stingthieves

I called Tire rack last week because thats what the online winter package for my 07 RX8 told me to do - the customer service guy said " There is no package available for my car as we have not yet seen an 07 RX8 to fit tires and rims on!!!"

WTF?

stingthieves

The winter package is on the web sight today!

stingthieves

AND

I ordered my wheels and Blizzacks today. I am poor again!

New Yorker

But you'll feel good a couple of months from now when everyone's complaining the winter tires they wanted are sold out for the season.

stingthieves

yes - It's that warm and fuzzy feeling - like just after you pass cash to the shot girl - and you bask in the anticipation of her - and the glare of your buddies waiting their turn!

warheads

Hi Connor & everyone,

I bought my 8 not long ago and I am planning to purchase an all-season performance tire since MD/DE don't snow that much. I have been checking at the reviews and the ratings and i still don't know which one to go for. Here are my options

Avon Tech M550 A/S
Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position
Pirelli PZero NERO M&S

The ratings for the bridgestone for snow tractions are pretty good, but reviews from people show otherwise. Not sure at this point which of all these 3 you would recommend. Or somebody in this forum can give me a suggestion it will help me a lot.

Thanks

BoosTED

iTrader: (2)

There is a local guy here that has the PZero Neros.

He doesn't drive that much in the winter with his 8 but he says they do pretty good all around.

One guy drove his Dunlop Wintersport M3s all summer long without wearing them out...

bxb40

I did the same exercise recently, as my Toyo Proxes 4 are coming to an end and winter is close by...
Pirelli P-Zero Nero M+S (not tested myself, a buddy used them though)
Nitto NeoGen (coming my way - great reviews from people)
Toyo Proxes 4 (good tires all the way to the end of their life...)
Kumho Ecsta ASX (had them and unless driven to the limit, they were fine)
Any of the above should be fine in light snow, heavy rain, sporty driving and the occasional autox ;o) No reason to spend more than $150 per tire... NeoGen and Proxes threads and Ecsta sidewall designs look cool too (my view, of course)

PS I always ran 245/40-18

svensweden

Got my Winter Tires on today (yeah I'm late-was driving a beater instead).
Wow! Is all I can say.
They grip the road like it owes them Money.
We get crazy snow up here where Michigan meets Canada.
Bought the Blizzak WS-60 From Connor at Tire Rack.
They Rule!
I'll post pics of them & the new rims soon.
Thanks again Connor!
Mark G
aka SvenSweden

James429

I can't tell you how good my 8 is in the snow!!! Even in the freezing rain/ice storm we had today. I live in the Pocono Mountains right now, and this little thing just claws its way up hills like nothing...second gear, no traction control and let 'er run! It's all tires my man...tires. I spent $1200 for the successor to the Dunlop M3...and bought the Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3d in a size of 265/35/18. These things help me go, go and go. Hell, I've passed 4wd SUVs in the snow up here. ICE, SNOW or H2O...Dunlop helps you GO! LOL...

SpIcEz

265 snow tires.... ouch

You'd be even happier with 215's

Tenken

i have a question guys i am buying my 8 in ither the fall or i will wait till after the winter to get it but i plan to use it as my every day car in i live in CT so what do you guys think i should get all season or winter?

stingthieves

The summer tires are great for summer - and the winter tires are great for winter

daaaaa - ok that was Captain Obvious speaking.

Call Conner and buy a set of mounted winter tires and switch back and forth in season - You will enjoy the drive that much more with season specific tires.

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

Concur. Although you could certainly get by with all-season tires in CT in the Winter, if you can afford it get dedicated snow tires/wheels and switch seasonally. All-season tires are too much of a performance compromise in the Summer. Get 17" rims for Winter to save money and afford greater clearance.

Tenken

Huey thanks for the advice
my brother and his best friend own a evo and wrx and they both are telling me to get all season but i guess all i have to look into how much i want to spend.

Does anyone here live in ct and own a 8? let me know how it is in the winter so i kinda know what to expect im sure it is very differnt from drive a 96 nissan altima

vglnte1

has anyone tried the general excalim UHP tire for snow?

SpIcEz

Dont ever try that.

Its UHP (not the best, but) Ultra High Performance

Not made for snow at all. They'll be hard as plastic in cold that has snow.
It'll be dangerous as hell.


http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....el=Exclaim+UHP

Read that, not suggested for snow at all.

They are summer tires, which meet MINIMUM requirements for M+S tread pattern, but the compound wont work in the cold.

Tayninh

I have an 04 that still has the summer OEM tires and I want to go to Blizzak snow tires for use in the Denver Area. What about the tire senors? Will they stay on when I have new snows mounted to 18 '' wheels? I th ought about contacting Firestone to see what they cost. If I use tirerack then what about the cost of shipping the tires?

