ffjaydee

The RX-8 comes with Bridgestone RE040 which have a treadwear of 140. This is very low and survey's have shown that they need replacing after 10,000 miles. Is everyone keeping these tires or trading them in for something that will last a little bit longer?

Just looking for opinions!!

The tires are going to last forever anyway since these cars are still in port!!


JayDee

Boozehound

Who exactly are you trading your tires with? Working something out with someone like Discount Tire Co, or do dealers usually get mixed up in this kind of thing?

jdj1971

I'll be replacing mine for sure. After I wear these out. Which will be in a about 3 months. I put atleast 3k miles a month on a car.

ibfubar2000

why replace tires just because they wear out fast? why not wait until they wear out then replace them? why spend the extra money to replace new tires with new tires?

eccles

My dealer has a "free tires for life" incentive, designed to entice customers to get all their routine servicing done there. Methinks I'll be taking them up on that offer.

ffjaydee

Some tire companies will take your tires on trade and then sell you new ones again. They then sell them to someone else as "take offs". It might be a better investment to dump them now and buy something that will last twice as long for not to much outlay! One dealer said he would sell me Michelin Pilots. He would take my tires and I would give him the extra dollars!

Jaydee

ibfubar2000

oh..well that case then that is a good question then. i thought you would just buy new tires then have 2 sets of new tires, but if you can trade them then it does make sense to do them while they are still new.

MrWigggles

eccles,

How much does that incentive cost? My god with 040's and a heavy left foot it is quite possible that you'll be going through a set at least once a year.

The car magazines need the give the manufacturers more grief for putting inferior tires on their cars. Bridgestone makes much better tires for less money than the 040's that have much better performance (www.tirerack.com)

If I get more than a year out of my 040's, I will be surprised.

-Mr. Wigggles

jdj1971

A few months ago there was a good thread over in the tech and performance forums some where. Do a search over there.

eccles

As I understand it, it's free! As log as you get ALL servicing done at that dealership (with some allowance made for interstate trips, etc), then they'll keep putting new boots on it. Obvious disclaimers such as "no racing," etc.

The service manager did say that he thought they were going to be in for a shock when RX-8 folks started wanting 18" tires every year, but we'll see. He did say that if the customer wants something better than OEM, they can pay the difference. Heck, I'd be happy upgrading to Bridgestone S-03's and saving them a few bucks per tire!

Boozehound

I wonder if someone has crunched the numbers on the tires for life deal... The same "incentive" is offered to me, but I'm skeptical that I'd ever come out ahead. I'm probably being too cynical, but I figured I'd wind up with 18" Defenders on my 8, and being forced to pay exorbinant fees for oil changes, new plugs, tranny fluid, anything that goes wrong, etc. I don't mind working on my own car, so I guess I'll just keep the dealer out of it.

My cynical logic - How can the dealer offer said service without making some kind of profit? Wouldn't I be better served to do everything myself?

eccles

As it was explained to me, they have research that shows that people who regularly have their car serviced at a single dealership are far more likely to purchase their next car from said dealership. So it's not just service fees that they're after - they're looking towards their next sale as well.

I'm past the stage of feeling the need to get dirty working on my own car (except changing wheels at an autocross or track event, of course), and plan on getting my 8 serviced there anyway, so it's gravy for me. :D

TJRX8

I just found out yesterday mine does too. With these tires it will end up being a good deal. Now I won't have to stress about wearing them out and paying to replace them.

On a $100, 30,000 mile tire I don't think it would be worth it. But for a $200, 10,000 mile tire it just might.

ibfubar2000

i wonder if the dealers will stop that after they realize every year the rx8 ownrs are getting new sets of tires. :D

highspeed8

No tires for life where I'm at, but I tried to negotiate with my sales guy (he's not 100% jerk yet) about the possibility of swapping out the 040's with the S-03's before I take delivery. He said that I'd have to talk with the local Bridgstone dealer about getting new tires...

ibfubar2000

yes that makes sense. tires are not covered under mazda warranty. tire warranty is covered by the tire manufacturer. so if you ever have a warrantable tire problem the dealer can not help you you have to go to a tire shop.

