I bought my 2004 RX-8 new. It came equipped with 18" Bridgestone Potenza RE040 tires. These OEM tires handle great, but good grief, are they noisy! And they're getting worse as the miles build up. At 20k miles I'm seeing significant cupping or uneven wear. I'm clueless as to why this is happening as I keep the tire pressures within recommendations. And I rotate the tires, too. I don't race the car, but I do occassionally take a moderately quick drive on country twisty back roads. Nothing dramatic.

Judging by the remaining tread thickness I'd guess that I have another 5k to 10k miles left, but I think I'm going to go insane with the tire noise before they wear down to the wear bars. What is a good replacement tire that handles reasonably well but above all, isn't noisy? And I mean, quiet when new and quiet through their entire wear life.

-1.3L

Falken 452's. Its a nice 300 tread wear tire. You will get 25-30k or so miles our of them. Perform nice and wear nice. Not noisy and dont flat spot. They are also only $145 per tire.

If you want something stickier, I have heard so many nice things about the Dunlop Star Specs. They are a 200 tread wear tire so it's got excellent grip but will wear out in more like 15-20k miles. They cost about $175 per tire.

Neither tire should be used in winter weather though.

I will say Federal 595RS-R is the best price/quality out there for street tires

:Peace:

I hear ya brother. Have an original 2004 with original tires. Have 24K miles. Tire noise is unbearable, but still drives like a raped ape!! I drive it like I stole it......daily!! Time to move on though and replace these tires. thanks for the advice guys, I will check on these tires you listed.

Toyo Proxes T1R

Nitto NT-05. Can't say about later in their life (new model this yr), but new they are very quiet, handle extremely well, and are reasonably priced. I've never heard anyone complain of Nittos of any model getting noisy as they age (anyone?).

I had Goodyrs before that howled and rumbled so much I hated being in the car at any speed. These Nittos were a blessing.

I run Nitto NT-01s. I didn't notice any road noise on the stockers but then again I corded them at 18k miles and considered whatever I had a horrible tire. I'm not even sure if I had the potenzas. NT-01s are super loud. They are 100 tread wear. And they will do their best to try and kill you in the rain. Other than that, they are super awesome.

NT-01 is a racetrack R-Compound, not a street tire. Noise and logevity are of no relevance to a tire built soley for ultimate grip. Ok they are a Nitto, but this guy is asking about street tires after all. NT-05 are street tires, tread wear 200, traction AA, temp A.

I was being fetious. At least they are dot approved! I've put 37k miles on NT-01s so far and I think I'll stick with them so long as I have another car.

Toyo Proxes T1R

this.

Nitto NT-05.

and this.

i run the t1r.

fetious ? Googling only comes up with 'fetus' probably not what you intended.....? ...did you mean "facetious" as in 'tongue in cheek", "teasing"?

37K on an R-comp...that must be some kind of record lol!

i am are the besterest speeler! I knew I should have spell checked that!

I did 31k on the first set which actually is the most amount of miles I have ever done on any set of tires. However, this is not representative of their "usable" life. That is the amount of miles it takes to basically go through the entire compound layer to the cords. I'm sure any reasonable person would have stopped driving on them many thousands of miles prior.

i can't recommend the RE050A Pole Position enough. i had a decent time with the stock dunlop 8090s, but the 050 is epic. very predictable in both the dry and wet, and i've even gotten through two winters with them. i should get abut 25-30k miles out of them.

word to the wise: don't even think about snow with these things. they're incapacitating. though if you're in california, they'd probably be perfect for you year round.

Potenza re-11 Love them