45's seem expensive
 

Looking over the Tire Rack add in C&D, I note that few tire companies make 225/45/18's. Those that do seem to charge a lot for them when compared to 40's. My 8 is showing wear bars on 3 wheels with 2 telling me that they need new shoes by summer.

After scanning this section of the Forum, I don't see any threads DIRECTLY pertinent as I'm pretty happy with the performance of the stock setup. So, I'm requesting advice: what size works out to the same amount of rubber on the road without altering my speedo readout while falling into a more popular (read: "less expensive") size?

Additional info: my 8 is my daily driver in the Atlanta, GA area (very little snow, lots of roofing nails/drywall screws falling from pickups, and road-raging SUVs in abundance); I've put about 20K miles on it thus far; I live for cornering, not off-the-line spinouts; I'm a single dad with limited disposable income (I've had two cars in the past decade with Brembo brakes, both had badges which read "Alfa Romeo" , I have no plans to "upgrade" my bakes and/or wheels -- I just need tires.)

Thanks.

A more popular, less expensive size would be 235/40/18. Those are somewhat smaller though.

or 245/40/18. Can get these on all corners, get the extra 20 mm of contact patch with each tire, and not throw off handling with a staggered setup.

you'll lose ride quality going from a 45 to a 40 though, lots of it, plus even that extra 20mm of traction will be offset by the loss of sidewall - it won't be squishy, so it'll handle better (a lot better, with a low sidewall + 20 mm more rubber on the road) but you'll get lots more wheel hop because the sidewall normally absorbs energy transfer under hard acceleration, giving better traction.

Wow...MORE wheel hop? The SUVs (and overweight dirt haulers) around these parts have ruined the blacktop in many of the intersections I routinely travel. Lots of little bumps and dips in the pavement. Powering around many corners in this area reults in light wheel hop which I believe is reponsible for much of the wear on my OEM tires.

I may opt for the 45's after all.

I went to 245/40/18 Pirelli PZero Nero M+S tires - awesome and reasonably priced - $150 each from Tire Rack - paid a local installer $85 to mount/balance them and I was out the door for $710 including shipping.

Any update on what you think of these tires? Was it worth the switch from stock?

Damn near anything is worth the switch from stock.....

Just to clearify, "the switch from the stock SIZE tires."

Actually size and type. The bridgestone's I had were sooooo friggin loud, and in my experiences, not real happy in the rain. Additionally, the stock rim will allow up to a 35 size tire. Some folks here are running it. I choose to stay in the middle of the stock size and the 35's. The wider footprint give the car a nice stance, drops the sidewall size and just feels better. On the noise issue....Michellin Pilots, the Pzero's, the Kumho ASX are a much quieter tire and are better in the rain, even if you go with the larger footprint.

That make sense?

245/40/18's are what I am going with soon. I think the difference in size, depending on which Brand tire you go with, will be in the neighborhood of .1 to .3 inches as compared to stock. So not that big of a diff.

Just a wild guess....but am betting thered1996 is a liberal democrat....:-)

Check out this thread for some good info:
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension-55/pirelli-pzero-nero-m-s-21980/

What about 225/40/18?

BF Goodrich KDW2
 

If price is an issue and you are looking for a stock tire size, consider the KDW2; Tire Rak has is for around $155 which is a great deal for this class of tire. From their website, the only downside might be noise; YMMV

The stock tires are just loud. In fact my wife is starting to annoy me by asking me if "I hear that?" too much. ;) Of course it is tire noise.

The first set I have decided to try will be 245/40-18 for many reasons, cost being one to relate to this thread directly. I will probably try Kumho ASX's since I have them on another one of my cars and like them.

I swapped my stock Dunlops for Toyo Proxes 4's. The Dunlops were very quiet and smooth, but obviously worthless in the snow. The Toyo's works very well, however, I had to go with a 40 vs a 45. If I had the choice to make all over again, I would have stayed with the 45's.

Ride is a lot harsher, and I think I am shaking things loose with driving on these Michigan roads. My guage cluster is even moving a little now....I must say that the tires have been great for me in the snow, and far better than I expected....but lastly, anything was better than spending $1250 on the Blizzak LM-25's or new rim/tire package. All four mounted and balanced for $556.

If you look at 245/40x18 you will loose 0.1 inches of sidewall height, speedo will be 0.6 mph off at 60 mph, and you will gain more traction. IMHO, I would go with 245s for a summer tire.