Newbie Question...
 

Does the 8 come with a spare tire?

Not unless you order one for $395.

so they give you a repair kit or something like the SLK ?

Whose brilliant idea was to not include a spare with a car?

Yep - basically a can of Fix-A-Flat and a compressor - the same as a BMW M3.

Billk, are there room for the spare tire if I end up gettin a spare?I checked the trunk and can't imagine I can put a full size there...a donut with the other 18" will look silly.

It's tiny and it takes up at least half the trunk. I had one but sold it.

Even more so because the donut is yellow. Takes up the the top half of the trunk in between the rear tires.

Who brilliant idea was it?

Well...it was the person who cares about performance. No spare tire= less weight= better performance.

I debated about whether to get the spare or not. Hell it DOES take up half of the trunk. I got to thinking, the last time I jacked a car up and took a tire off was like 1980 or so. In this day of cell phones, tow trucks, and fix-a-flat, I figure I'm not apt to need a spare. So, I've got the "full-sized" trunk now. Actually it's pretty accomodating for the trunk of a sportscar.....

As a dissent:

1) The last two flats I've had in my driving experiences have been sidewall punctures - Fix-A-Flat only works on tread punctures.

2) If you only drive in a city, perhaps roadside assistance will work for you. I regularly drive in areas that may not have cell phone coverage and even if they do it may be literally hours before a tow truck can arrive. Heck, in many cities it will take as long as that for a tow truck to arrive.

I don't want to change a tire, but it's nice to know that if I had to, I could; the mobility systems offered by Mazda, BMW and others are somewhat of a crock, IMHO...

Baahhh..... I think space is the limiting factor here. If people are so concerned about having 20lbs more in their car (intake, wheels, spare tire, whatever), they should just go and take a diet instead.

Oh yeah... I can already see this... Turbo Diet, the universal car performance booster. Works on every car you drive! Works forever! Totally free!

Here is how the tire is mounted to those of you who don't know.


http://www.trussvillemazda.com/parts.../parts/371.jpg

I tried to remove one of my wheels last month and could not budge the lug nuts with the tiny hand wrench included with the RX-8 (the same tiny wrench is included with my Toyota Sienna, BTW - it provides very little leverage). In the end, I gave up. There was a recent post from a member that had a tire installer break a lug nut taking off the OEM wheel. Don't be so sure you can change your own flat. Another poster pointed out that the fix-a-flat destroys the tire, requiring that it be replaced. My plan is to wait for the truck and spend the $400 I saved on the spare.

Maybe its just me, but I would rather change the tire myself and drive to the Tire store for a replacement rather than waiting for the tow truck for 2 hours.

does anyone know how much the stock tires cost, per tire? I know they are high performance and probably cost around $200, but does someone know the actual price?

For people complaining about a lack of a spare tire on the RX-8, don't buy an RX-8 then. Drive in the country a lot where you might not be able to easily get a tow-truck? Buy the spare. Don't want a small trunk? Buy a truck or SUV. Afraid the small spare will look silly? Oh well. I can't believe the complaints some people come up with! NO car does EVERYTHING perfect. There are always trade-offs. Don't like the trade-offs you would have to make to own a car like the RX-8? Then don't buy one. Geesh!

russgriz: you are correct.

It seems simple enough. Do your homework. If you don't like it - don't get it!

Some people make mountains out of molehills.

Easy answer...

AAA

Unfortunately, AAA is no guarantee of anything. Maybe it is because there are so many accidents/requests for towing here in the DC metro area, but I dropped my AAA. They are no bargain in price and I have waited MORE THAN 2 HOURS on several occaissions for them to arrive. The best part of their deal used to be the trip-tick map service. But in this day of Nav systems, and digital mapping software, that isn't enough anymore.

BTW, I have the spare tire (it came with the car and the dealer dropped the price since I didn't ask for it) and I usually ride with the spare in the trunk. When I need the space, it is easy enough to pop the tire out and get most of the trunk space back. The car still has the fix-a-flat/compressor kit.

And I DEFINITELY agree about folks making MOUNTAINS out of MOLEHILLS. These aren't hard things. Ease up. Go for a ride in your 8. Enjoy it.

My understanding of the high performance tires is that you don't repair a flat and need to replace the tire. Was this guy blowing smoke at me?

You can repair a high performance tire - all depends on where it blows out. The sidewall - you're screwed. If it's a small puncture then it can be patched. What they're saying about the fix-a-flat is that the foam kills the tire from inside out eventually.

I've also heard that once the tire is patched it loses one speed rating. If you plan to be doing 130 on a regular basis, I wouldn't run on a patched tire though!