Cap

I purchased a set of Avon Tech M550 A/S tires for my RX-8 about a month or so ago. I now have about 2,000 miles on them, so I thought I'd write a brief review.

Reason for Purchase: I live in the mid-Atlantic region (Baltimore-metro area) and was looking for something capable in light snow. Given the typical amount of snow, I felt A/S was a better choice than a dedicated winter tire. For whatever reason, the Avon Tech M550 is the only A/S tire that Tire Rack offers for the RX-8 in the factory size (225/45-18).

Place of Purchase: Tire Rack. If you've never tried them, I highly recommend them -- especially if you're in the market for "exotic" sizes. Since the tire was in-stock at their Delaware warehouse, they arrived at the installer 2 days after I placed the order. This is the second set of tires I've purchased from the Tire Rack.

Price: $136 x 4 tires + $34.14 shipping = $578.14 total. (I just checked Tire Rack's web page and the price has dropped to $129/tire.)

Dry Traction: Acceptably close to OEM rubber, especially considering it's A/S.

Wet Traction: Seems about equal to the OEM rubber.

Hydro Resistance: Not enough time driving through standing water, but they seem like they should be at least as good as the OEM rubber.

Snow Traction: It's only snowed once here so far, so I don't have any real feedback yet. I did hit one slick spot as I was making a left. The front tires skidded slightly before I was able to correct by straightening the steering and slowing down. I know with summer tires, the understeer/plowing effect would have been much worse and the recovery would have taken much longer. As an aside, if any one is considering running summer tires during the winter, please don't. It's a real safety issue even if there's no snow.

Steering Response: This is a big let-down. Steering feel is quite numb compared to the OEM Bridgestones. In turns, you definitely feel the tires "squirm" as the weight transfers during intial turn-in. As the front of the car catches up with the direction you want to go, there's a slight wallowing effect. The wallowing is also noticeable in gradual sweeps and bends.

Ride Comfort: Marginal improvement over the OEM rubber. Tires absorb bumps and impacts better.

Noise Comfort: Hands down, these tires are a lot quieter than the OEM rubber. If this means anything, I can now listen to the radio at "VOL 6". With the OEM rubber, I usually turned the radio up to "VOL 12". This may not be a fair comparison, since the Bridgestones were 30k miles old when I replaced them with the Avons. That said, in my experience, summer tires quickly become noisy and A/S tires tend to stay about the same.

Tread Wear: Should last longer. We'll see.

Overall: As long as you understand what you're buying, I recommend these tires. They are a very good compromise between summer and winter performance at a great price. That said, if you have the means and inclination, I recommend running dedicated summer tires as your climate allows. Anything less would be a diservice to our RX-8!

Hope this was useful.

BoosTED

iTrader: (2)

Wow, so the benefit for these tires is less noise and they should last longer.

Performance is less? Even in the cold under 40 degrees Farenheit?

Dark8

I have been on the 550s since mid summer and love them. My BS 040 tires only had 8,000 miles on them when I swaped tires. I can hear the engine and stereo now. I haven't had them in snow but they grip much better below 50 degrees then the 040s did. Yes, the sidewalls are softer so turn in isn't as quick, but that's also what helps make the tire a lot quieter then the OEMs. And they do much better on cold and wet roads.

As you can tell I am very happy with them, especially for the price.

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

hey Cap, report back after tomorrow, we're suppose to be hit with some white stuff Friday

Cap

Actually, the major benefit is being able to use the tire for all 4 seasons plus legitimate light snow duty. Or, for the more hard-core enthusiast living in a fairly temperate region, run A/S tires in the winter and summer tires for the other 3 seasons. For RX-8 owners, I believe ride comfort and noise is a secondary concern and so the less-noise and the additional tread life is just icing on the cake.


The glass transition temperature (point where elastomers go from rubbery phase to glassy phase) for most summer tires is right around 40 degF. It's at this point where the performance delta between summer and A/S tires should start shifting in favor of the A/S tire.

