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__________________ RX-8 UK Owners Club Spin Doctor- technical help by the shovel full!
High Power, Velocity Red Mica, Red & Black Leather, Sunroof, B-Pillar trim, Stainless Steel Strakes and Crest, Racing Beat Exhaust.
Zoom Zoom Zoom since 10-Nov-2003
this is unexpected news to me...What are we looking at for replacement tires as far as costs go? Tire wear is one big reason I bought a Rx-8 over an NSX as my every day driver. I guess 10k miles is better than 2k or 3k though
When it comes time to replace tires, I will most likely go with Toyo Proxes T1-S - had them on my previous car, they last a good 30k miles, are fantastic in the wet and are very quiet running.
The standard Bridgestones should last about 18-20K miles, or much less if you drive aggressively( as low as 8K miles). I plan to rotate them every 5K miles.
The replacement cost for all four should be near $800.
I looked at reviews by owners on www.tirerack.com and may people are unhappy with these tires, mostly for excessive road noise. As for grip and performance they were rated well above average.
Originally posted by 6speed8 When it comes time to replace tires, I will most likely go with Toyo Proxes T1-S - had them on my previous car, they last a good 30k miles, are fantastic in the wet and are very quiet running.
Man, its hard to find 225/45/18s
The only brands I could find were:
Bridgestone (doh!), Michelin (he, expensive), Pirelli (same as Michelin) , Continental (I think I'll regret it) & Dunlop (yeah, great for Winter).
I wasn't able to find anything other that the brands mentioned above. And the last 2 are options for Winter tires. So I guess I will have to go with OEMs for the time being until I hear from someone who's gone in other direction for similar tires.
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'07 MX-5 True Red - Current Baby!
'04 RX-8 Touring V.Red - Gone!
I'd recommend 245/40/18's as replacements -- almost the exact same rolling diameter as the OEM size (about 0.2" difference), a little extra tread, and certainly no issues with clearances, either. They should fit just fine on the stock 8" wide wheels. To top it off, you'll have a much broader selection, and, hence lower prices...
The diameter of the tire is the distance from the rim to the outside of the plus the rim. In the case of the 18 inch wheel, it is 18 inches plus 2* either 245* 0.40/25.4 or 225*0.45/25.4. The 25.4 is a conversion factor to get from mm to inches.
In other words the distance from the rim to the road is the width of the tire times the aspect ratio.
Originally posted by vibec I think that's crap. the rx-8 is supposed to be a practical, almost affordable family machine not a tyre eater
What's your driving style oh yeah "but now i corner hard and step on the gas". No use moaning about tire wear if you're accellerating and cornering hard and not spinning off the road. If the tires weren't wearing, you'd probably be wearing a tree by now.
Complaining about tire wear is a little like buying a hi-brightness flashlight and complaining that it goes through batteries fast. You know, the whole cake and eat it too syndrome?
I am not sure tire performance should be directly proportional to excessive (and expensive) tire wear.
Most of us love race cars since they go really fast but would not buy one for everyday use(too noisy, uncomfortable,.....), there must be balance in what engineers design.
This is exactly why I like the RX-8, it is avery balanced car and does many things well instead of being just fast.
I think a great tire is one that is intended for hi performance driving, is quiet and lasts over 25K miles. The Bridgestones are good tires but far from excellent.
I have Michellin Pilot Sports on my other cars and they are slightly better than the Bridgestones.
Anyway, my two cents. Have fun driving your RX-8s.
Luckily for me this is an issue that I no longer have to worry about. The dealer I bought the car from has a program whereas if you let them do the services and such I get free tires for the life of the car! Can't beat that with a stick! :D
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Posted by Scott, SSG, U. S. Army (Retired)
2005 Ford Explorer XLT AWD
"Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Albert Einstein
Originally posted by vibec the rx-8 is supposed to be a practical, almost affordable family machine not a tyre eater
On the other hand, many would argue that the RX-8 is supposed to be a high performance sports car that happens to comfortably seat 4 people. As such, it's equipped with high performance summer tires, and one of the defining characteristics of such a tire is that it doesn't last all that long.
Still - the tires should last somewhere in the 15K, maybe 20K mile range, depending on style (hard drivers could only get 12K miles, freeway cruisers might get 22K miles). I haven't seen a correlation between a 100 treadwear rating being equivalent to 20K mile life, and all of the 140 to 180 treadwear tires used in the Miata community never get anywhere near 20K miles. Most references will say that the treadwear ratings are relative only within a manufacturers line of tires, and NOT between tire manufacturers, which casts doubt on a standardised treadwear 100 = 20K miles factor.
There are all-season performance tires out there with treadwear ratings in the 300 range, but you'll definitely be giving up some dry grip and responsiveness to go to a higher mileage tire like that. The trade-off is performance vs. long life - you can't have both!
Regards,
Gordon
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Life is too short to drive boring cars!
___________________________________ 2004 Ti Gray RX-8 - Canadian GT, 6 speed, no moonroof, delivered July 22, 2003 1996 Miata leather package, soon to be faster than the RX-8...
2002 Audi allroad wagon - 2.7 twin turbo, 6 speed manual trans
They stated that they would replace with the same brand and size or a comparable tire. I also asked that if I had the option which tire they would use and the manager said that would not be a problem.
I did a search of Tire Rack tires and they list ZERO performance all season radials in 225/45R18. And that includes regular all the way up to ultra high performance tires.
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Posted by Scott, SSG, U. S. Army (Retired)
2005 Ford Explorer XLT AWD
"Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Albert Einstein
I went an looked at my tires last night- sure enough, the rear tires seem to be wearing pretty fast. GUess I'm due for a rotatation in a week or so as well.
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