Thanks

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

If I read you correctly, you're going to go with dedicated winter rims/tires - good choice. But again, you'd be better off with 17" rims to afford greater road clearance. I know that sounds backwards, but you'll be going with taller tires (aspect ratio) on the smaller rims. 17" steel rims are also less expensive and just right for winter sand/salt/snow.

If you don't get TPMS sensors mounted on your winter rims than Yes the 'alert' will always be displayed. I wouldn't bother with the sensors for winter. Just, continue to, be vigilant about checking your tire pressure.

Tirerack has very reasonable shipping costs and you'll see what they are before you place your order. Consider one of their winter bundles.

Tayninh

Well Huey, I was trying the cheaper route and staying with the OEM wheels which are 18" I might just go All Season but I'll check out the bundles from Tirerack and compare the available options. Its easier to just transfer wheels with tires already on them but then you are stuck with 4 wheels in the garage or some other place no matter what season it is. There's some pros and cons to consider but I understand the 17" wheels and a clearance are worth consideration as well.

Thanks

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

Heck, these days, the roads are plowed clean the very next day. All-seasons, on your existing rims, are the most cost effective way to go. Goodyear Eagles, Blizzaks, or Michelin Pilot Sports are excellent. See the ratings on Tirerack.

ken-x8

Tayninh, if your old tires are ready for replacement, then getting all seasons makes sense. If you plan on switching between summer and winter tires, get another set of rims. Four mounted tires take no more storage space than four unmounted tires, and are much less hassle to swap twice a year. You get atomatic rotation, too.

For snows, definitely look at the 17 inch packages. Narrower tires are better on snow. Also, the price difference between 17 and 18 inch tires covers a *lot* of the cost of a set of low-end wheels. First couple of times of not paying for remounting and rebalancing will cover the rest.

Ken

Tayninh

Hi Ken: My OEM tires has 12K on them. That's 50% reduction right? I guess I am going to try Firestone's Potenza's Pole Pos. Consumers rates them pretty good for an All Season tire. I just hate putting out $1,000 for the whole deal

connor@tirerack

I just wanted to post some information up here to give everyone a heads up if they want winter tires. Due to some recent laws changing in Canada and the price of oil (rubber is a petroleum product) all of the tire manufacturers have lowered their avaible US quatities of snow tires about 20% across the board. This summer Canada has passed a law requiring all cars to have dedicated snow tire for winter driving. Due to this all of the tire manufacturers are sending large amounts of theire stock into the Canadian market and shorting the US distributors like Tire Rack. Any one who has ordered snow tires before know they tend to sell out around the end of November and early December. We already have several thousand snow tire orders on back order waiting for the product to come in and they will be filled first. As always orders are filled on a first come first serve basis. Once snow tires are sold out they are gone until next season.

Just to give you an idea on product available this winter i have compiled some information below for you all.

Recommended snow tire package for manual transmission models:

225/50R17 Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60 -- 142.00 ea
17X7.5 Sport Edition A7 -- 115.00 ea
TPMS SENSOR -- 66.00 ea

Recommended snow tire package for automatic transmission base models:

225/55R16 Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60 -- 114.00 ea
16X7.5 Sport Edition A7 -- 99.00 ea
TPMS SENSOR -- 66.00 ea

The Sport Edition A7 Rim was chosen specifically due to the lowest price. We have other rims available however the price would go up depending on the model of rim. I have listed other options below for your reference also.

215/55R17 Dunlop GRASPIC DS-2 -- 103.00 ea
215/55R17 Dunlop WINTER SPORT M3 -- 135.00 ea
215/55R17 Michelin X-ICE2 -- 131.00 ea

225/50VR17 Bridgestone BLIZZAK LM22 -- 157.00 ea
225/50R17 Bridgestone BLIZZAK WS-60 -- 142.00 ea
225/50R17 Continental Winter Contact TS810 -- 139.00 ea
225/50R17 Dunlop Winter Sport 3D -- 141.00 ea
225/50R17 Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 -- 175.00 ea

225/45R18 Bridgestone Blizzack LM25 -- 195.00 ea
225/45VR18 Dunlop Winter Sport M3 -- 181.00 ea
225/45R18 Michelin X-ICE2 -- 160.00 ea
225/45VR18 Pirelli W240 Snow Sport -- 199.00 ea

Just to make sure everyone is aware i am not longer directly moderating this forum anymore. If you have any questions or would like to place an order please email or call me directly. Since i am not on this from regularly anymore i will not be able to answer question quickly if they are posted in the forum. I try and look at my PM's at least once a week but since i am paid by commission i have to focus on the direct calls and email.

If you would like to place an order please call me directly at 800-428-8355 X269. if you get my voice mail just leave a message and i will call you back right away. If you would like to email me i can be reached at Connor@TireRack.com .

c0i

Just ordered a set of 215/55/17 Blizzak WS-60's and some 17 inch rims to go with them from Tirerack.com. This will be my 1st winter with my 8 and it doesn't have dsc or tcs (Sport Package) so im curious to see how it will handle the snow this year.