TybeeRX-8

The OEM tires on the 8 are much less than optimal IMHO. I'd like to get them changed out for S03s, but don't want to pay more. In fact, on Tire Rack, the S03s are less expensive than the 040s. The S03s are rated 240 for mileage and AA for traction vs. 140 and A for the 040s. Can't understand Mazda's philosophy giving us a more expensive but worse tire???

Anyway, has anyone worked out a deal with the dealer or a tire dealer to give them the OEMs in exchange for a better tire? At what cost?

Ideally, I'd like to leave the dealer when my car arrives this week and immediately change the tires out, but not for $193/tire and nothing for the OEMs. My dealer tells me he can't/won't do it.

Gyro

I noticed that also about the cost of the two tires.........I wonder if there is something about the s03 that makes it last longer....like harder rubber composition. Wouldnt that make it not as "grippy" as the Reo40. I know it has AA rating......I guess I dont know enough about tires. The sidewall also looks like a different design also. This can work -for or against- the way the tire/rim combo looks. I myself like the look of the RE040 sidewall.

Also....I have the REO40's......and havent heard a peep from them (except 2nd gear chirps )....I think they work very nicely with the car. However...when they wear out; I will possibly get the S03's......

Another factor is sound.....I replaced tires on my Solara and while they were better gripping tires, they were ALOT noisier going along the road. I consider the REO40 very quiet tire for the size.....I wonder what the S03's sound like?

TybeeRX-8

I don't know either about the noise differential between the two. I do know that Tire Rack tested S03 against the very expensive Michlein Pilot Sport and the S03 did pretty well particularly given the price differential.

Go here to see the comparison:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...245ZR8SPCM3_=4

Mitch Strickler

I was unpleasantly surprised to find that the expensive, low tread wear 18" OEM tires didn't have the highest traction rating (AA). OTOH, I think it is hard to second guess the factory chassis tuners who have been working with the OEM tire guys for many months to get the combination that works together best. Of course, they are trying to give the end result a certain character. For the 8 with 18" wheels, I think they were aiming for a firm GT ride, but definitely nothing harsh, loud or sudden. If you favor some quality above all, like wear, or wet handling, lower price or stiff sidewalls, for example, you may be able to find more of it in another tire/wheel combo. But I doubt that you'll get a better all-around package than the purpose-designed set, at least until time passes and other makers study the 8 and design for it.
This is all theory to me now, because I am going to ride OEM until they wear out and check out the choices then.
While I have your attention, does anyone have recommendations on winter tires/wheels? I have read some about them in other threads, but I'd like to learn as much as I can because that purchase will come up in a couple of months.
Mitch

Wakka

All OE tires are designed specifically for their application. BS RE040 for RX-8 is no exception. Tires must meet strict uniformity, conicity, and balance requirement before Bridgestone can ship them to OE cutomer, whereas replacement tires usually does not have that strict requirement. We usually go through 5 ~ 20 pilot tires before OE customer decides on one spec of tire.

We can easily build tire with huge grip. Anyone can build a tire that grips. What's difficult is to balance b/w different parameters: grip, noise, harshness, life, durability, etc.... OE customer pick one that suites them the best for their application. If you are an OE customer and wants a grippiest tire out there, we can do it, but it'll suffer on many other areas.

Potenza S-03 is a great tire for new RX-7 if Mazda build them. S-03 is all-out sports tire that focus on grip and controllability.
I don't think Mazda wanted that for RX-8 since this car had to perform not only in sports driving, but also on everyday use.

As for the winter tire, I am biased, but knowing what goes into building a tire, Bridgestone Brizzak is the best winter tire PERIOD. YMMV

Wakka

Mitch Strickler

Thanks for an authoritative post, Wakka. It sounds as though you may have some connection with BS, but I won't embarass you by asking.
One tire quality we haven't mentioned was likely important to Mazda -- low rolling resistance to help with the mileage problem. I like the performance of the stock tire for everyday use, but 140 wear factor isn't an everyday kind of figure.
I live in Washington, DC, where we have mild winters. How bad would the stock tires be in cold weather? If that is not a big problem, I might just keep the car in the garage the dozen or two days when there's snow on the ground. My original theory was that a set of wheels and winters wouldn't cost much, because I'm keeping the car for years and the wear might even be better on the winter shoes. But a set of wheels, and the cost of transferring every year (I don't do my own work) would probably be considerable.
Detail: Someone mentioned that stock wheels have housings for the tire pressure sensors. What wheels for winter tires have them, if any? And how about sizes? Mitch

