Winter tires and rims...
 

Guys,

I'm trying to buy a set of winter tires and rims but I don't want to spend $1500 !!! ANy suggestions for inexpensive tires and rims??
Any websites selling inexpensive wheels??

I found a package in Tirerack:

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22 Blackwall

Kazera KZ-V Chrome Plated

total....
$1,621.68!!!

Anybody know any cheaper prices??:mad:

What size wheels are you looking at?

17 inch rims

as for the tire ...225/50/17.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

This may help with calculating a good tire size. Look for wheels that are on sale. I picked a set of 17" wheels that were being discontinued for $60/wheel. You can get good tires for $129-185/tire and now with mounting and balancing (aproximately) $50. You would be looking at $1030 for your winter wheel package.

should I just buy the Dunlops M2 or M3s???

Here's another tire size calculator:

http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp

Re: Winter tires and rims...
 

The regular Kazeras were much cheaper, but they've sold out. It's later in the winter wheel/tire shopping season, so supply and selection are limited. There's a bunch of threads here, in the Tires/Wheels section, and in the Canada regional section of the forum discussing suitable wheels and tires. You should have a quick read through those for ideas.

Regards,
Gordon

I would do the M3's myself.

Is this an adequate size...225/40VR18 Dunlop Winter Sport M3
Blackwall . I can't find 225/45/18

I'm in the same boat as you, my friend. I just bit the bullet and plunked down $1,500 for a 17" Mille Miglia wheel/Pirelli snow tire combination from tirerack.com. Not exactly the Christmas present I wanted to buy myself. They should be here today or tomorrow.

Don't know if you've played with your RX in the snow yet or not, but everyone is right... snow tires are definitely NOT optional. Despite a light dusting last weekend and very modest slush my RX was slipping and sliding all over the road.

I'm thinking of just buying snow tires and putting them on my existing rims. At least this way I'll save money on the rims. However, I can't seem to find a 225/45/18 snow tire anywhere. I've only found 235/45/18, 235/40/18 or 225/40/18. Which one do you guys recommend ??

www.bestwheel.com

Dunlop M2 Snows 225/40/18
RSL Ricochet 18" wheels - black

4x=$899 - mounted, balanced, and delivered

Thanks for the link.....I've just ordered Dunlop M2 225/40/18 for $400 !!! Eventhough there probably not as good as the M3 or Blizzaks, I figure for 400 bucks I can't go wrong. Now, I just hope they have them in stock.

I'm thinking of just putting these tire on the OEM rims or should I just dish out another $500 or so on new rims???

I just talked to Tirerack.com, they said that 225/40 R18's will not have adequate load capacity for the RX-8....

Grizzly, that's a little cryptic; care to elaborate please?

I realize that this is a slightly lower profile tire (1cm), but there shouldn't be any load capacity problems for such a light car.

Thanks.

I called one of the technical service reps at tirerack.com earlier today. I was asking them about available snow tires for my RX-8. He said that there was nothing available from them for the rest of this season, apparently i waited a bit too long. I asked him about changing sizes and he said anything that is wider than 225 would cause a problem up front with rubbing, and a tire that is 225/40 R18 will not be adequate for the load capacity of the RX-8. I just took his word for it and didnt inquire any further. I didnt think it would be a problem either, its only 1/4 of an inch.....i'd like to see you prove Gary at tire rack and me wrong, cause i really want to get some snow tires on my car...and there is nothing left in 225/45....

I ordered 235s from Tirerack.com and have had absolutely NO rubbing problems on my stock 18" rims. I got in on that deal they were running for those Dunlop M3s for $89/tire. Rest assured that while 235s may not be the ideal choice, it will fit and still works quite well in the snow.

I took my car out in the snow this past weeekend and had absolutely no problems whatsoever of tire rub or loss of traction.

I won't even get started on how pitiful my car was with the stock tires...

Are you Dunlops 235/45 R18??

Anybody running 225/40 R18's without a problem?

Yes, I have the 235 45/18s.

Thanks, RX8Lover.....i'm taking your word for it and just placed my order. 235/45 18s Dunlop M3's 89.00 a piece from tirerack.com going on stock rims, my fingers are crossed

So what's up here. Two days ago I called Tire Rack and told them I needed snows for an 8 and Gary told me they were out of anything in 18s that would work on the car and the only thing he could offer was to go to 17 inch tires (and get new 17 inch wheels ). He offered LM-22s or W50s. I got the new wheels and LM-22s anyway mostly to be done with it since it is snowing here in DC (again!) and I think separate rims for snows is better in the long run than swapping on one set. Locally, none of the tire dealers (or the Mazda dealer) could do anything for me.

