omicron,
what tires did you have before? with the stock bidgestones my speedo reads 1.6 mph slow as per waas enabled gps.

i will switch to the neros when i finish killing the stones. looks like i am going to get 20k miles out of them. much more than i expected.

beers

I had the stock Bridgestone RE040s before these Pirellis. According to the "your speed is" signs around town, my speedo was off by +1 MPH with them, and is now +2 MPH.

My tires have started to 'chunk' (small chunks coming out of the tread at the edge). Is this because I cooked them on a trackday (I've only done1??). Should I be worried about this?? :confused: There's still loads of tread left on them...

Pirelli PZero Nero M&S 235/45-17
 

Bought a set of PZero Nero M&S for the winter season. I wanted to give a little review since I have had them on for a couple of weeks now.

I had TireRack mount these tires on new wheels - Kazera KZ-T. Not the best-looking wheel but the price was cheap and they had two desirable qualities: light weight and 48mm offset. Wheels are advertised to weight 19.4 pounds. I wanted an offset that closely matched the 50mm stock measurement so that feel of the setup would closely match stock. I was hoping for an 8in wide wheel but they are not that typical, particularly in the 17in diameter that I chose to keep the price down. This wheel is 7.5in wide and I had some concern about a 235mm tire width, but the 7.5in was in the acceptable range according to TR's spec page. Another reason I chose a 17in wheel is that there are precious few High Performance All-Season tires in an appropriate 18in diameter size. You can get a pretty good selection at 245/40-18, but that was wider than I wanted to go for a winter tire option.

I chose the Pirelli after see good reviews both here and on the TR site. Went with the 235/45 instead of the 245/40 again because I didn't a significantly wider tire than stock for winter use.

First impressions: Wheel is barely smaller in diameter as compared to stock, maybe 2/10ths of an inch. Speedo should be around 1% off, no sweat. I had anticipated this as the Pirelli seems to have the largest diameter of all the 235/45-17 tires listed on the TR rack site. From appearance perspective, hard to tell that the 7.5in wheel width was the bottom of the acceptable range. I have a hard time believing that this tire could be mounted on a wheel 2 inches wider, 7.5 looks like the perfect wheel width. Tire/wheel combo is noticeably lighter than stock, maybe three to four pounds lighter; I didn't get a scale out.

Driving impressions: Immediately noticeable that the car feels more "squishy" now. Best way to describe the feel is to imagine the wheels twisting within the tire in a side-to-side manner, not rotationally. I believe that is a result of the half-inch greater sidewall on the 17s. I also suspect that the sidewall is not as firm as the stock tire. I have gone to a higher pressure (38 PSI) but I can still feel the "squish". Something to look forward to when I put the summer Bridgestone's back on. Grip seems very good and cold days are not a problem now. One advantage is that these tires are not as harsh over road irregularities; I guess "squishy" does have an upside. Wet grip is very good, but I have not had a chance to drive in snow yet. Stay tuned.

A quick note on the Bridgestones: Rotate! I had not rotated my tires yet, 8,000 miles in 11 months. The rears were noticeably more worn than the fronts. Also, having driven an RX-8 through last year's winter on the Potenzas (albeit with another car at my disposal for wintry days) I will reiterate what everyone already knows - Potenzas cannot be used in the slightest of snow. They are also quite slippery in the cold - until warmed up. When it got down to the teens, I could feel the tires were so stiff that they were out of round, but a couple of miles would warm them up and dry grip would be no problem. Problem was that I picked up my RX-8 December 1st last year and by the time I realize that some other tire was required for the winter, there was not much selection left. I limped through the winter on the summer tires but vowed not to do that again. I had to force my self to leave the RX-8 at home on wintry days, and that is tough to do with any new car, particularly one as wonderful as the RX-8.

I have these same tires in 245/40-18 on stock 18" wheels. FYI, the "squishy" feel goes away in a few hundred miles.. at least it did with mine. I suppose it may stay more noticible with the 17s.... Anyway, good choice!

