It's time to start thinking about using snow tires again.
 

Winters coming and bringing the snow with it. If you don't have your winter tires and and wheels yet i wouldn't wait to much longer. We have already sold out of our two lowest price wheels for the RX8 and the tires are also going fast. I put together a list of the top recommended snow tires with some of the more popular wheels for the RX8 to try and make it a little easierand to give you an idea of pricing. The listings below do not include the sensors. They would be an additional 58.50 per wheel for the sensor and the mounting sleeve. Purchasing the sensors is optional and completely up to you. For those that may not know, with out the sensor you would constantly have a warning light on your dash board. Some people are OK with that and others would rather have the sensors installed and working correctly.

215/55QR17 Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 -- 98.00 each
17X7.5 Sport Edition A7 -- 104.00 each
Total without shipping or TPMS -- 808.00 set of four

215/55R17 Dunlop Winter Sport M3 -- 135.00 each
17X7.5 Sport Edition A7 -- 104.00 each
Total without shipping or TPMS -- 956.00 set of four

225/50R17 Dunlop Winter Sport M3 -- 141.00 each
17X7.5 Sport Edition A7 -- 104.00 each
Total without shipping or TPMS -- 980.00 set of four

225/50R17 Dunlop Winter Sport M3 -- 141.00 each
17X7 Kazera KZ-V -- 129.00 each
Total without shipping or TPMS -- 1080.00 set of four

225/50QR17 Dunlop Graspic DS-2 -- 109.00 each
17X7.5 Sport Edition A7 -- 104.00 each
Total without shipping or TPMS -- 852.00 set of four

225/50QR17 Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 -- 109.00 each
17X7.5 Sport Edition A7 -- 104.00 each
Total without shipping or TPMS -- 852.00 set of four

225/50QR17 Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 -- 109.00 each
17X7 Kazera KZ-V -- 129.00 each
Total without shipping or TPMS -- 952.00 set of four

When placing an order please place it through the Tire Rack link that i have listed below. The forum gets credit for the order which helps offset some of the updating and maintenance of the site. If you have any questions or would like assistance in setting up the order please call me directly at 877-522-8473 X269.

Take a look at The Tire Rack's Preferred Winter Tire & Wheel Package for the 2007 Mazda RX-8 6-Speed Manual:



http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AC4&...7&autoModClar=



:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:



Preferred Packages are available for other Mazdas as well. Or, you can build your own by selecting from the various tire and wheel (both steel and alloy) options that we have.



Read more about or build your own Winter Tire & Wheel Package here:



http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AC4&...changeover.jsp

My current tire size on '07 is 18 inch rim. Is it okay to use 17 inch?

Not for me Connor, I'm in Florida! :)
Bump for a good person though!

Yes you can drop down to 17" with out any issues as long as you are using the correct rim.

Here's a question......I live in Victoria on Vancouver Island (just up from Seattle) and we honestly get about a week of snow for the entire year (even less than Vancouver). When it does snow it's not a whole lot either. Do you think I'll be okay with Pirelli Winter 240 SnowSport's in 225/45VR18 on the stock 18" rims? They're much cheaper than the rest.

I make no bones about it! Connor does a great job for us. I have first hand experience.

My many thanks for your help on my recent tire purchase Connor. I'll be back again when my 8 needs a new set. And that may not be far off.

-Mark

Slightly related question. I bought 17" rims and snowtires from you guys last season and was wondering when going from 18 to 17 will it through off my speedo any? It seems on my 18's I might be off by 1-2 mph at 60mph anyway (showing 60 but going 58).

just purchased the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 from tire rack 215/55/17 WOW their prices are good!! $190CAD, $93US from tirerack. Hope this forum gets the credit for it! Tirerack is all out of steel rims tho :(

225/45R17's
 

Will this tire fit on my Automatic 05 Shinka?

Yes they will fit but the diameter is slightly smaller and that will affect the speedo.