Well i ordered the Dunlop M3's...235/45 18's and tirerack just called me and said they can't be delivered. Back to the drawing board

If anyone can confirm that 225/40 R18's are going to work i would really appreciate it

well, Miles from Tirerack told me I shouldn't have a problem with 225/40/18. SO I ordered Dunlops M2 225/40/18 and should have it in in 2-3 days. I'll rather go smaller than larger to avoid any rubbing problems.

why did Tirerack call and say they can't be delivered? When I placed my order, they called me to confirm that they could indeed fit on my rims. I based my decision on someone else who had already done it, and they said no problem.

When I received the tires last Friday, I brought them to a WTC Tire place and watched them put all 4 on with no problems.

They told me that they were special orders from Dunlop, and that they were out of stock for the season. No more M3 235/45 R18's for the year, and my order has been cancelled. If you think i can find some anywhere let me know, especially for that price, that is a monster deal

wow, i must have placed my order just in time. sorry to hear you're out of luck.

Looks like either 235/45 or 225/40 will work...this is from mazda, i think i still trust them more than tire rack...

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Mazda North American Operations. I appreciate
the opportunity to respond to you.

I spoke to our Product Department regarding your inquiry. The would
actually prefer 235/45 R18 however, they advised you could use the
224/40 R18s. I hope this information proves helpful.



Regards,

Jennifer Gray
Specialist, Customer Assistance E-Business

Try Discount Tire Co. I am sure that they have them in stock and if not at the Warehouse then they should have them here at the Spokane, WA. location. Look them up on the internet.

My plan was to keep it garaged, but I'm not doing so good on the self control thing... so...

I just forked out $1492 (US) for a set of 225/50HR-17 Pirelli Winter 210 SnowSport tires on 17x7.5 ASA LW5 Bright Sat Rims. Jim at Tire Rack in South Bend was a big help -- they had the LM-22 tires, but only on special delivery, and that would have taken two weeks. I had the tires dropped shipped to a local installer.

Then, just as I was feeling exhausted, a set of strakes came up on eBay for $150. Expensive day... very expensive day.

Thanks to all who helped with this, particularly Gordon who started banging the drum back in late September. Wheels and tires have a steep learning curve. It will be nice not worrying about the next day's cloud cover every night.

Checked the sidewall and the Dunlop M2 224/40/18 is rated at 1389lbs max weight.

The stock tires are only rated for 1356lbs.

Putting them on the car tomorrow.

Just wanted to post a quick note that when I finally made my decision to get LM-22s in 17 inch on new wheels with sensors from Tire Rack last week, Jim told me that they were waiting on the sensor nuts and the tires would not ship till after the new year. Yesterday, I noticed Trussville advertising sensors with nuts for less than Tire Rack quoted me. I shot off a message to Jim and they not only got the sensor nuts, they also lowered the price for me. My snows should arrive next Tuesday or Wednesday. Now, to me, that is excellent service. :)

I tried Tirerack and countless other places, with no luck. Finally, my dealer got LM-22 225/45/18s through the Mazda Tire people. You may want to ask your dealer to call Mazda corp.

i just hope the potholes in this area won't damage my rims!!! Especially with 225/40/18 wheels.

I just finally got my 225/45-18 Dunlop Winter Sport M3's installed on my stock rims today. Initial impression of the tires is very positive.

I still have a nice little section of packed ice on my 1/4 mile gravel driveway, and since the drive is pretty rutted out from the last hard rain we got before the snow, I had to drive in very slow to avoid bottoming out the car. The section of icepack is "conveniently" located on a steady incline that leads up to the house. I was worried I'd lose traction and end up spinning and sliding my way up the hill since I was going so slow and didn't have any momentum, but those Dunlops never lost their grip. I don't think the DSC light even came on once. I was impressed.

By the way, the local Mazda dealer here doesn't have equipment to mount tires on 18" rims. [sigh] Thanks to me, they have now ordered the equipment. They had to send my car over to a tire/wheel specialist to get the tires installed. Isn't it fun being one of the first to own a new car?! :D

For optimal snow traction, wouldn't you want the narrowest tires possible, with the smallest rim size that clears the brakes?

