and acceleration is going to wear the back tires differently from the front, don't forget you can't switch sides (L and R) at least with the stock tires, they are directional.

Tire Rotation Necessary?
 

Normally, I rotate my tires on my FWD cars, but the RX8 is rear wheel drive and 50/50 weight distribution. I know with the BMW I had before, they suggested not rotating the tires and it has the same basic specs.

What are people's thoughts on this? My tires seem to be wearing evenly at 10k.

you still need to rotate

Most definitely. You don't steer with the rear wheels.

Just rotated mine last night at 8K miles. The tire wear is pretty even, but I wanted to rotate it while I had the chance.

You're not driving hard enough! :D

Trussville Mazda Service Rep recommended the tires be rotated at
every oil change(3kMiles).
Makes sense since the tires are so damn expensive.

is there a first page to this thread? i tried reading it a few times but it starts weird. what did i miss?

You need to rotate the tires on our 8s. If not you will wear the inside of the tires on the back. The 8 rides with the rear tires slightly opening outward. This only happens when it is moving. At stand still, they look leveled.

Plus, the front tires do all of the cornering... No matter what , they are having to spin faster or slower depending on how you take your curves.

I'm curious about BMWs reasoning for not rotating tires. I have never heard of that before. Did they say why not?

I did my 1st rotation after 13,000 miles.

The rears were worn MUCH more than what was on the front.

If I had it to do again, I would have rotated at 5,000 or 7,500 mile intervals.

The manual says every 7500 miles - I have mine rotated every other oil change.

clocks were messed up for an hour, i posted at 1:30 (forum thought it was 12:30) to a forum that started at 1 and since i posted at '12:30' my post obviously preceded the other one...wierd

I don't think 7500 miles between rotations is a good idea because there will be a bigger difference in wear between the front and rear sets. Also the stock tires have been reported to have a life of only 15k.

Here's TireRack's Tire Rotation article . They suggest 3-5k for high performance tires.

rx8cited

With the 5 series I had, owners suggested not rotating the tires, because they wear evenly and last longer by not rotating. I got the information second hand, so that is all I know. It did seem to work well, the tires looked great when I traded it in and lots of tread still left at 25k.

I think I will rotate the tires when I do an oil change this weekend. Seems like some good reasons to do so.

Did my first rotation at 3.5K miles at the dealer and plan to continue at that frequency -- along with oil changes. Time well spent IMHO.

Maybe a few burnouts? Autocrossing? Street light racing? Or just fun driving :D

I just did mine at 5000, also the 2nd oil change, and had the insultation kit/pad put in under the cup holder. Seems to work but still gets somewhat warm.

Had a 1999 BMw 3 series. They reccommended rotating every 5000 km-3000 miles. If you dont- you risk uneven wear and a reduction in tire life..

Let's just say nothing that was considered a 'timed' event

;)

Exactly. I believe that the NHTSA rating for the stock Bridgestones is 20k mile tread life. If you go to 7500+ miles you will only do two rotations before replacing and you'll be drivng on uneven tires most of the time.

I have mine rotated every 2500 miles when I bring it in to the dealer for my oil change. My dealer always sends me coupons for a special service, oil, all fluids, rotate tires, cv joints, check brakes, lube doors for $50

Stock tire mileage
 

The stock tires are 140 wear rated, which translates to 28,000. Mind you, I'm not saying we can expect that much, and of course the way you drive makes an enormous difference. As experience builds up, we can get a realistic reading through reports on this forum.

My car has 17,300 miles on it with over half the tread still left. This included a Track weekend and a couple of autocrosses.

I rotate every 7,500 as per the manual. Just get it done every oil change (unless you're on the 5,000 mile "severe" schedule). Mazda won't pay for the rotation before it is time.