Racer X-8

I called my salesman on this topic. You pay for the first replacement set, then all others after that are free.
You need to perform the required maintenance for the tires, such as rotate & balance at the required intervals. He said the plan is called "Tires for Life".
This plan is irregardless of other servicing you do there. It stands by itself.

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

BoozeGuy.........don't do it.
Runflats 'run flat' by having VERY stiff sidewalls, and therefor an awful ride....I predict that within one month you would junk your new tires for conventionals! You heard it here!
Also, read the small print, no tire shop will repair a RF that has gone down and been driven on. For any reason. For any distance. They are not repairable - they are essentially a $280 disposable item. Read it and weep, don't take my word for it.
Bottom line = Junk.
S

Boozehound

As far as runflats go, I understand that the sidewall is the reason they can run flat, and there have to be some trade-offs there. On the other hand, it may be either pack half as much into the tiny trunk with a donut taking up the other half, or run the risk that one day you may blow out a runflat or lose pressure in one. Sure the shop may not want to fix it for liability reason, but isn't that why there's road hazard warranty and prorated new tire prices? You're probably right, if the technology doesn't get any better, I wont go for something that's waaaaay expensive and disposable, but when the time comes, I'm definitely going to explore any options I have.

Mr. Wiggles - the math on the oil changes seem fuzzy. Sure that's a lot of oil changes, but look at the car you drive - pull out the manual and see what the recommended services are and at what intervals. Some of that stuff is rediculous - can you imagine paying your dealer to replace a timing belt? On my folks' Lexus, the dealer wanted over $1000 to change it (and don't say "well that's just Lexus for you" it happens everywhere). And how bout a new water pump? Flush & clean the cooling system? New brake pads? Need new tranny fluid and filter? I guess its not going to the cleaners if you're already taking your car there in the first place, but I still like a little shadetree work myself, so long as there isn't a warranty covering what I'm doing (and none of the aforementioned items are usually covered unless they fail early). And oil changes at the dodge dealer near me (open to any make, model, etc) are 9.99 and have been for 6 months.

As for the 80K tires.... I may have used my own fuzzy math there... But I have had a set on the RX-7 that has lasted over 40K - but they weren't the real cheapos.

I know I'm cynical, but maybe it's just because I'm cheap...

mazdabob

As far as runflats go, I've had them on 2 C5 Corvettes, and don't think the ride is that bad. I put Dunlop Sport 9000 runflats on my VW Passat GLX all-wheel-drive wagon, and find the ride to be quite good. Recently one tire had a slow leak, but I drove the car locally on the weekend, and got it fixed on Monday. It turned out to be a screw in the tread. They took the tire off and patched it like a normal tire. Runflats can be repaired as long as the puncture is not in the sidewall.

ZoomZoom

That's the same as a regular tire then.

KKMmaniac

"The RX-8 comes with Bridgestone RE040 which have a treadwear of 140."

Are we sure this is the Treadwear Rating of the RE040's on the RX8? Sometimes the tire manufacturer will make tires with special specs. for a car manufacturer. (as with the 15" on the RX-7 FC series)

RX-8 Zoomster

I can't imagine Bridgestone producing two versions of the RE040, OEM vs. "Other".

I believe they are the same tire.

The RX-8 comes with RE040's. The Bridgestone RE040 Potenza's have a treadwear of 140. Therefore RX-8's tires have a treadwear of 140. In this case 1 + 1 IS EQUAL TO 2.