geffy

Here is the story
I bought a rx-8 today but before I take it I wanted snow tires put on it. There are no snow tires around anymore to fit the 18" wheel. So the dealer offered to get a pair of factory 16"s with Bridgestone Blizzack LM-22 (148.99/tire) and give me the 18" wheels (without tires) for $220

So I will end up with a set of 18" brand new wheels and a set of 16" wheels with Blizzack LM-22 for $220.

Does this sound like a good deal.

If I do this I am going to selling the 18" if anyone is interested.

geffy

sorry wrong number blizzack LM-22 are 135 a tire

Gord96BRG

Get a guarantee from the dealer that the 16" wheels will fit, and with that guarantee make him promise that if the 16" don't fit, he will get you 17" wheels/winter tires for the same price.

Reason - so far, nobody else has been able to find aftermarket 16" wheels that fit over the larger front brakes that come on RX-8s delivered with 18" wheels. (RX-8s with 16" wheels from factory have smaller front brakes). It has been rumoured that the Mazda 16" RX-8 wheels might fit over the big brakes, but as far as I know nobody has actually tried it. So, if you do get 16" wheels that fit, PLEASE be sure to let us know!!

Regards,
Gordon

geffy

From what I understand they want to give me a set of stock rx-8 16" with the tires. They said they would fit so I am going off that. If they do fit does it sound like a good deal.

D MENAC 7

Snow tires should be put on all 4 wheels, not just the two rear ones. They are for traction AND steering. If you do not put snow tires on the front, will your RX go where you want it to go?

Unless you are aiming for the ditch or worse, probably not. I have yet to drive in snow but after reading a bit about it on here and elsewhere, looking at the tread of the stock Bridgestones, I am seriously thinking about some new wheels and tread for the next couple months ahead. You put on winter tires in the winter and the stock Performance tires in the summer.

Don't go throwing out those stock tires cause you will need them later on. I also heard that All-Season Radials suck on RXs, cannot say for sure, only hearsay, would like to hear elsewise if someone has the actual experience.

Learning to drive in snow, formerly driving a pickup truck with no weighted back end and with a slip diferential rear end, I am still skeptical about the RX's performance with stock equipment.

No, I am not happy about possibly investing $1K or more in winter wheels and tires, but, it will be worth it in the long run to keep my RX safe and sound yet allow me to drive it 365 days a year.

Wheels that you only use for 3 months or so do not have to be expensive since you will be driving them in the worst of weather anyway. Here is a good site that I have been looking at and am wondering about. http://www.wheelmax.com/Specials/specials.html

They also show a couple of fairly decent All-Season Radials to choose from and I would like to hear from someone with that experience, if possible.

I would go with 17" wheels if possible. I have seen some large winter tires but they seemed to be quite pricey like over $200 a pair. So, if you can get wheels for $99 a piece and winter tires for $200, if you are lucky, that makes it over $1200. Is this small investment worth saving your RX and maybe your ****?

Gord96BRG

Whoa, I missed that before - you said "a pair of 16" wheels"!!

No, that's a horrible deal and a very dangerous idea. Like D MENAC 7 said, you have to use 4 winter tires all-around. The OEM summer tires on the front with winter tires on the back will be completely useless. Please search for "winter tires" (maybe start with the sticky thread in the RX-8 Discussion form about "RX-8 in snow is great") and read up - people have posted lots of information about this.

But - do NOT let them give you 16" wheels with winter tires on the back wheels only. Those morons have not got a clue, and will get you killed (or your RX-8 bent at least).

Regards,
Gordon

D MENAC 7

One last question.

What are you going to do about tires after winter? You don't want to run snow tires in the summer, they are loud and do not give even near the same perfomance on dry pavement.

