mattvit

yes it is common knowledge that the stock tires suck. hard. but i found out for myself today. was my first time seeing the DSC light flash. lol

so, i took a curve near my house that i always do, decided to really push it this time. i did 70 kph (about 42 mph) witch is very good, DSC light flashed and tires started to slip a little. i was a little surprised cuz the car could have definatly handled even higher speed, but the tires killed that dream. wish i had money to get new tires.

heres a pic of the curve

Jethro Tull

iTrader: (6)

Are you sure the road was completely dry?

Hey, if you bought your car new, you get 3 more sets of those "sucky" tires FREE!

mattvit

dude, its 100 degrees. so yes the road was dry. lol

Jethro Tull

iTrader: (6)

The reason I asked is because here, there are often sprinklers that water road-side landscaping. I live in a desert, hasn't rained here in...well I can't remember the last time it rained. But sometimes those sprinklers slicken things up a bit, and in the early morning I sometimes can't tell if the road is completely dry.

reaper1

Don' t worry, I have the same problem with mine. If I make a hard stop I'll feel my brakes lock but yet my tires slip. I have only 9000 mile on my car. I't like there'a no thread there.

cleoent

the stock bridgestone tires are awesome when it's dry.

did you have the dunlops? I dont really think i've heard of anyone complaining of the dry grip of the bridgestongs but i could be wrong.

mattvit

i have the stock bridgstone's. its really hot and humid today, so maybe its that. i actually did notice that the tires are best in midrange temp. not to hot, and not to cool

ivory8

omg...i know where ur house is! better lock ur doors ^^ jk

MyRXdrug

I can't wait to replace the stock tires! I believe there are tires much much better at around the same price.

cleoent

yeah you definitely dont replace the stock tires with the same ones, there are good tires for half the price.

But the stock tires still grip quite well.

LionZoo

The stock Dunlops are generally regarded as superior to the stock Bridgestones. However, try that turn with DSC off; I'm sure DSC won't allow you to go to the absolute bleeding edge before they kick in, not to mention HOW you turn into that corner will have a big bearing on if you activate the DSC or not. While the RE040s are known to be loud and slippery in the wet, they also have a reputation for great dry grip.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

*sigh*

I mean dude, is this your first set of Summer tires or something ?

I can make ANY tires slide, stock Rubbers dont suck in summer.

It has alot to do with road conditions, turning angle, and of course, the driver's input.

Miatamoto

I autocrossed a two day event right after getting my RX-8 on the stock setup including tires, alignment shocks. The Bridgestones were great and had plenty of grip.

VRZOOMZOOM

Hmm......I have the Dunlops here, don't have much complaint on them except they seem slippery when the ground wet. But they seem to have great grip in dry weather. Can't complain and they are still at 7/32 after 11.5K mi.

RX26b

Oh yeah, by whom? Dunlop is a second rate company compared to the Bridgestone giant, and therefore don't have the same money to pour into R&D. And when comparing replacement cost of the OEMs the Dunlops come out obscenely more expensive than the RE040s.

Somebody else mentioned there are better tires for the same money. Sure, but there's only about half a dozen choices out there that are better than the OEMs in the dry.

Raptor2k

These tires rule

mattvit

wow ur so cool! lmao

willy23

i want to drop my car a few inches can somebody help me out????

TimzSI

I drove my rx8 from Washington DC to Montreal for the Gran Prix weekend. What a cool ******* town. The roads suck about as bad as the DC area, I would say. Lots of potholes, different, disjointed surfaces, etc. I stayed where Rue Sherbrooke meets Cote-de-Niges. I got towed because I had VA plates I'm pretty sure, because I was parked legally. Otherwise, a great place to visit!

The_Bark

My DSC kicks in if I give it too much gas at the go, and I'm talking not even enough to burn rubber. I feel the back end slide slightly and the light kicks in. My car just hit 10,000 miles, but I think the Vegas heat doesn't help--I'm not sure what the surface temperature of the pavement is, but it's quite hot.

On a side note, I had to use Mazda Road Assistance today. Just as I was about 1 mile from home, I started having a warbly feel and didn't see any tire pressure indicator light come on. I made it home, got out and inspected the tires. The rear right side had a slow "sssssssssssssssssssssssssssss" sound, and then I spotted a big nail or something sticking out of it with a screw-top on. I couldn't get it out, and the head was easily 1/4 to 1/2" protruding from the tire surface.

Mazda's Road Assistance answer: Tow it. Kind of sucks, but I'm not complaining too much--just happy I made it home.

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

the stock bridgestone potenzas are excellent on dry surfaces. during 2 days of "very spirited driving" i never had a problem. they grip well, and tires only grip better when they are hot. hot rubber = sticky. melted rubber = glue.

at different times i drove with and without dsc/tc. the only difference it made was when i made a mistake. if you drive correctly, you wont have a problem.

abbid said it correctly.

User24

iTrader: (1)

I have tried to find a good replacement for Dunlop SP Sport; however the replacements are either strictly summer ultra high performance, or lower build quality, or lower wear life. There's a reason why the Dunlop are "expensive" and there's a reason why some tires are half the price.

StewC625

I have been extremely happy with the Pirelli PZero Nero M+S all-seasons that I put on my car at the 3000 mile point (and even happier with the $350 I sold the stock Bridgestones for!!) - the car handles beautifully, and the tires grip great in all weather. My biggest problem with the stock tires is that they were basically useless for 5 months of the year - get the temperature below 45 degrees, and they turned into slippery old erasers - they were so slippery they wouldn't even squeal when you slid or spun them.

The Pirellis stay usable all the way down into the sub-zero temps and don't seem to have given up anything in hot temperatures. I'm sure if I did a track day and a g-tech comparison on lateral G's that the stock tires on a warm day would deliver more grip, but the "butt-o-meter" that rules the day on the street can't tell the difference.

Plus, I did a "plus-zero" size upgrade - went up to a 245-40/18 size from the stock 225/45-18. These are wider and lower profile (Ok, slightly lower profile, but noticably wider) and they fit just fine with no interference and look mean as ****. Nice combo of attributes!

Another plus is treadwear - at 33,000 miles in service, they still have plenty of usable tread left - they are getting a bit noisy now, and they will need replacing before winter, but are still in quite good shape. Try getting more than 15K out of those Bridgestones. Also, they are only $160 at TireRack per tire!

swoope

iTrader: (5)

not cool,

right on target..

beers

The_Bark

I can tell you here in Vegas, it cost $262 and change to replace one stock tire. Sad thing was, the dealership didn't have one in stock, and couldn't locate one throughout town and had to overnight it. I think of all the money I've paid insurance fees for and never used, and have to get stuck with "an act of God" that I'm liable for, even though the car only has 10,000 miles on it. Really sucks, especially in a town with so much construction. Oh well... I'm happy to have it back.