so if everyone knows the potenzas are...
 

SHITE...

then why after 3 years of production doesn't mazda do something about it???

Good point...I'm putting them on next weekend and I'm worried about the slick roads concern. I had the same tires on a Celica and they were brutal. Are there better summer tires out there? (I know....SEARCH MUTGATU)

They save us money by using cheap tires on production vehicles, and remember these OEM tires are not a problem, they're a feature.

I've got about 11,000 miles on the Potenza's and I've gotten a little "loose" sometimes on wet roads. I knew that the Potenza's were shit when I bought the car, was just waiting awhile before I decided to replace them. So I broke down and ordered some Kumho ECSTA SPT's 245/40/18 yesterday.

Same with the Bose sound system

Are you sure you had RE040s on a Celica? There are a good half dozen or more tires that are called "Potenza" by Bridgestone, and they cover a WIDE range. For example, the RE92 is garbage, while the S-03 is outstanding.

Am I the only one who likes the RE040? I've only driven about a month on them before switching to winter tires, so maybe I'll grow to hate them soon. They seemed to me like they had good traction and nice steering response, but I've heard the treadwear is pretty bad.

Yes.

see I don't get it, they put on a tire that is known to be crap, especially in the snow

here is the customer rating for the potenzas from 1010tires.com (55 reviews)

Dry/ Wet/ Snow/ Handling/ Comfort/ Noise/ Treadwear/ Rating
3.3/ 2.1/ 1/ 2.8/ 2.2/ 1.8/ 1/ 2 out of 5

cost on that website for the tire is $288.99

now compare that to the Toyo Proxes 4 with 271 ratings

Dry/ Wet/ Snow/ Handling/ Comfort/ Noise/ Treadwear/ Rating
4.7/ 4.6/ 3.5/ 4.6/ 4.5/ 4.4/ 4.2/ 4.5 out of 5

and they cost... $164.99

so if they change the tire to something different, not only could the car come cheaper, it could come BETTER too!

I suppose that goes to show the FORD element in mazda, they didn't learn from their mistake with firestone on the explorer, they had to keep using shitty tires so they don't break their tradition, I guess that shows why their sales are lagging so bad.

^ yeah there not much better on tirerack.com

this gets me thinking too, you could tell the dealer they could replace your tires at the time of pickup and they could keep the brand new potenzas so they could sell them while you get new cheaper but better tires for free.

Our 8 came with Dunlop S Sport tires from the dealer. They must have switched them out or something. Any feedback on these?

Just looked on tire rack and there are lots of SP Sport tires. Don't know which model we have. I'll look tonight.

No, you're not. I'm quite happy with them at 10K miles.

They're summer tires, with almost no horizontal tread. They aren't supposed to be good in the snow.

I don't have a problem with them. I don't love them, but I certainly don't hate them. Then again, with only 3 inches of rain this season and never having to drive in snow, I suppose I don't understand others' pain.

I thought the Potenzas felt great while they were on. They're really crisp and tight. Snows on till May first though. When the Potenzas are shot I'll change them.

:)

the Dunlops are also OEM tires from factory for the 8; Mazda uses 2 suppliers for factory tires for the 8

and these Dunlops have been GREAT on my 8, almost 30000 miles now and they still grip excellent in dry and wet. of course, don't use these in snow :p:

I don't have a problem with them also, even in the rain, but then again I've never driven in the snow.

RE040s
 

I have no complaints about these tires. I replaced 2 of them at 35,000 and the other 2 still have useable tread at 41,000+. I'll probably replace them at the next oil change.

Wow. Good news then. Are they as bad as the Potenzas in the snow?

yes, yes they are :o:

Mine came with Dunlops on. Only have 53 miles on them (6 not mine) and have driven on dry and ever so slightly damp pavement and so far they seem just fine. :dunno:

Haha. This has more to do with the engineering team than anything else. I have heard Bose systems in other cars that sound considerably better, but still not as good as an aftermarket system. A good friend of mine is an engineer in Bose's car audio division. He said the new 8's have different drivers, but still..I think they dropped the ball on designing this system.

my summer tires are goodyear eagle F1 GS-D3s and the difference is incredible. The RE-040s lasted me 8000miles and were relatively worthless IMHO. The traction and treadwear difference between the goodyears and these is unbelieable....2lbs lighter as well