nothing to do with 160 HP or so at the front wheels, I know because I replaced them with tires that cost half the price, Dunlop SP sport signature and they are 1000% better! specially in wet and snow, in heavy rain it’s very hard to spin them from start and they are extremely stable in highway speeds.
It’s often the case that fast FWD cars are more oversteer-prone than fast RWD cars, just because understeer on corner exit has to be dialed out with suspension tuning rather than with the throttle. FWD cars _can_ be very quick, but in the end, it’s the latitude to set a car up for generally neutral handling that makes RWD better for a performance car.
All of what you said is true, but remember the context – OEM, not aftermarket tuning.
Modern, mainstream cars are designed to understeer at the limit. Yes, you can tune the suspension to produce a more neutral car, but they do not come like that from the factory.