MrWigggles

I will check to see if my dealer has it as well, but unfortuneately my dealer (Jeff Hass) is the not the place where I would probably get all of my servicing. On a good day I can get there in 20 minutes from my house but on a bad day it takes 40. There are other dealers closer.

Anyway for a moderately aggressive driving style on sportscars most people get about 100 X UTQG. This means that 040's should last no more than 14,000 miles and S-03's will last about 22,000.

Even with S-03's for the life of the car you are talking about at least 4 complete tire changes. For tires, labor, mounting and balancing that works out to about $4000 easy.

I seriously doubt that the normal servicing of the vehicle will cover the costs of the dealer.

Deal does sound too good to me.

-Mr. Wigggles

ibfubar2000

i wonder if the lifetime replacement is only on special tires, or any tire?

MrWigggles

But it is a "tires for life" agreement, they might change their policy at some point, but for those who get in on the deal early, the dealership is going to have a hard time weaseling out of the agreement.

-Mr. Wigggles

MrWigggles

I would think at the very least they would have to give you something comparable. I guess they could slap on 100,000 mile SUV tires, but that wouldn't exactly be the same driving experience.

They might go out and find the cheapest 225/45 - 18 speed rated tire that they can, but a the very least it has to be DOT legal and isn't going to be too cheap.

-Mr. Wigggles

ibfubar2000

even if they do that they will just wear out faster and have to be replaced more frequently. it would be woth it more in the long run to keep best tires on it so they dont have to replace so often. either way it sounds like a great deal im going to ask the service manager on monday if we have something like that.

Boozehound

I guess there are still questions like what kind of service is required at the dealer? All regularly scheduled, or absolutely everything? About the tires - there may be a set milage limit that your tires are supposed to last - you breach that and you're abusing the tires and as such, you may have to pay the difference. And like someone mentioned earlier - the dealers aren't in bed with the tire manufacturer, so why not put on the cheapest hardest tires that fit in the wheel well?

If you're going to do all your service there anyway like eccles, then rock on, it'll work - but as for some of us young'ns out there, or me at the very least, I still can't stand the thought of paying $50+ an oil change.

As for my tires, I'm going to look into runflats once the I hit the indicators on the first set of tires. I'm not interested in being stranded, or giving up my precious trunk space just yet....

As for cheap wearing out faster - not always the case. There are plenty of tires out there that should last 80K. Put those on, and look out...

MrWigggles

Booze,

I normal oil change at QuickE Lube is going to be at least $25. So that is only a savings of $25. So you would lose no more than $25 per oil change.

$4000/$25 = 160 oil changes!

While the car is under warranty, you'll be doing all other service there anyway.

They might invent a cheap 225/45 - 18 speed rated tire, but right now I don't know of any. I also don't know of any that you can get 80K miles off of.

-Mr. Wigggles

canzoomer

I would recommend Pirelli P7000 Supersport
These are all weather W speed rated and quite grippy.
Tread wear rating is 320
Traction is rated at "A"
Temperature is rated at "A"
I ran a set of these for 18 months on my Nissan Spec V SE-R and was very satisfied with the performance, grip and wear.
They are not snow tires, but I ran 2 winters here in Edmonton, where winter is for real, and had no problems.

I see them listed at:
http://1010tires.com/tire.asp?tirebr...00+Super+Sport

P225/40/ZR18 at $225.99 (Canadian) or $166.99 (US Dollars)

I have dealt with 1010 before and can recommend their service.

TJRX8

Every car they sell, every tire. The least you would get would be OEM replacement. I was told that I could probably get something comparable price wise or just pay the difference.

And I'm sure there is some fine print relating to abuse or misuse and the specific services that need to be done there. I'll find out soon I hope.