Thanks! I'll give him a call, tho' it may not be until tomorrow. Just thought it odd that the website came up empty!

Kern

 

Oh, and I forgot to ask my obvious question: What size tires did you end up getting for snow tires? From reading threads and talking to tire stores, sounds like I should be aiming for 225/50-17's.

Kern

 

I think it has to do with the "Auto transmission" selection. As far as I can tell, there are no differences at all between a manual and automatic RX-8 when it comes to wheels, but the web site seems to think there is a problem if you have an automatic. You might get a different result if you select the "manual transmission" option, then just ask Jim about the selection you want just to be safe. I believe Tire Rack guarantees that the wheels will fit if you go through their salespeople... that was a big reason I went with them.

 

Yep: 225/50HR-17 Pirelli Winter 210 SnowSport, $1492 from Tire Rack, including cost to drop ship the wheels to a local installer who installed them for $12. If you go with an installer, be sure to ask that they hand tighten the lugs using a torque wrench or have a "torque stick" on the airgun. The impact wrench used on my car destroyed the wrench socket, and I had to purchase a new one. Another thread to read: this one.

 

You should be aiming for 215/55-17, and settling for 225/50-17 if you can't get 215s. For winter use, narrower is better (Tire Rack has an article about exactly this in their tech section). There are several choices available in 215/55-17.

Regards,
Gordon

 

Are you sure about the size? I see 245/40/18, 245/45/18 and 235/50/18...but not the one you have. Where did you get them? I like them, but don't see that size...at least at the TireRack anyways.

 

I was just copying and pasting configurations that other people used. Follow the link below to see where this one came from. I believe these were a one-time "special" that TireRack was offering... probably because of the unusual size.

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...+Bright+Silver

 

Panther emt428 wheels, pilot alpine pa2 winters.

 

WOW!!! That was an awsome deal!!!! I wish they'd bring them back this year...those were cheaper than 17" snow tires.

 

My winter wheels are a set of 17" Kazera KZ-R rims with Pirelli Winter Snowsport tires.

 

WinterSnowSport 240s on 18" Kazera KZ-A's

 

Gordon, is this stickied yet?

 

Looks nice! I wanted to go with the KZ-A's, but unfortunately they don't come in the 17" size.

 

just got these on this weekend- Dunlop wintersport M3s on Motegi FF7's (17x7). had to get creative though.. the Motegis didn't fit over the front calipers at first.

 

Anyone get the Eagle GW3s V rated yet? I orded a set and just wanted to see if they have performed as well as the Dunlop M3s.

 

Here are my wintertires, they are Dunlop Winter Sport M3 on 17" wheels from my local mazda dealer (I have no idea which brand it is)

 

Here are mine

Core Racing 17" rims (I'm not sure which ones exactly)
Hankook W300 Icebears 225/55-17

 

17x7 Momo with 225/50x17 Hankook W300s. Rides really quiet and handles the cold wet stuff pretty good. No snow yet to test them in. $840 at Beggs. Notice the dog nagging me about the rock chips! :p

 

Kazera KZ-T with 225 X 17 Dunlop M3

 

I finally installed these: Blizzak WS-50s (225-50-17) on Sport Edition Fox 5 wheels.

 

A question for everyone with an 18 inch setup who went to 17 inch fro the winter. Didn't you also have to change your brakes? I went to Tire Discounters (who first tried to sell me Blizzacks for $300 per tire...jerks) and they said that if I downgraded to 17 inch wheel I would also need different brakes because the larger brakes that come standard on the manual transmission will not work with a 17 inch wheel.

I ended up getting Pirelli Snow Sports. 225/45/18

 

No, but you can't move to ANY 17 inch wheel; this is where TireRack is most helpful. They've preselected 17 inch wheel packages that will clear the 8's brakes. I just changed out to my winter tires this last week and had no problems.

Kern

 

Thanks...I'll be sure to remember that next time

 

Put them on Sat, Why when it's going to be 60 (in December!) Tomorrow I don't know. The look with a taller sidewall is beginning to grow on me.

225/50QR17 Dunlop Graspic DS-2
ASA JS1 Rims 17 X 7
NO TPMS
All for Under $1,000 from Tire Rack

 

Funny, I put mine on Saturday and am starting to feel the same way.