vibec

Has anyone noticed how quickly the tires, especially the rear tyres wear?

I have done 1000miles and already there is a 1mm difference in the tread between the front and rears.

Hehe i guess ill have to not get the dsc to kick in on every corner!

MrWigggles

Time to rotate.

-Mr. Wigggles

SpacerX

IIRC the OEM tires are BStone RE040's, which have a tread wear rating of 140... that's terrible!

It'll be interesting to see how many miles folks get out of these. Anything past 10K miles will be gravy, given the low treadwear rating.

druck

Which end is worn more?

rx8ntexas

this is unexpected news to me...What are we looking at for replacement tires as far as costs go? Tire wear is one big reason I bought a Rx-8 over an NSX as my every day driver. I guess 10k miles is better than 2k or 3k though

6speed8

When it comes time to replace tires, I will most likely go with Toyo Proxes T1-S - had them on my previous car, they last a good 30k miles, are fantastic in the wet and are very quiet running.

vibec

The rear tyres are wearing!

funny thing is that in my MX-5 it was the front tyres that always wore first, probably cos i corner so hard.

but now i corner hard and step on the gas

I guess the RE40's are not up to it.

RenesisPower

The standard Bridgestones should last about 18-20K miles, or much less if you drive aggressively( as low as 8K miles). I plan to rotate them every 5K miles.

The replacement cost for all four should be near $800.

I looked at reviews by owners on www.tirerack.com and may people are unhappy with these tires, mostly for excessive road noise. As for grip and performance they were rated well above average.

RX8-TX

Man, its hard to find 225/45/18s
The only brands I could find were:
Bridgestone (doh!), Michelin (he, expensive), Pirelli (same as Michelin) , Continental (I think I'll regret it) & Dunlop (yeah, great for Winter).

I wasn't able to find anything other that the brands mentioned above. And the last 2 are options for Winter tires. So I guess I will have to go with OEMs for the time being until I hear from someone who's gone in other direction for similar tires.

SpacerX

I'd recommend 245/40/18's as replacements -- almost the exact same rolling diameter as the OEM size (about 0.2" difference), a little extra tread, and certainly no issues with clearances, either. They should fit just fine on the stock 8" wide wheels. To top it off, you'll have a much broader selection, and, hence lower prices...

vibec

hmmm 225/40R18

thanks for that, I'll think about it.

I know that the 18" look good but i am still puzzled why they chose such a funny ratio for the rx-8

I think that they should have chosen something more affordable and practical, in keeping with the rest of the car

Cwsmith

Unless SpacerX typoed then he said

245/40/18's as replacements

not 225/40R18

vibec

can anyone tell my why the diameter of the tyre goes up as it gets wider?

eg. a 245/40r18 is almost the same rolling diameter as the stock 225/45r18

i thought that the tyre width did not affect the height?

Ron

The diameter of the tire is the distance from the rim to the outside of the plus the rim. In the case of the 18 inch wheel, it is 18 inches plus 2* either 245* 0.40/25.4 or 225*0.45/25.4. The 25.4 is a conversion factor to get from mm to inches.

In other words the distance from the rim to the road is the width of the tire times the aspect ratio.

vibec

doh!

thanks for that.

I always thought the aspect ratio was some measure of the width of the wheel vs the height of the tyre.

fantastic

fat 245's here I come

btw there really is fully 1mm difference between the front and rear tyres after 1000miles.

I think that's crap. the rx-8 is supposed to be a practical, almost affordable family machine not a tyre eater

sferrett

What's your driving style oh yeah "but now i corner hard and step on the gas". No use moaning about tire wear if you're accellerating and cornering hard and not spinning off the road. If the tires weren't wearing, you'd probably be wearing a tree by now.

Complaining about tire wear is a little like buying a hi-brightness flashlight and complaining that it goes through batteries fast. You know, the whole cake and eat it too syndrome?

Simon.

RenesisPower

I am not sure tire performance should be directly proportional to excessive (and expensive) tire wear.

Most of us love race cars since they go really fast but would not buy one for everyday use(too noisy, uncomfortable,.....), there must be balance in what engineers design.

This is exactly why I like the RX-8, it is avery balanced car and does many things well instead of being just fast.

I think a great tire is one that is intended for hi performance driving, is quiet and lasts over 25K miles. The Bridgestones are good tires but far from excellent.

I have Michellin Pilot Sports on my other cars and they are slightly better than the Bridgestones.

Anyway, my two cents. Have fun driving your RX-8s.

Rotary Nut

Luckily for me this is an issue that I no longer have to worry about. The dealer I bought the car from has a program whereas if you let them do the services and such I get free tires for the life of the car! Can't beat that with a stick! :D

RenesisPower

RotaryNut,

That is one amazing deal. How do they expect to make money when these tires retail around $800 will given away for free.

Rotary Nut

:D

Dunno, don't care!

I saw the tread wear rating and said "Damn that's a great deal"

I have it in writing so I am not even worring about it

RenesisPower

Will they replace your tires with the same brand and size ?

Gord96BRG

On the other hand, many would argue that the RX-8 is supposed to be a high performance sports car that happens to comfortably seat 4 people. As such, it's equipped with high performance summer tires, and one of the defining characteristics of such a tire is that it doesn't last all that long.

Still - the tires should last somewhere in the 15K, maybe 20K mile range, depending on style (hard drivers could only get 12K miles, freeway cruisers might get 22K miles). I haven't seen a correlation between a 100 treadwear rating being equivalent to 20K mile life, and all of the 140 to 180 treadwear tires used in the Miata community never get anywhere near 20K miles. Most references will say that the treadwear ratings are relative only within a manufacturers line of tires, and NOT between tire manufacturers, which casts doubt on a standardised treadwear 100 = 20K miles factor.

There are all-season performance tires out there with treadwear ratings in the 300 range, but you'll definitely be giving up some dry grip and responsiveness to go to a higher mileage tire like that. The trade-off is performance vs. long life - you can't have both!

Regards,
Gordon

Rotary Nut

They stated that they would replace with the same brand and size or a comparable tire. I also asked that if I had the option which tire they would use and the manager said that would not be a problem.

I did a search of Tire Rack tires and they list ZERO performance all season radials in 225/45R18. And that includes regular all the way up to ultra high performance tires.

PHA RX-8

Anyone know of someone attempting to put 20's on the RX-8?

Elara

I went an looked at my tires last night- sure enough, the rear tires seem to be wearing pretty fast. GUess I'm due for a rotatation in a week or so as well.