TJRX8

I know we had a thread going back and forth about the tires awhile back. Any update from the people that have actually seen the cars come off the boat?

I know a guy that has a Z-4 that came with the same tires the 8 is supposed to have (RE040). He only has 9K (wimpy) miles and the tires are showing a lot of wear. He will need tires very soon. They also got horrible user reviews on Tire Rack. I wonder why companies are still using them. Must be getting them cheap.

I am not looking forward to buying tires just a few months after plopping down $35K for the car.

SPDFRK

So far all the pics I've seen have'em and Mazdausa.com says RE040 in their specs, so from as far as I can tell thats what we are getting.

RX-8 Zoomster

I wrote Mazda orders about this awhile ago and they responded back that the production cars WILL have the Bridgestone RE040 Potenza's.

I'm not too thrilled about the short life of the RE040. But, what can you do? It will just mean I have to buy the S-03's a little sooner than planned. I'll have to budget accordingly when that time comes.


EDIT:
Tom, Here's what the dealership can do for you for displaying your car. Have them "upgrade" your tires to the S-03's for free. That will benefit you, and they might sign off on it, since that won't be too much money out of their pocket.

Elara

Out of curiosity, they aren't the same tires they put on the 350Z, are they? I know one person with one that's now had her tires replaced twice because of the horrible feathering and excess wear on her Z's tires, and now Nissan is refusing to give her any more, because "that's what they're supposed to do." I've also heard a lot of other Z owners are having the same problem with theirs.

TJRX8

Read the reviews on Tire Rack. It is the same tire as some Lexus (IS300 and at least one other) come with. They appear to have a lot of problems like mentioned above, also sidewalls bubbling, and uneven tread wear etc. Sounds like they are really CRAP.

Mark, Not a bad idea. I want some cash too :-)

RX-8 Zoomster

I read the reviews - the RE040's are crap. Notice that the price of the S-03's are cheaper. Look at their tread life.

Mazda must have really got a deal on a wholesale batch of the RE040 for the OEM tires. Makes you think why they couldn't cut a deal with Bridgestone for the S-03's in the same manner.

Maybe I'll try to talk my deal in a swap too. It'll be worth a try.

pelucidor

You may want to check this thread from 4 months ago...
http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.p...ighlight=RE040

RX-8 Zoomster

Thanks pelucidor for reminding me of that thread. Good "rediscovery" of that thread. That was the thread that motivated me to write Mazda sales and bitch about the current tires and asked them about a S-03 swap.

I forgot about the S-03 vs. RE040 chart you posted on the first page. Everyone needs to see that.

The Beav

my dad's wrx came with re40's and they pathetic in terms of grip, my civic with FWD and some falkens can out grip all around, i soo wish falken made teh azenis sports in 18's

eccles

Keep an eye out for a whole new range of sizes for the Azenis Sports. I talked to the Falken rep at the Mazda Rev-It-Up event, and was told that the current limited size range was due to the Japanese parent company wanting to introduce them in a limited fashion to test the market and see how competitive they'd be.

Now that they're blowing away all comers in SCCA Solo II street tire classes, and selling like hot cakes, they're going to start bringing in a full range of sizes later this year. :D

The Beav

awesome, i talked with the falken rep at the mazda rev it up event alot, and i didn't think to ask him about that, he was really cool and gave me lots of free stuff, and yes falken azenis sports are easily the best non-r compound tire that money can buy, i use them on my civic for auto-x and they grip like nothing i've ever seen, treadwear's 200, so it's not a great daily driver tire, but the shear grip of the car kinda makes up for that

B-Nez

Thanks to Pelucidor for reviving that thread. I hadn't read all of it before, but I did last night. Went to Bridgestone's website and Tire Rack and read up on the S-03's. They do sound like awesome tires. Especially since here in Northwest Florida, it is drizzly or rainy at least some part of every day. I hope the RE-040s don't wear out TOO soon, but when they do I'll be very happy to switch to the S-03's.

The Beav

i just finished another auto-x in my dad's cobb tuned wrx with the stock tires (same as teh eights) and it was miserable, tires are the first thing i'm changing out when i get my eight

TybeeRX-8

Mazda did the same thing with the '02 Miata SE with 16" wheels. The Bridgestones were awful and even with regular rotation, the 140 rating had two of them down to .02mm after 11,500 miles. They were quickly replaced with Yoko ES100s, 280 rated, AA traction, A temp. And the were about $40 less expensive through Tire Rack...than the OEM replacements. Mazda's philosophy on this issue escapes me completely!

pelucidor

Although we the public can get the S-03's for $185 each (as opposed to $199 for the RE040) I suspect that Mazda probably pays about $50 each to Bridgestone for the RE040s, and that the S-03s are slightly more expensive. They will always go with the cheaper option when they are buying 30,000 X 4 per year and most people will never know the difference...

RX-8 Zoomster

EXACTLY! Plus, why would Bridgestone cut the same discount for a tire (S-03) that lasts almost twice as long? That's money out of their pocket when it comes time for us all to replace our treads. They know a good number will either replace with the same OEM set or upgrade to their S-03's when the time comes.