There are a ton of 18" snow tires out there in many many brands. Here is a site that you can look at a good selection of them.

http://www.1010tires.com/tiresearch.asp?category=Winter

Just make sure you can order appropriate sized wheels to mount them with.

geffy

Ok here is the deal like I thought that I implied previously when I said a set ( 4 OEM mazda 16 inch wheels with Blizzack 225/50/R16) mounted installed on my 8. Also my stock 18" wheels without tires for the price of 220 for everything above

So I would be getting the following 4 OEM mazda 16" wheels with blizzack LM-22 225/50/R16 plus my 4 OEM 18" wheels (just wheels) for the price of $220.

Does this sound good?

I live in North Dakota so I am not taking any chances on driving in the snow and I know what i have to do for the summer but for now does the deal above sound realistic or not.

Gord96BRG

OK, that's back to what I originally thought you meant - it's just that when I re-read and saw that I got confused...

Then we're back to - make damn sure the 16" wheels fit over the front brakes before you accept or sign off on that deal, and make DAMN sure they fit before you allow them to dismount the tires from the 18" wheels!

PS - for the proper diameter for the 16" tires, the size must be 225/55-16, not 225/50-16. The Mazda OEM 16" tire is 225/55, and you don't really want shorter tires - less ground clearance!

Now, let's do some math - it's going to cost you at least $200/tire to get 18" tires come spring - that's $900 after shipping etc. are included. So, your winter tires on 16" wheels are really costing you $1120 - that's pretty good. If you were to buy the cheapest alloy 17" wheels and 17" LM-22s from TireRack, it would cost you about $1375.

Once again, make sure the 16" wheels fit over the front brakes - bolted down, spinning freely. If they do - then it's a great deal, and be sure to let us know that the wheels fit!

Regards,
Gordon

D MENAC 7

I agree with Gord.

I am aslo looking into a set of winter wheels, though. Just to be on the safe side. I'll make up my mind after my first snow test drive, once we get the snow.

geffy

Just a update on things. They ordered one 16 inch wheel and are going to see if it fits.

HeavyArms

I can help you make up your mind... I drove for the first time in around 3 inches of snow... and it SUCKSSSSSS!!!!! It was SOOOO embarrassing. CONSTANT spinning and getting stuck in 3 inches of snow while Hyundais and Civics scoot by you... If I had 200 bucks a wheel... I'd be on winter tires in a heartbeat.

Gord96BRG

DUDE! Please do a search for 'winter tires' or similar. There are dozens of testimonials here about how the 8 drives in the snow on the OEM summer tires. HeavyArms nailed it exactly - don't wait, just order them. If you can't leave the 8 parked when there's snow on the ground, you WILL need them.

Regards,
Gordon

AF-RX8

I'd be interested in the 18" wheels, let me know if you end up with them and want to sell them

Pm me or Email me at: Alan927@optonline.net

Sputnik

Don't forget braking. With snows on back and summers on front, your braking bias will be severely thrown off. If you are in a slick situation, the fronts will slip much earlier than the rears, causing them to lock up and slide (even with ABS kicking in). Even if you are heading in a straight direction, snow covered roads with ruts and the like have a tendency to pull the car to one side or the other, and without steering, you can't correct it.

If you have this tire setup, and you are on dry or wet surfaces, your braking bias will still be thrown off. Snow tires have much less grip than all-seasons or summers in the wet or dry. So, when braking, your rear tires will lock up quicker. Again, even with ABS, there will be less grip in the rear than the front, and the tail-end will want to come around on you in any hard or panic braking situation.

You will be able to control the car much better with the same tire on all fours (even if they aren't the best choice for the particular situation at that moment), then to have a drastic difference between the front and rears.

---jps

geffy

Well as some of you said the OEM 16" wheels that come off of a auto will not fit on a 6-speed. They won't fit over the calipers.

So me and the dealer went back to square one and found that the wheels from a mazda 6 and a mazda 3 fit. They are both 17" wheels. The mazda 6 wheels come very close to the caliper on the front side we are talking millimetters away. The mazda 3 wheels fit rather good though. They actually clear the caliper on the front and the side rather well. So I think that is the direction that I am going to take unless I find some 17" aftermarket wheels.