Like 195/60/17 ?

Yes, more pounds per square inch of contact patch to dig into snow and grip ice. Not good for high cornering forces, but better for winter.

Yes, you're absolutely right - the narrower, the better.

Now, your task is to find a narrower tire that matches the diameter of the OEM 225/45-18 tires (25.9 inches), and is actually made by someone... ! ;) You might find, like we did, that the narrowest actually made by anyone that matches the diameter is 215/55-17. There are no 205/55-17, nor 205/60-17, nor 195/anything-17 in winter sizes.

Regards,
Gordon

Blizzak LM-22s
 

So, yesterday I got my 17 inch LM-22s on Mille Miglia Evo5 Rims (with TPMS sensors) from Tire Rack and I put them on the car. Driving around today I definitely notice a difference in how the car handles - tighter in some ways, like I am stuck to the ground more firmly. It is very wet and raining but the traction was excellent. I feel much more confident now about driving the car in real winter weather. I will post more after we get our next snow.

Here is a picture. :D

Blizzak LM-22s (cont'd)
 

And a second picture:

Those look great Positron, and they have the TPMS sensors? Perfect, just what I've been looking for!

Mind if I ask how much the whole thing cost you? And, did the TPMS sensors come from Tirerack? Thanks....

Functional in the snow plus great looking rims to boot... :)

How did this work out for you ? For that price I'll order a set as well but figured I should check in with someone who bought a set from that place . . .


Also, how does this tire look on the stock wheel ? Does it look ok since it's a 40 series not a 45 series

Hey guys! I moderate the Tire and Wheel forum over at Bimmerfest.com and one of our members has joined the RX-8 fold and mentioned this thread.

To help clear up some confusion about available snow tire options, here is some info that might help you guys out.

Options discussed so far have been

225/40R18
225/45R18
235/45R18

some others in other threads 235/40R18 245/40R18...

"Standard load" tires in 225/40R18 have a max load of 1235lbs per tire, which is nearly 500lbs less load capacity than the factory tires when considering all four tires. This difference is sigificant, so we don't recommend using 225/40R18 standard load tires.

The best solution in 225/40R18 is an XL (Extra Load) tire, of which only two are available in snow tires, the Dunlop M2 XL and Pirelli 240 snow sport. There are both SL and XL versions of the Dunlop, so be sure to specify the XL version, which has a max load of 1389lbs per tire, which as someone pointed out earlier, excees the OE tire. The Dunlop M2 XL is $149 each, fairly reasonable.

Also keep in mind when using the XL 225/40R18, you'll need to run them at a much higher psi to achieve the higher load capacity , so the ride will be a bit more stiff. I agree this is not the best option, but since the OE 225/45R18 are sold out for the season it appears that there is little other choice.

The only tires left in 235/45R18 are the expensive BLizzak LM-22 tires at $222 each. Many have used 235/40R18 with success, but snows are sold out in this size too. I've seen some post pics and good feedback with running 245/40R18, which is pretty wide for a snow tire, but we still have some left in stock in this sizing as well.

Of course there is always the option of going 17" as well with a package.

Hope this helps at least a little... !
:D

Hey Gary . . . great to see you here ... I wonder who that was http://bimmerfest.com/forums/images/smilies/icon9.gif


thanks for the information !!!!

_____________________
AF330i

Gary, are you saying that the max load ratings printed on the tire's sidewall are not correct?

After a month on the Dunlop M2 245/40/18s in New England snow, I think the tires are great.

Not saying that at all. If the 225/40R18 M2 has a load rating of 1389lbs, it is the XL tire, as the standard load tire has 1235 load.

Do you have 245/40R18?

you'd stated 'After a month on the Dunlop M2 245/40/18s in New England snow, I think the tires are great.'

245/40R18 is ok for load, at 1433lbs.

NEWireless

This wheels look really nice . . what kind are they and were they expensive ?

Do you have any full car pictures with them ?

Typo; I have the 225/40/18s

Purchased from www.bestwheel.com (sorry Tirerack)

Dunlop M2 Snows 225/40/18
RSL Ricochet 18" wheels - black

4x=$899 - mounted, balanced, and delivered from Miami to Boston

How was best wheel to deal with?
I talked to Louis yesterday and he only had 2 dunlop 225/40/18's left. What wheels did you get?
Peter