Good comments on the Potenzas. They lose a lot of grip when the drops, especially on wet roads. As for rotation, my rear tires are worn out more than the front ones too and the better tires should be mounted rear. I also noticed that my wheels lost their balance a little after 20k miles and rotating is a good occasion for balancing them.

Omicron -
OK... so now a request for an update. What's the wear like after 9 months of use? How are they holding up and how many miles have you put on these tires since March 9th? I took my 8 in yesterday for routine service, (who can blame me? after almost two weeks of solid sub-freezing temps, snow that seemed unwilling to melt... I needed to get out on the first real decent day :) And this time, I remembered both the airaplane and a the gas). When the tech had my baby on the lift, he checked the tires and found that they are getting down there as far as wear goes... 3/32 in the rear, 7/32 in the front.
Yikes! With just over 14k miles, no less. So, needless to say, I'm gonna be buying myself a little Christmas present. I'll just tell my better half; "Yes, dear. You did buy me a real good gift this year..." :D

Welp, so far I've put about 5500 miles on the PZeros, and they are wearing like iron... they hardly show any wear at all. I'm thinkin I'll get 20,000-25,000 miles out of them easily.

I've also had a chance to drive the car on truly slick roads, and they did just fine. Snowpack was no problem, and the car felt no worse than my Jeep does on the same thing. Really hard snowpack and ice is more of a problem, BUT, the car handles no worse than our front wheel drive Mazda 6S does, which also has all season tires on it. The backend is slightly more willing to swing out if I corner too quickly on ice, but it's very controllable. Rear tires are also a bit more willing to break loose if I goose the gas than the FWD 6's, but not much. All in all I'm comfortable saying that unless the snow is so deep that ground clearance is an issue, I could at least get home in my '8 regardless of what the roads are like.

So overall, these tires are ideal for me and what I wanted them for - all season capability, great handling, and even ok for occational track use. Hope this helps!

TireRack, here I come! :D

HOORAY! Tire Rack finally shipped my P-Zeros!
 

I'm one of the few, the proud, the all-seasoned tire types - with the amount I drive and the fact that I don't have a commute combined with the fact that in suburban Chicago they take care of the roads insanely well, I decided that rather than go with winter tires, I'd just replace the stock shoes with ultra-high performance All Seasons. The best rated all seasons (per TireRack) are the Pirelli PZero Nero M+S - in a size 245/40-18 for the RX-8. They rate better in overall traction, better in wet, better dry than the stock tires, and rate fairly close to a winter tire in snow traction.

So, for me, a good choice.

Anyway, the damn thing have been on backorder for 3 months - I ordered them in early September, and I got the shipment confirmation today. Should have them tomorrow as they shipped only 100 miles (South Bend IN to Chicago).

So, I'll let you know how they are when I get them on the car. Omicron loves his, and influcenced my decision heavily.

Stew

good luck with them. i just got the dunlop winter sport M3's from tire rack and am looking forward to seeing how it handles in the snow.

Very cool. I still love mine too. so far I've put about 5500 miles on the PZeros, and they are wearing like iron... they hardly show any wear at all. I'm thinkin I'll get 20,000-25,000 miles out of them easily.

I've also had a chance to drive the car on truly slick roads, and they did just fine. Snowpack was no problem, and the car felt no worse than my Jeep does on the same thing. Really hard snowpack and ice is more of a problem, BUT, the car handles no worse than our front wheel drive Mazda 6S does, which also has all season tires on it. The backend is slightly more willing to swing out if I corner too quickly on ice, but it's very controllable. Rear tires are also a bit more willing to break loose if I goose the gas than the FWD 6's, but not much. All in all I'm comfortable saying that unless the snow is so deep that ground clearance is an issue, I could at least get home in my '8 regardless of what the roads are like.

So overall, these tires are ideal for me and what I wanted them for - all season capability, great handling, and even ok for occational track use.