215/55QR17 Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 -- 98.00 each
17X7.5 Sport Edition A7 -- 104.00 each
Total without shipping or TPMS -- 808.00 set of four


I want this package but i cant get anything that cheap:banghead:

Just a reminder:

I bought Hankook iPike W409s (NOT Icebears). 215/55/17s.

They are awesome - better than the Blizzaks I had on another vehicle. If you see a good price on them, do not hesitate.

i kno blizzaks are better for me but on the tirerack.com website they are 159.00 lowest i can find unlike the 98.00 a piece he is stating above :eyetwitch

?? dude they are $75 bucks now.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....e1=yes&place=4

$75 bucks is a great price for the Blizzaks - even the WS-50s.

That's a steal.

When I called around here last year, the minimum asking price was over $135 per tire.

The economy sucks, though - I've noticed tire prices being slashed along with everything else.

Just filled up my tank with 93 octane for less than $30 - I can't remember the last time that happened.

Connor,

Over the next couple of months, I'll see how well those Goodyear Eagle F1 A/S tires perform in the snow. Thanks for being there for me when I ordered them.

Driving in snow - what sort of country do you live in? Too awesome to contemplate.

Has anyone tried Firestone 235/40/18? They've been recommended to my by my service place.

MN gets 3" snowfall
 

Firestone are fine, used them years a go but going a larger footprint makes it worse, not better in snow. Firestone braking is so-so and they seem to hydroplane more than the other top performers. I used the original Blizzaks on a S-10 GMC compact truck in upper MN and never got stuck and the braking was excellent on ice, so I will assume the latest versions have only been much improved.

I just did a deal with TireRack ( see Cooper for sales) Cooper was excellent and well knowledged on our RX8 needs and specs. He took time to relate their latest snow tire testing this past week and their use of the ice rink lap..only the Blizzak WS60 ( newest version) actually squealed a bit cornering on the ice rink field- the others slipped.

So__ I saved $25 a tire by going with the Blizzak WS60 ($115.00 each) over the slightly quieter Michelin X Ice Xi2 and ordered the least expensive wheels out there as a package; MSW Type14 17x7. Total shipped cost: $992.00 Adding up the cost of mounting twice a year and not to mention the potential damage to the bead over time , the wheel/tire package is actually cheaper after the second year. Mount/balance, taxes in MN yearly costs vs. new wheels ready to go, shows a break even cost after the second winter.
Hopefully_ these cheap wheels will be solid. I realize MSW are China and not Japan made. Ugg.

Thanks - I'll try them. I'll never have to drive them in snow.

winter season driving
 

This thread is really helpful to me as a new RX8 owner [09 GT black mica], but I live in DC where the temps are below 40 most of the winter but we only receive perhaps 2-3 small snowstorms of 2-4 inches per winter. most driving is on cold pavement. It's unclear if I should get snow tires or all season high performance. many posts are from owners in Colorado, Minnesota, etc that receive more snow than we do in DC region. We end up with more slush than deep snow. Any insight is appreciated, as it's already end-October so i want to be ready. If its all seasons, recommendations are appreciated. thanks for the terrific info posted on the site so far.:lol2:

I live in MD between Baltimore/DC and I used all season Falken's last year and they were perfectly fine. I haven't decided what I'm going to do about tires this winter though. We don't really need "snow" tires here, because we probably won't see much at all, and if we don't we won't likely be driving in it.

thanks blackenedwings. do you keep the falkens on all year or replace the stock tire? and since we live close by where do you buy your tires? thanks for the quick post reply.

When I got the Falken's I kept them on all year round while I was naturally aspirated. Now that I'm turboed I changed to larger, stickier Federal 595s which I'm very happy with.

edit: Oh sorry, I order all of my tires online and have them shipped to a local shop to put them on.

will it fit?
 

225/55/R17

bolt pattern: 5x114.3

snow tires
 

I purchased an 09 rx8 grand touring lst spring that came from the factory with Dunlop Sport 2050's and they got zero traction in the snow up here in Minnesota. I purchased a set of Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires and they do great on snow plus they are all season and are 'y' speed rated to boot. The DWS stands for = dry, wet, snow. I couldn't be happier. check 'em out...