RotaryXTypeSH

what is the largest tire size for the RX8 could handle (width)?? Front/back?? cuz i'm seaching for a aftermarket rims right now, if the car is capable of putting on large tire size then i might decide on using more money to buy higher quality and lighter rims for my RX8....

wakeech

...it COMES with 18's... why would you need anything bigger than that?? the brakes are already small enough to put into 17's, which would probably be the best size to get if you're gonna buy new rims for it... more tyre sizes, cheaper, lighter, stronger, etc.

anyhoo, the width is already 8"... if you add more width, it's NOT going to help the handling of your car... do a search on the hundreds and hundreds of posts about this topic we've had... the heat of the debate was in august of last year... i remember it well

yes, check out the debate, get more info, and don't be an SCC tuner. they're retards.

erik

Wakeech,

He said TIRE size, not WHEEL size. He didn't say he was going to get a bigger wheel, just a lighter, "nicer" wheel. I really like the wheels that come with the 8 but that's a matter of opinion.

I don't know the answer, but I did wonder about the same thing. I have no idea if wider tires would be better or not for handling, but some S03s would be nice!!

ERIK

Quick_lude

If you want to drastically improve your handling spend the money on a coilover suspension and keep the stock wheels/tires. 225/45/18 size tires are plenty wide.. We don't even know how heavy the OEM wheels are. If you really want to reduce unsprung weight then going with ligher 17" rims would be the way to go.

zoom44

so then what would be the proper, best, biggest, whatever tire size for said rims?

RotaryXTypeSH

for me i want to get widest tires possible for my RX8 that's y i'm asking how wide could it go? that's the question for this post...

MrWigggles

On an 8" wheel you can squeeze a 245/40-18. But I would only do that on the back where you are less likely to "tuck" the tire like you would on the front during cornering.

for instance the Kumho MX: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...model=Ecsta+MX

For the stock horsepower of 250, I don't think you are going to get much more performance out of the car using a wider tire (especially in the front).

Now if you plan to auto cross or drag race with slicks, a wider tire might give you slightly better performance (however, most of the performance gain will come from the use of slicks not necessarily the wider tire).

Remember, wider tires (and there corresponding rims) are ultimately heavier than narrower tires. So any additional traction is often offset by the additional weight of the tire.

-Mr. Wigggles

RotaryXTypeSH

thanks Mr. Wigggles!!

Smoker

wakeech, do you know what is the smallest wheel size our 8 can take ? I'm thinking in terms of getting winter tires, going to try to get the smallest wheel size possible.

babylou

Smoker,

It is simple. If your RX-8 came stock with 18" wheels then the smallest size that can be fitted are 17" due to front brake clearance.

If your RX-8 came stock with 16" wheels then 16" is the smallest that can be fitted.

Alejandro8587

Does anyone know could a 210hp auto RX-8 laydown some rubber with stock tires or will I have to figure it out on the test drive

Sputnik

I wouldn't take a car that comes from the factory with the same size tires on the front/rear, and then only widen the rear tires. That would mess up the handling and balance of the car.

---jps

MrWigggles

Why do you say that?

My current car the SC300 with manual transmission was offered with the following tire options in Japan. Some had 225 front and rear and some had 245 front and 275 rear. My friend runs 315's on the rear and wouldn't for a second change it.

I am currently running 245 and 275's in the rear and haven't noticed a reduction in performance.

I would guess that going with a 245 in the rear would create a little better grip and thus a little more understeer. Judging by the Autoweek video that might not be a bad thing - you'll have no problems getting the rear end loose according to that video.

Also any minor upset in balance would be compensated by a minor increase in straight line traction generated by the slightly wider tire.

Regardless, it is a minor change and will have minor impact whether its negative or my guess positive.

-Mr. Wigggles

Sputnik

Some cars come with differing widths, some don't. You can have balanced handling with differing widths, but the suspension has to be setup for it. If the suspension is setup as well as it can for tires with the same width, then changing that simply upsets the balance.

Quote:

...I am currently running 245 and 275's in the rear and haven't noticed a reduction in performance...

If it didn't make any difference, then there are three possibilities that I can think of:

1) The car isn't all that impressive.
2) The driver isn't all that impressive.
3) You simply aren't driving the car hard enough for it to matter (most likely).

Quote:

...I would guess that going with a 245 in the rear would create a little better grip and thus a little more understeer. Judging by the Autoweek video that might not be a bad thing - you'll have no problems getting the rear end loose according to that video...

Even with a balanced car, there will be times when you want to oversteer, and times when you want to understeer. Mind you, sometimes that happens because the driver made a mistake, and heavy oversteer/understeer is not desirable either. But I wouldn't go making tire choices judging from how the car goes through a couple of corners (especially if it's in a video).

Quote:

...Also any minor upset in balance would be compensated by a minor increase in straight line traction generated by the slightly wider tire...

If you feel that you need more straight-line traction on a car with 169 lb/ft peak torque, than you need handling balance, then go ahead and do what you gotta do.

---jps

MrWigggles

Sput,

You act like someone is going to crash in burn because they made their rear tire 8% wider.

If it wasn't clear from my post,

It won't make much difference either way

-Mr. Wigggles

Ps. Not that I have turbo charged SC300, but this guy does http://www.sc300turbo.com/ and he has the exact same tire width and rims that I do. If you are ever in the Miami area and want to experience what a manual transmission SC300 (supra chasis) can do, give him a call. He reliably puts 575 RWHP to the ground and most importantly the car handles great.