gary,

Go to tirerack and you will find plenty of options for the stock 225/45-18 size and 245/40-18s will also fit on the stock rims. The latter is a VERY popular size with even more options.

The facts you here from dealers are usually no better than rumors. Their rumors are even worse.

-Mr. Wigggles

 

I am shopping for tires for my 8 as well.. I narrowed down my choices to SPT and KDW2.

KDW2 is more but seems to handle better. SPT is soooo affordable. However, I love the patterns on KDW2. SPT is not bad but man.. what a cool looking tires (KDW2). But I am kinda leaning toward getting SPT because of its price.

Anyone used both tires on their 8? Any input to which one I should get? I am FL so no snow worries for me.

Links:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....1=yes&place=17

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....1=yes&place=11

p.s. Any1 know which is a good and inexpensive place to put on these tires? I am not sure if I trust walmart for 18inch tires/rims. Any inputs appreciated.

 

Upon observing the tire pages, SPT seems quieter than KDW2 though, so I am leaning more toward SPT now.

 

and the spt are awsome in the rain.

beers

 

I went with the Michelin Pilot Sport 2 route. Have had them on for close to a year. These are on the high cost end of the spectrum, but at the time were the highest rated from Tire Rack.

Had them shipped direct from Tire Rack to my Mazda dealer. Are they worth the money? My opinion says I would buy them again over a less expensive tire, unless Tire Rack's review changes its mind.

 

I'm with you. I want the top tires and don't care what they cost.

Michelin
Bridgestone
Pirelli

I have driven in the rain only twice and the car is garaged in the winter. When the weather is nice and the roads are dry I want grip.

 

Then the Falken Azenis RT-615 might be for you. Supposed to have even better grip, near R Compound level grip. Tire wear is a concern though.

 

They are about as close as you can get to R compounds. One of the guys in our group who runs R compounds, rode with me, and felt that the grip was excellent fro a street tire. They have grip to spare on the track, and exceed the average driver's need on the street. And if you don't drive in the rain a lot, you will be even better off. They get a little squirmy in the rain. they do wear quick, I went through 2/32 in one track day, but it was a track that is rough on tires. I love them, and will buy another set as dedicated track tires when these wear out.

 

I agree pretty much with L8APEX, the Azenis are pretty hard to beat arguably on the street OR track for our car vs. most rubber out there.

When I started to look at replacement tires, mostly on Tire Rack, I eventually realized as good as that site is, it still only provides a myopic vision of the tire world, obviously biasedly based on what they sell. That is not a criticism BTW, just the way it is. They simply don't sell Falkens and that's too bad. I have no idea why.

They certainly do l a bunch of mostly quality brands and tires. Also their own tests are pretty good, but user's opinions are something else, as, for one, they just got new tires on their cars - generally they're nicer than what they had before just by being new, and of course, they paid their money and so need to justify the expense - I just spent $1K on new tires and they suck, I'm an idiot, and a poor decision maker at that - isn't the typical review - whether it might be true or not. Also the reviewer's car, driving style and their car's ability are so variable and unknown as to nullify most comments as they apply to your car anyway.


But in the end, I think(!) I made a decent decision with the Falkens, even if it was only partially dumb luck. One thing I noticed immediately on the street they are comfy, quiet, plenty grippy at typical non-winter temperatures. They were so comfy i was initially pretty worried I had a ringer.

Then I got to the track I discovered the rubber turns to bubble gum when hot... sticky gooie bubblegum with grip...esp. lateral grip at high & low speed to spare to about 1.3 G for my 235/40-18 size.

If there is a negative to them, although I don't really consider it that, is they wear fairly quickly. For me that just means I get to get fresh ones sooner . It's just the price one pays to play hard.

 

I have to agree, when they get warmed up, they stick to everything. Even in daily driving, they pick up everything on the road, sometimes i swear the paint stripes are coming up too, there is so much getting grabbed by them. But warmed up, they provide more grip than I know what to do with. They do wear, but they are doing what they are designed to do. How else did Falken climb to the top of street tire classes in SCCA autocross, people love the 215 and 615 tires.

 

I'm not going to make the same mistake I made last year on my last RX-8. I mistakenly bought the KDW2s because everyone insisted they handled better than the RE040s (and they were less expensive), and my experience was the exact opposite. Handling sunk down to a level so bad that I couldn't even take fast turns anymore without the car sliding out.

When I got the second RX-8 I was back to RE040s and was happy as **** all over again. When this set of RE040s wear out, I'm buying them again. It's the only way I can guarantee I won't lose anything in the handling department. It's too bad they don't let you try before you buy when it comes to special ordering tires.

