Yup those are definetly the same wheels, I'm really happy with them.

just oredered some 235/50/vr18 Pirelli 240 Snows. What should I expect?

They were ~$33 cheaper per tire, that swayed my decision!

Iced 8
 

Here is an interesting picture of what i came out to this morning, good thing i got my tires although i don't think they'll do much good on ice. The car is one continuous sheet of ice I can even get my hand through the handle easily. Luckily it's starting to get air under it so maybe i can just lift it off as a ice shell.

Ouch, that looks nasty. Maybe pour some warm (not hot) water on the ice? Believe me, the tires are helping you a ton on the ice. Stock tires have terrible terrible ice traction.

how much did you pay for rims with snow tires??

I paid $1164.52 with lifetime balancing and rotation and they put them on for free a few times. I got them from a local tire place in my hometown.

Ya i would warm water it but that'll only be if it doesn't thaw in the next few days, i don't need to drive anywhere till wednesday. Also i went out a few minutes ago and started lightly punching the spots where the ice had air under it and it shattered right off, and the whole passenger side is like that. So i may punch it off the passenger side then climb through and kick the door open from the inside.

just got a 04 rx8 live in pittsburgh and need snow tires asap what are the best type to get for the stock rims

also how does the rx8 do in the winter?

I have made a reasonable effort at searching; but am unsuccessful so far. Would some of you have the answers to these questions?

1. What is the best all-around winter tread tyre for the RX8?

2. Have any of you whom have used the same wheels for both summer and winter tyres experienced undue wear or other damage on the wheel ("rim") incurred from the mounting process? And do you have aluminium or steel wheels?

Many thanks.

This is impossible to answer, there is no one best tire. Any well-rated tirerack.com tire will do well. For an RX8, stick with "Performance Winter" tires that are better in dry than regular winter tires. If you go with big names, like Bridgestone Blizzak, Dunlop Wintersport or Pirelli Snowsport, you'll do well.

This thread is all about aluminum wheels. Some people use steelies, but it's difficult to find 17" steel wheels that fit our brakes. So chances are very high that you will have to run aluminum wheels.

Damage to your wheels depends on the skill of the installer. A careful installer with good machinery will not scratch. A careless installer will scratch even with good machinery.

I wouldn't recommend trying it in the snow, even with just a thin layer you will be spinning your wheels like crazy, dry roads of course you'll be fine. Would recommend getting tires and wheels as a combo because then you won't have to worry about having your Tire Pressure sensors damaged in tire swapping on one set of wheels. Also the cost of just putting them on is far less to just pot a new set or rims on rather then paying someone to swap tires. (In the long run of like 4 years) Since your are buying tires late in the season there will probably be a big demand for them right now so you might end up paying more then someone who bought them early in the season or before winter. Good Luck, enjoy your new 8 in Pittsburg.

Has anyone run narrower then stock snow tires on stock rims. I'm thinking that after next summer I will be running my stock rubber out. That would be a great time to pick up snows for those rims, so that getting aftermarket/light summer package following winter becomes more feasible as well. I'm thinking that if I stick with the 18" size, that I'd prefer a 205 or 215 width. Has anyone else tried this? Or is 225/40 the best snow size to run on the stock rims? Thanks in advance.

PS, just noticed, playing around with different sizes that tirerack has a special deal on a set of Dunlops, only in the wider 245/40 Qr 18, runflats at what sounds ridiculously cheap at $460 for 4. How much worse will the wide tire be? I'm used to dropping at least 10 in width when going to snows on my accords back in my VT days. BTW, Nokian Haaka's are the best really.

Not sure about snow tires, but many people swap the 8 rims onto other Mazdas which need 215s.

17" Mazda rims shod with Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 winter snowshoes (215/55/17).

http://arctichound.com/images/MazdaR...ght%20Side.jpg

Will Mazda6 rims fit? How about Mazda5 rims?

Yes and Yes.

I will post my MOMO Winter wheels and Hankook iPike W409 pics when I get mount them this weekend.

I honestly think the MOMOs look better than the stock 8 Wheels, and the iPikes are WAY better than the Ice Bears, with a very aggressive tread for deep snow traction - I was amazed at how secure they made my 8 in even deep snow during last year's rough winter.

Tires: https://www.1010tires.com/images/tir...ook_409_lg.jpg

Wheels: http://www.discounttire.com/product/...in.s.large.jpg


These were bought from Discount Tire - Both Tires and Wheels for $672 including tax, shipped balanced and mounted for all 4 - yes, it was a hell of a sale.

excuse me, sorry for the butt in, but are rx8s good for winter cars? I live up in north dakota and we have pretty serious snow and i was wondering if i could still use my rx8 during the winter or should i keep a winter car around?

alright so i've been reading through the thread, im still really unsure what to get here - i don't have a ton of cash to spend right now, and can't afford to get another set of rims, like 17s. with that in mind, i have the stock 18's and need a good set of snow tires - i don't need the best or most expensive or for that mattedr the best performance wise - i jsut need a good tire that will do the job.

help?


thanks guys

With how expensive 18in snow tires are, after you mount and balence them on your stock wheels, you might be further ahead to just buy the 17s. I waited for some used ones to come up for sale and bought those. That would be my suggestion. I bet you can get some 17s with snows used for like 400-600 bucks.

You won't like the price of new 18in snow tires for sure.

i may be going a bit too extreme, but I've purchased a set of 17x6.5 Mazda 3 wheels. I want as skinny as possible as my 40 mile commute through the hilly streets of Colorado has netted me several opportunities to watch people push my car out of the snow via hand placement on the spoiler.

Is 6.5 too narrow? These will be used solely for winter, obviously. I'll be pairing them with 215/55R-17 tires. (though I want 205/55R-17!)

6.5 inches should be ok. . . but I don't think you'll like the way it makes your car "feel"

Do you know the offset of the Mazda 3 wheels?

Drier than a pop corn fart here. I just want tires that are quiet, handle reasonably well and are reasonably priced. In other words, not Bridgestone OEM's. GD, those are noisy as hell tires!

-1.3L

17" Enkei RS-5 / Hankook Ipike
 

Got the rims off craigs for 200$ with summer tires, that I am reselling. They've got bad rash, but whatever. Tires were just under 500 installed @ DT (No Road Hazard tho)

My pal will give me rims, off a 2004 mustang gt, if they fit. for free. I can then afford some good winter tires. Will the mustang rim fit? I would just try it out but he lives 'bout 4 hours away.
if anyone knows that would be awesome.

Chad D.