I'm kind of a layman when it comes to car stuff...so will these tires fit on the OEM wheels? And can I buy 4 of them or do I have to get sets of 2 different sized tires?

I'm desparately looking for new tires...the tread on the original potenza's are almost disappearing!

 

That is the size that originally comes with the car. So, the answer is yes.

 

225/45/18 is the OEM tire size for the RX-8, so yes it will fit on your car.

but remember, these are SUMMER TIRES, if you live in a climate where snow does fall in winter, you should think twice before buying. if snow is not a concern, this would be hell of a deal for you.

 

I live in on Altus AFB, Okla., so snow/ice is only a problem a fraction of the year.

I noticed other people have different sized tires on their rear wheels. What's the purpose of that and what tire sizes fit on the OEM wheels?

 

its called a "staggered" setup. They usually are running 235/35/19 in the front and 265/30/19 in the rear. To tell you the truth having staggered fitment does not increase handling, but makes the car understeer. The main reason people get this setup is looks. The wide tires in the back give the 8 a more aggressive stance/look.

Hope this helped...

 

I am currently debating btw the Bridgestone
Potenza S-03 Pole Position and the Kumho Ecsta SP. Not much diff in terms of price $115 vs $103, so they both seem like bargains. ANy strong opinions regarding these two? I live in Kansas City and want something that can handle the wet as well as dry. I have a jeep wrangler for snow days so now worries there.

I read some great reviews of teh wet handling for the Kumho's on tirerack and some comments to the opposite about the S-03s. This has me leaning torwards the Kumho's. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

 

I'd go with the S-03 Pole Positions as they're generally a superior tire compared to the SPTs. However, if you want a bit more dry handling and grip, I'd get the $128 Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1s especially since there's a $50 mail-in rebate on top of that so the tires would actually only cost $116.

 

I'm in the same boat. My SPTs are shot, so I am looking at new SPTs, the S-03s or the Z1s. It's nice to have choices, but I need to decide soon. I'm going to stop by my local tire guy and show him these deals and see what he can do.

 

I use the S-03 in Miami (rainy) as a daily driven tire. No gripes at all about wet handling. I've also driven with them on track days in the rain as well.

 

So the Z1s definitely stick better than the S-03s?

a little o/t, but how do the Azenis RT-615s compare to these tires, dry performance to dry performance, disregard wear and wet handling.

 

Probably worse than rt615s

I'm seriously considering these, for a track day on april 5th I just spent $400 on coils. and these would only fit on my stockers.

At least I could run in the "street tire" class.

 

Thanks for the info and the heads up all.

I'm a little fearful of the "extreme summer" categorization of the Z1s in that I love driving this car and am thinking that I would be in the jeep more often during the many cold spells here in KC if I went that direction. Maybe I'm overdoing this point though.

Negatives I'm hearing about the KumHo's is that they are a little soft in th sidewall. I love to push this car, but don't do any real racing, so I wonder if I'd notice...

S-03 Pole Positions sound pretty solid, with a few knocks on treadwear.

What to do? Regardless I'll let you know and update you on my thoughts.

Love to hear anymore opinions as I'll probably purchase by this weekend or sooner.

 

I've driven the S-03's and the Z1's at the roudcourse on my car, and the S-03 is only slightly less grippy than the Z1. The Z1 has a stiffer sidewall than the S-03.

Z1 = 200 treadwear
S-03 = 220 treadwear

Both take heat very well and don't exhibit greasiness until perhaps the 40 minute mark of intense lapping (if even). At Homestead, a few weeks ago, the Z1's didn't get greasy at all during 40 minute sessions.

 

Being that I'm actively using both Z1's and S-03's on two sets of wheels, I prefer the S-03 for street use. The sidewall is less stiff than the S-03 (more comforable without being squishy), the tread pattern seems more condusive to displacing water and based on the treadwear rating, you may get a little more life out of the S-03 than the Z1. The S-03 is in a different performance category than the SPT. I haven't used the SPT, so I can't compare (though I've seen an SPT delaminate at the track).

 

Now I wonder, how long can I *store* these tires b4 its *no good*

Im still using my winter tires, and I already have a set of RE960 A/S Pole Position last summer. I probably wont be able to use this for another 2 years or so ...

Ahh . oh well. no deal for me I guess

 

My guess would be:

Dry Grip: Z1 would lead with the RT615 close behind and the S-03 a little bit further behind. Stone cold the RT615s will probably have the grip advantage, but once up to temperature the Z1s should have a little more.

Response: The Z1 and RT615 should have about the same response with the S-03 slightly slower.

Wet Grip: I can see the S-03 leading the Z1s with the RT615s far behind.

Ride and Noise: The S-03s should be more civil than the Z1s, which should be better than the RT615s.

Treadwear: The Z1s and RT615s should be about equal with the S-03s being superior. Treadwear numbers tend to be a poor indicator of expected tire life since they're fudged so much. For example, does anyone really expect the Turanza ER33 to have the same life expectancy as the Potenza RE-01R?

 

I bought them about a month ago, and finally had them installed last week. These tires were great for this price.

I was concidering the kumhos but I went with the s03's .. there are a lot of threads on here about which tires people prefer and the kumho and these bridgestones seemed to be the people's choice awards.

You can't beat the price. I love them so far. Must quieter than the stock tires. They were pieces of ****.

 

I stored them for about a month. I'm up here in North Jersey near NYC, so I was in the same boat as you. I finally put mine on because my tires were too bald to wait much longer. I was slipping badly in rain.

So concider if you bought them now, stored them a month, you're looking at early May to install them if you waited as long as me. They should be good for then, it's the start of the summer around that time here.

 

Just ordered a set to replace my worn out Kumhos. At this price, I couldn't resist. I just hope the weather improves so I can put them on soon.

 

I haven't tried the z1's yet, but the S03's

 

At $115, I couldn't go wrong. At that price I don't care if I only get 2 years out of them. They arrived yesterday and will be on the car by this afternoon.

First thing I noticed: Compared to my Dunlop 8090's in the same size, the S-03's look like a wider tire and will put more rubber on the road. I like that since I had planned on going to a 245/40-18 until I saw this deal come along.

I'll post impressions later.

 

I just got mine put on this morning, they were down to $105 but seem to have popped back up to 115. Vast improvement over the OEM Bridgestoners. I used to run Toyo T1-s's on my Miata, its nice that there are a lot more bang for the buck performance tires out there than there used to be. The RX-8's just a daily driver and back road burner for me so I think these tires are probably perfect.

 

I just ordered the S-03's yesterday to replace my bald Kuhmo MX's. I am excited to see the differences. I loved the MX's (245/40) and had every intention of buying another set dispite them only lasting 1 1/2 summers (stored in the winter), but because of the price I had to go for the S-03's.

 

I'm kinda torn between these and the Sumitomo HRZ 3 which was rated higher than the S03s successor.. Any ideas?

 

So3s. They rock. $115 each? At that price they can't be beat.