 

Don't kick yourself and give up. 'Everyone' is usually roughly 50% right & 50% wrong. You simply picked wrong.

Scientific Testing is the thing to believe in, e.g. https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=65697&highlight=grms. Progress to unattainable perfection only comes with some risk. Don't quit risking just cause you made a incorrect decision, find out how you came to the wrong conclusion, make a new, better decision. RE040 are OK+ in the grip dept, but with significant faults; noise, wear, comfort. There's better to be found... good luck next time you'll get it right eventually.

 

When you say wear quickly, in terms of miles what are we talking about? 10K, 15K..less?

Thanks

 

hard to say for me, I won't get 10k out of them, due to track abuse. I do know someone that drives them all the time without tracking them, and he was guessing about 15k.

 

The test in that thread you linked me to wasn't even done on the RX-8...it was done on a different car, plus it was FWD. I have the same problem with tire rack reviews.

As far as what you mentioned about the RE040, I love the grip, don't care about the noise because my stereo always mutes it (and it's a sports car so I expect road noise and don't even mind it), and I think the comfort is fine. The only problem I have is obviously the wear (which was another reason why I went with the KDW 2s last time since they had longer treadlife). First time around with the RE040s I made it to somewhere between the 23000 - 25000 mile range, and as of right now it looks like I'm headed in the same direction.

Anyway I'm not going to doubt that the Azenis handle better than the RE040s. And they have an amazingly great price. But a treadlife of 15000 miles? I'd have to buy 2 sets of them in order for them to last as long as the RE040s, and at that point you're already spending as much as you would for 1 set of RE040s.

 

The Azenis are not really for the Daily Driver type. I would not recommend them to anyone who is concerned with tread life. They are definately a High Performance tire, really only designed for those that are trying to get the most out of their car, while remaining on street tires. For comparison, I got 21k miles on the stock Dunlops, no extreme driving condiditons. And then only got about 16k out of the KDW 2's, under pretty harsh conditions.

You might look into the Toyo T1-S if you can still find it, or the new T1-R, they come highly recommended by other 8 owners. Buying tires is hard for a car like this, everyone has a different purpose, you just have to find the tires that fit yours and your budget.

 

I'm sticking with OEM Potenzas.

 

I like my Toyo T1S' far better then my stock RE 040's. They have better handling (more grip at the limit, higher limit), and wear on them has been very good. T1R's are supposed to be even better. From the people that have them on this board nothing but good reviews. RE040's are decent stock marginal tires. Better tires can be had for the same money. Hell, if you want to stay in the same company go for the RE050's.

 

Go with AVS-ES100... You won't go wrong here.
Azenis RT-615 on the other hand, although great, they only last ~ 10K miles.

Toyos T1-S although great looking are too mushy and not very confidence inspiring at the limits. I bought some last year and I sold them within 1 month. I just never felt comfortable with them. Granted I push my car all the time.

My 2 cents,
Carlos

 

They have a good write up in this months Sport Compact Car on the various Ultra High Performance tires. Might be good to pick it up.

 

I just ordered a set of RT-615s but I'm worried about tread life now that everyone keeps on mentioning it. I only had about 25k on my RE-040 but there's still enough tread on there to get to at least 30+ , how are the RT-615 compared to the RE-040 in regards to tread life in the same conditions? There's plenty of people mentioning the tread life but they all seem to be different driving condition compared to the OEM tyres.. and I noticed the tread is 200 compared to 140 on the bridgestones although I know they cannot be directly compared..

Also, do the RT615 get as loud and uncomfortable as the RE040 when it's towards the end of the life?

 

I'd say they are roughly the same wear characteristics. Note however the RT-615 have only 8/32" tread to start whereas the RE040s have 10/32" giving the Azenis improved response right out of the chute - sortof, but not really, like shaving done to R-compound tires.

Also unless you track them, my experience is that they just react and wear like (really good) normal everyday tires, e.g., they don't get hot, soft and sticky like we've all been taking about. That's is when they wear most, of course. They need to approach 150 degrees or more to get them into their gooie rubber mode. That takes several passes around a technical track 1-2 miles long at high speed.

Mine are down to 5/32-6/32, but thats, 1 yr, 10K miles and LOTS and LOTS of track days. And they are not ANYTHING like the RE040 as far as noise, viration, and harshness anywhere in their lifetime to date... no druming, no roaring at speed. They are still way more comfy than the RE040s ever were at any point in their life.

 

I got some NITTO NT 555 (245/40ZR-18) on my stock rims..

 

I like the Dunlop Direzza DZ101

 

Now i'm really realy looking forward to the RT615s...hope they'll be in soon.. I'm so sick of the RE040s...