Cap

Yep. And if we get a decent amount that sticks, I'm going to find a deserted parking lot and, ahem, test true snow performance.

BoosTED

iTrader: (2)

That is a safe and smart thing to do. kudos

msrecant

Cap, an excellent review.

I liked the way you honestly layed out the pros and cons. You gave some good illustrations of the trade-offs between the "summer tire" Potenzas and the "all weather" Avons. There are always trade-offs and what is "best" is based on how you drive, what performance you require and what is personnaly important to you. You told us not just your conclusions, but your driving situation, your requirements and your preferences. That way I at least have a chance of applying your data to my situation, preferences, etc.

This kind of tire info is REALLY usefull. Great job!

Cap

Lighten up. It was a joke.

BoosTED

iTrader: (2)

So was mine sorry I didn't lay the sarcasm on heavy enough.

In all seriousness though I think I have learned almost as much on icy parking lots as I have on the roads when it comes to slippery conditions. It IS a great way to test the limits of the tires.

My E-brake has saved me a couple of times where I would have otherwise been t-boned.

65Soda

Hey gang....I'm a fairly new RX-8 owner having taken delivery in October of this year. With my past high performance cars that came with summer only tires I have either bought a second set of rims and mounted snows and then swapped back and forth in the spring/fall or I have just swapped out the tires. Either way it is a guess on when to make the swap and worries you might get caught with your pants down (wrong tires for the wrong weather). This time around I almost immediately purchased and installed a set of ultra high performance all-season tires (Avons). I lost some ultimate grip in the dry but as others have noted.....gained a slightly quieter ride and a bit more compliance. Plus I won't have to switch back/forth as I have in the past. So far I could not be happier. Last week we received close to 20in of snow and a little freezing rain and I did not have any trouble making my way around on infrequently plowed and snow packed roads. Ground clearance appears to be my only limitation. Yesterday I had a business meeting and traveled across town and without thinking when I parked I picked a spot away from other cars but noticed after I stopped realized the nose of the car was noticeably downward from the tail. I figured I was going to have a tough time backing up on the shiny snowpacked lot but after the meeting using cautious throttle and clutch engagement I backed right out. So....ultra high performance all season maybe an option for some of you. So far it is proving to be a good compromise for me.....

ShogunQ

I have the Avon Tech 550s as well. Maybe I just don't push the car as hard as some but I didn't notice any significant handling differences between the OEM tires and the Avon tyres. In heavy rain the Avons felt much better than the OEM tires. I never even attempted to drive the OEM tires in snow but we did have 5 inches last week that I drove the Avon tyres through; they performed very well for an all season IMO. Everyone was driving slow anyway (~30 mph) but I never felt the car to be uncontrollable. It was very predictable. I think they are a great year round tire if you don't have to suffer through endless snow in the winter. Snow melts off fast where I live so I felt it would be a waste of money to go with a winter package. I have another car I can use if I feel the roads are that nasty; in which case I'll usually just stay home anyway. lol

pdcrew5

I swapped out my Dunlop OEMs for the Avon Tech 550s last week and am very impressed with their handling in snow. If your 8 is equipped with the DSC package and you live outside of the major snowbelt regions in the U.S., the Avons are a legitimate alternative to snow tires. You could probably get by with the Avons even without DSC taking into consideration the near perfect weight distribution of the 8. I used all seasons on my 96 Mustang GT in SW Ohio for the past seven years and didn't have any major problems with the snow so long as I took it easy and didn't use first gear. I have to believe that an 8 without DSC and fitted with Avons can handle moderate snowfall amounts at least as well as a Mustang.

MX6_2_RX8

I just got a set of Avon Tech 550s installed last night and I can hear the engine, I can hear the stereo! I can hear the squeaky door - oh well.

