I had a slow leak in my rear tire. Tires are the oem Potenza RE040 with 26,000 miles, about 1/8" tread left and getting near (1/16") to the wear bars.

Anyway, I bring just the tire in for repair ($22). On pick-up I notice a nice set of scratches on the inside of the wheel, with the corresponding metal shavings right next to the scratches. The manager asks the tech if this could have been caused when he loaded/removed from the balancer. Tech says yes.

My options now include:

Tire dealer pays for wheel refurbishing. If refurbishing is still noticable, dealer will replace with OEM wheel ($475).

or

I deal with the scratch and refurbish options, and he will replace my tires with a brand new set of Potenza RE040 for $387 including mounting and balancing -- giving me two free tires and 25% off the remaining two -- with free mounting balancing.

Considering the $1060 ($265 per tire) cost on Tire Rack with shipping, mounting and balancing, this seems like a good deal on tires i really need to replace anyway.

Thing is, it has to be the RE040's, which I haven't really loved or hated.

What to do?

Oranje

 

That's a terrific deal on the new Potenzas. Any replacement tire (even Avon or Kumhos) will cost you $600 to $700 (delivered,mounted, and balanced). You know these tires, and whether you like them (I came to hate them by the time they were worn well.)

Obviously, you know the issues and can balance out the plusses and minuses. Good Luck.

 

i'd ask for a set similarly originally-priced tires instead of the Potenzas... How about some Toyo's or Yokohamas or Goodyears, or even the Dunlop Sport 8090 that some RX-8s have as stock tires?

anything but the RE040's IMO...

 

I was planning on getting the bfgoodrich g-force KDW 2's myself. They're alot cheaper than the OEM rim and scores better.

Discount Tire has them for 169, Tire Rack for 162.

 

Dont get Toyos, their sidewall freaking suck ***, I got 3 Sidewall cut already (might be a LUCK issue but HA!) , and not to mention their tires cannot withstand curb bumps and crap, my bro's toyo look like all hacked up even just 3K miles !

might be just me but .... I will NEVER EVER buy ANY Toyo AGAIN !

Back to topic ... Dont get RE040s ... they're horrible, for the same or maybe a little more you can get something ALOT better.

Even S-03 are better than the RE040, at least my bro used to have them on his SER as OE and its running great for a year something.

Get Yokohama Advan or Bridgestone(not RE040 please) RE050A(at least you get ALOT better traction with this one)

 

I'd say stick with the BFGoodrich KD-W2's, those tires are priced well and they are rated very highly.

 

IMO do not get the RE040's again. There's a plethora of much better tires out there for equal if not less cost. If he can get you the discount on the RE040's, he should be able to give you the equivalent cash discount on any other set of tires . . . it doesn't make any difference to him financially and you get the tires you prefer.

 

maybe it has something to do with the shitty roads you drive on, or dare I say you suck at parking...?

 

Check the parts for sale section if you are interested in the BFGoodrich G Force KDW 2's. I've got a brand new set on there for less than any retailer. but if no one on this board takes them I have them promised to someone else in a couple of days.