One thing though... expect them to feel a tad "squishy" at first. Nothing bad, just different. And, it goes away in a few hundred miles.

Anyway, glad I was able to help you make the decision. Be sure to report back on how you like 'em after you get them on your car! :D

Snow Tires
 

Talk about timing, I had 17" steel wheels and Toyo Garit HT snows put on thursday the 2nd December. Mondays rush hour <morning >drive had a lot of Toronto drivers spinning around. I was curious as to how the 8 would deal with it, the girlfriend thought I was insane because I kept repeating how we were cruising compared to general traffic. 80kph no problem, large relief. Traction control + Snow tires = better traction than my MX6, however I was able to leave hi-performance tires on the MX6 year round.

Check out the side-by-side ratings of the Stock RE040's with the Pirelli All Seasons - why again SHOULDN'T I be driving all-seasons?


Category RE040 PZero Nero M+S

HANDLING RATING 7.60 8.80
DRY TRACTION 8 9.1
WET TRACTION 6.6 8.8
SNOW TRACTION N/A 7.4
RIDE COMFORT 6.2 8.8
NOISE COMFORT 5.6 8.8
WEAR 4.6 8.7
TREADWEAR RATING 140 400
TRACTION RATING A A
TEMPERATURE RATING A A

'nuff said!

thank for the review, i was wondering how they were doing. i am going to put them on my car when time comes, the combo of handling, ride and quiet is apealing even in fla.

btw how is ths dsc in snow, i was a professional skier for nine years. had a 85 subaru 4wd wagon that i gave away to a family in need just before i got the 8.

i get a kick of the car fixing itself in the wet cant imaigine what it does in the snow.

beers

mine will arrive today!

Just got mine today, and already installed!...I love them, they make the RX8 feel completely different, and it rides so smooth.....And the look is awesome!

Ratings don't tell the whole story.

I planned on getting PZeros since last spring, but they've been unavailable. A couple months ago, I got a nail-in-a-sidewall in one of my RE40s, so I decided to stop waiting for the PZeros and ordered a set of Continental ContactExtremes.

They grip well, but body roll increased more than I'd expected and steering feedback diminished slightly. Overall, the car just doesn't feel quite as responsive and I was disappointed... I knew they wouldn't be as good as the RE40s (or PZeros), but I think my expectations were too high.

I ended up buying a set of used stock rims/tires/TPMSs, so now the Continentals are my winter tires.

Anyway, let us know how you like them.

Omicron, have you tried another RX-8 with RE040's after you had the Nero's for a while? I was wondering if the squishy went away, or if you just got used to it. I know for myself, I get used to my winter tires, but when the summer tires go on, I am amazed at the difference.

No, the squishy definitely goes away and the tires just feel "right." Driving an '8 with the 040s feels about the same only louder, and somehow harsher.

Oddly enough, I have not really noticed the TCS or the DSC kicking in - at least based on the dash indicator lights that flash when they intervene. Now granted, I am drivin like a granny when the roads are ice and my goal is to NOT slide, or if I do instantly get it back under control... but when I have slid a bit, the car is so catchable that I get it back before the TCS and DSC can try to "help" me.

i miss hanging out the roo wagon. the stuff i did and got away with. if i had the 8 in snow i think i would drive like you, not worth the risk, but i would love to know how much stupid the dsc can fix.

btw, 47deg in orlando right now, hot tub weather.

beers

Mine came Friday - they look SO MEAN stacked up in the garage!

In the spring I will need new summer tires, and I am debating between the Toyo Proxes 4 and the PZero Nero M+S. Where I am, they are exactly the same price, but the Toyo is lighter, but the Nero seems more fully reviewed here and on Tire Rack.

The posts here make it hard not to go with the Nero's!

For whatever it's worth, I almost went with the Toyo Proxes 4s. Only thing that decided me on the Neros was they were a little cheaper, had a little longer treadlife, and had universally positive customer reviews on Tirerack.