Did I mention that I can hear. I had 16,000 on the stock RE040s. I rotated them until they were both pretty thin and then just left them where they were until the back tires were approaching slicks. I wanted to wear them out so I could bring the car out in the winter without fear of sudden death.

$675 installed and out the door with tax.

So far I have clocked 12 miles on them so I don't have anything else to report except..... I can hear.

Did I mention that they were quieter.

msrecant

Can you speak a little louder? I can't hear you over my Potenzas with 17K on them.

fizzer

I've had my 550 A/S all winter and can't say enough good stuff about them. I went a step up in the size and got 245/40-18s on the stock rims. They fit great and give good rim protection. Car looks a little cooler with the meatier tires too

The slightly wider width gives about the same total dry traction of the summer 225s, but you can still tell they have softer sidewalls and more squirm in the tread. Not really noticable unless you're pushing it hard.

Snow traction is about 500% better than the OEM michelin pilot sport summers. I expected them to be a little better, but was surprised at how well they handle the snow. No replacement for dedicated winter tires, but i'd feel pretty safe in up to 2 inches of snow. If you only have to drive on roads that are plowed fairly often in the winter, these are fine.

They are Z rated as well, so i'm gonna have to try a track session or two on them this summer to see how well they hold up. How "All Season" are they really?

MX6_2_RX8

WHAT? I THINK IT WILL TAKE ABOUT 1000 MILES FOR THE RINGING IN MY EARS TO GO AWAY .

fizzer - I didn't hear you mention that they were quieter.

It was the advice of everybody here and all the glowing reviews on tirerack that made me choose these over the Zeons and Kumhos that were the same price or a little cheaper.

msrecant

HELLOOOOOO!

Did you consider the Pirelli Pzero Nero M&S 245/40-18s? If so, why did you pick the Avons over the Pirellis?

Remember to speak up when you reply!

MX6_2_RX8

Well, errr, Ummm. Not really.

The snow traction is a little lower than I would like to see for my Maine winters.

fizzer

They're definately quieter, I noticed it more when I first got them, but now I guess I'm used to it because you still get some road noise. Perhaps the wider size is a little bit louder?

fizzer

Forgot to mention. These tires will develop a mild flat-spot if the car sits for anything longer than like 2 days. Don't worry though, it goes away after about 5 miles of driving, you might notice a slight vibration until they warm up a little.

msrecant

Like the Potenzas don't? For me, in colder weather, the first few miles are pretty bumpy until the tires warm up.

mkztg

I bought one of these tires about a year ago when one of my stock Dunlop's got a nail hole to close to the sidewall. What I didn't realize was that this was an all season and the stock were summer tires. I should have known, it says so in the description. I was just ignorant.

My inital problem was putting this one tire on the back axle with a Dunlop. The traction control didn't like this at all. Shortly after it was put on I had it moved to the front axle. Works great. Now that I am going to Germany (and a little more intellegent on tires) I am going to get three more of the Avon tires so I can at least have All Season tires over there.

In West Texas snow is not common and you can get away with summer tires for the whole year.

Sorry to ramble, I just thought I'd share my experience with this tire too.

ferrocene

I just bought these so I should have my impressions within a week.

nebusm

mine are getting installed right now.

$144 each discount tire (..from tire rack) which is a $8 markup vs. what I would have paid tirerack.com

ordered them yesterday morning, tire rack shipped 'em out and they're being installed today.

even though they're not finished installing them, and I've logged 0 miles.. ..let me give you my review..

they're better than the 040s. ..especially since mine are bald (20k)
(lots of sarcasm)

bald -> if I stick a penny in the tread, mr. lincoln isn't even getting a haircut.

..although I appreciate the experience with the 040s, I think my 'skid controlling skills' have been finely honed, and I'm ready to start driving this car more than 7 months out of the year. (MI)

kidding aside, I'm just really excited to have this car 'un-garaged and fully insured'.

..will also have an impression within a week.