New RX-8! Some Questions/Concerns
 

Howdy!

Well, About a month and a half ago I purchased my first car on my own: a 2005 RX-8 with 34,000 miles on it. I had an FB RX-7 in high school, so this has been fun but also fustrating! The car has been to the dealer and has checked out. Overall, it is in good mechanical condition. However, i am torn what to do with the wheels/tires and shock/spring setup. The prior owner put Koni yellow shocks and Tein S-Tech springs (The ones with the large drop) on the RX-8 as well as Axis 19" Staggered Antricte wheels. Cool right? Sorta..

I have two problems with this setup. First, this is my ONLY vehicle. I am military, and will be moving around a lot in the next year, so I need something that can handle all seasons of Texas and Ft. Rucker Alabama. I don't have room for two sets of wheels in the BOQs. Finding tires that can handle some rain on my wheels is hard, not to mention super expensive! I also don't like the staggered wheel's effect on handling. Frankly, I am not a drag racer. The car is driven with spirit, but its not likely to see the track. Just a lot of twistys! I was given two OEM wheels in good shape. Should I pursue obtaining two more and going stock wheels? Or are there more affordable 18" wheels that would like sharp on a WB but not cost an arm and leg for both themselves and tires? Could I even sell the wheels I have now?

Secondly, while I love the upgraded suspension, I am afraid I am going to bottom out one day on these roads in San Antonio. If I end up swapping out the wheels, would something like the Racing Beat springs be a better match up with the Koni shocks for an everyday driving situation? I wouldn't mind dropping some cash on swaybars if I can get great handling without sacrificing the bottom of my car! Right now, i scrape about 50/50 on the speed bumps on Ft. Sam Houston no matter HOW SLOW I go.

Now, I would look like a whiner if I didn't at least post some pics. So, without adieu, my new baby!

Congrats on the new car and welcome.

Get good winter tires
and
Do not lower it too much.


Welcome to the addiction

welcome bro, great lookin car!

+1 for winter rims, i love mine. but he specifically said he does not have the space for a 2nd set of rims/tires.

Well, for Texas and Alabama you could go with a set of all-seasons. You'll lose some performance, but you'll be able to drive the car year-round without storing extra tires.

Ditch the staggered setup. Are the wheels the same size and just the tires a larger or are the wheels in the back different size? If so I would sell them. You can get a set of stock rims on the forum relatively cheap or trade with someone.

Well I just realized, like an idiot, that I could have posted this in the Wheels/Suspension section! Oh well, I guess it can double duty as my intro thread. kersh4w is right: I don't have room for a second set of wheels in Officer Quarters. Think a large hotel room pre-furnished. Not a lot of room. The offset size on these wheels means they can't be rotated and means these things wear uneven and it drifts pretty bad: I can't afford to replace $300 tires all the time on a 2LT paycheck. Thats why I was thinking of trying to putting something else on. Either go stock OEM wheels and perhaps try to like paint them later or purchase an affordable set of aftermarket wheels with the money that, hopefully, I can get from selling those wheels.

I have never dealt with aftermarket wheels, so I have no idea how practical it is to sell used wheels. Kinda what I am hinting at...is that possible and what would you recommend to replace them with? I was thinking 18" with wider tires, such as some 245s. The car sits really low, and going with an 18" wheel over the 19" that are on there now wouldn't affect bottoming out because the outer diameter of the wheel will remain the same correct? At which case I would want to replace the aftermarket springs that are on there with something that does not lower as much.....

I really have no clue how tire ratings/sizing works which is why i am asking all of this. Right now I have 275/30ZR19 in the rear and 235/35ZR19 in the front. This thing is all over the place when it rains. And if I am not careful the rear end comes loose ALOT when making 90 degree turns. The traction light comes on and I can feel it wiggle. Is this because of the wheels, or a combination of wheels, aftermarket shocks/springs and the RX-8 itself? Man, this car is a totally different beast from my 84 GSL! I feel in over my head!

First thing I would do is try and get some stock rims. You can get them here in the for sale section or on ebay for a good price. Failing that, there are alot of affordable wheels that look good, it really depends on how much you are looking at spending but stock is probably gonna be the cheapest.

As for tires, get some good all season tires, check out reviews on tire rack. I am not sure how cold it gets in texas/alabama so I can't really recommend anything specific. Winter tires seem like overkill though. Only reason to get winters is if it snows (does it snow in texas/alabama? I have no idea). Other than that an all season will be able to handle temperature drops without turning into a hockey puck and still be more performance oriented than a dedicated winter tire. You are also correct in assuming that you wil be keeping the same overall diameter when switching to 18s. Try to stick to the same size wheels and tires all around too for rotation purposes. If you find stock wheels a good size tire for them would be a 245/40/18 which is just a little wider than the stock 225/45/18.

For the handling problems you are having, it could be a combo of alot of things. Since the Koni yellows are adjustable I would check and see what they are adjusted at. The reason you are oversteering is probably because the rears are set too stiff. The rears will need to be removed to be adjusted. Fronts can be adjusted while on the car. For springs, there are alot of options so search on here for the "springs, springs, springs" thread to get a good idea of what the spring rates and drops are for the various manufacturers. If the S-Techs are too low you could try the H-Techs which are about a half inch higher than the S-Techs.

Hope that helps

Oh, and you can probably sell the wheels on the car now and make back what you spent on the 2 stock wheels you need. Main thing is you need to find out the width of the wheels and the offset of them. Its usually printed on the inside of the wheels somewhere.

Congrats on the purchase. Looks mighty purdy.


Oh, and welcome to the club!