OverLOAD

The best rated tires I could find on tirerack.com are BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW-2.. They're cheap ($163/ea), and have the best traction (AA) and treadwear (300) ratings. However the closest size they have is only available in 225/40/r18.. also a 235..

I also noticed that the size of the tire should make it a little closer to 100% accurate speed. My hand held GPS unit tells me that I'm going 80 mph when the speedometer says 82, so that will even it out on the guage. (gotta stretch that warranty)

The info on tirerack says that the KDW-2 will be avaialble in more sizes (hopefully OEM?) as the year goes on.. I'm most likely going to get some in the spring.. I'm not concerned about winter tires right now tho, I'll be driving my '93 Thunderbird beater all winter!..

myrx8

The low tread wear was one of the reasons I got no options. Most people change the rims and tires, why pay for them?

From what I have seen, getting no options is more rare then anything else.

OverLOAD

I liked my '96 MX-3 GS for that reason.. only option it had was the V6.. IMHO, that only made the car better, but sometimes I sure did wish that it had A/C....

h0rde

right now i'm looking at Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s to replace the not-too-good OEM tires. Unforunately that tire is only available in a 40 series at 225/18 right now, although maybe that will change by the time i replace them. The price is only 172$ which isn't that bad either. They compare well with the BF Goodrich gforce tires mentioned above, and they have much better treadwear and wet grip. To me they seem to be perfect, even better than the S03s.

Ophitoxaemia

im not sure the AA vs A is a meaningful difference. treadwear ratings are also a *rough* guide but are not quantitative.

tires are a giant contributor to the overall performance of a car- and high traction means low treadwear and thats all good.

you use tires like you burn gas and wear down pads and rotors... they are normal consumables from driving. insurance and depreciation are pissing money away every day, so let those sticky tires grind down for our enjoyment

however i am not too impressed with the re040 or whatever they are.

james

ps i buy about 4 sets of tires a year (from tirerack)

Ophitoxaemia

oh, and the re040 are extremely noisy over some surfaces!

james

OverLOAD

Take a lookie here:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ce+T%2FA+KDW+2

Instead of just going with the maximum performance summer tires, I looked at ultra summer performance. It turns out that the BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2 are rated amonst the best...


The goodyears were rated well too. tho I thing I'll get the BFG's when I'm due for new rubber.

OverLOAD

h0rde

I agree, either the goodyear or those new BF Goodrich tires seem like great choices, although neither is available in a 45 series as of now...

Mat

People are saying that 245/40/18 works nice on the RX-8, and has a much better tire selection. I was looking at the TDW myself because of the excellent treadwear and still very good performance.

carnut

Didn't I read somewhere that treadwear ratings only are comparable among tires of the same brand?

Mitch Strickler

What I have read would not necessarily mean that treadwear ratings are not comparable between different manufacturers, but throws a little doubt on such comparisons.

As I understand it, each manufacturer tests its own tires, and what it says is the rating you see on the tires. The thing is, these are matters of engineering, not subjective judgments. Each manufacturer is supposed to be applying the same government-specified tests. If you think that tire manufacturers are honest and competent, you should trust comparisons between brands. Because these are competitors, I think a company that came up with dishonest ratings would be "outed" by others, who could prove that the bogus numbers couldn't be reproduced by an independent lab. Personally, I think the ratings are more trustworthy than, say, Mazda's written explanation that it changed RX8 horsepower ratings because ongoing tests of production cars just happened to show that they were lower than expected.

Rotary Nut

Check out the Sumitomo HTR+. They have a tread wear of 360 with a traction rating of AA and a temp rating of A. And they are an all season Ultra high performance tire. I got mine in 245/40WR18. And they are only $114 a piece from the Tire rack.