Replacing rear tires only?
 

I posted a oil question recently. Now i got a Tire Question. Recently got 09 RX-8, 17.8K miles. My brother noticed that the passenger tire was slightly more worn then the other 3. They are OEM times, most likely were changed (since stock OEM tires only supose to have 10K mile rating).

The rear passanger tire was onyl rated 3 tread(passed inspection for saling) and due to being low the back inside splash guard is cracked (the black plastic that runs behind the tire, not the added additonal splash guard. Pictures can follow if need be).

So, discount tire suggest I replace in pairs (the back 2 tires). I'd agree, but then thought maybe its better to replace all 4. SO i need to expert adivse. I teach, and school is starting again soon, so no track time until thanksgiving break. Good performace tires for Texas heat, but also handle the 2 or 3 weeks of heavy rain we sure to get in September. I havn't got to drive the car in teh rain, so don't know how it handles as is, I don't want to wreck the thing with crappy tires nor do i want to spend more then $200 for underperforming seasonal tires.
:dunno:
A) replace all 4 tires or just the back 2? (front tread is nearly new)
B) What kind of tires to use if only replacing rear 2 tires (tread life to match stock OEM so i can replace all 4 at same time
C) If replacing all 4 tires, what is a good pick for my Texas Heat weather/heavy weekly rain needs for going to work yet still let me drive 3 hours to other texas cities no matter weather?

10k on oem tires hmm i am at 13k and tire are perfict i would look ing to a aligment.

as for tires when these finaly go i am going to be getting falken azenis 615's i had them on my old car and by far are one of the best around. and you being in texas (no snow) you should not have to take them off because the are summer only tires

well check that i will not be getting those :( no 19 inch

10k OEM tire rating??? That's not right.

How about rotating your tires?

And as cited uneven wear points to the need for an alignment.

if you buying the same tires then you could change two, but if you are buying different brand then I would buy four. Different brand or model have different grip level. if you have a better grip tires in rear then the car will understeer but after a while when you rotate tires from front to rear the car will became oversteer.
Yoko S drive looks good.

hmmm, is tire rotation covered under warrenty?:suspect: If so, when i get that back splash gard fixed i'll let them do that for free too. teh azenis 615's seam alright, are there any other suggestions?

looking for
1) simular handling to the OEMs (thats why i got the car after all)
2) will handling fine in daily rain driving and 3 hour trip driving in the heat
3) more then the base 20k tread life if possible with out sacraficing the top 2 or paying more then $200

No, tire rotation is not covered under warranty. However most tire shops will do it for free for the life of the tires you buy from them. Or you could simply rotate them yourself. Every 6k is a good rule of thumb.

I can't praise Toyo T1R's enough. My OEM Dunlop 8090's were very good, but the Toyo's are even better.

You get what you pay for in performance and longevity.

I'm still looking intermidtly while working on work stuff, but the Toyo T1Rs seam nice, what's the tread life? Also, (i left this out) what size of the 18 inch is better? 255/35 265/35, etc? I lik cars and racing, etc as much as the next but a bit of a noob on those tire preasure differences

^ Well, you have to properly match the rim width to the tire aspect ratio. You also have to consider rim offset.

The stock rim is 18x8 with a +50 offset. 245x40 tires are popular and the widest you should go with the 8" rim width.

255x40 +45 is good on 18x9 and 265 or 275x35 +38 are popular on 18x9.5

Check out the "will it fit" thread for many pages of further insight.

Tyres at the rear wear faster than tyres at the front. So, don't spend too much time looking at thread life. It will depend on where you put the tyre and how fast you take your corners and how hard you brake and take off. Playing around with tyre rotation will allow you to control tyre wear such that they all get replaced at the same time.

The Toyo T1R's weren't listed on the fourm's ranking chart (https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ht=texas+tires)

how do they stack up all around? My current tires were actually Bridgestone Potenza RE070 not dunlops. They were ok, but for that price i hear i can get better tires and tread life (with warrent). suggestions besides teh Toyo T1Rs? Is there a newer tire ranking charts? I want to replace the back 2 since the fron tire's are rated at 5 (half life). SO what would be a good fit? ALso, how much faster are yall's back tire's wearing down compared to your front?

There are a lot of good tires, but I don't believe you'll find anyone here that doesn't appreciate their Toyo T1R's.

Do you want to fix the current problem or prevent future problems like this from occuring?

From a racer's perspectice (and this does not mean it is contrary to street car operation), the hot ticket is to have the same size wheels and tires on all 4 corners. You then simply rotate them more frequently. The non-directional Toyo RA1 tire/compound achieves better/best life when you both rotate them frequently (the front L ALWAYS gets the burden of the wear and the rear R the least). A simple tire rotation after each day will maximize wear. The next step is to flop the tires on the wheels to work more wear on what was the outside of the tire. This assumes you run a fair amount of camber on a dedicated track tire. These concepts apply to street tires as well. It starts with your next purchase. Directional tires have limitations. Different size wheels and tire sizes with directions have about zero flexibility.

Plan ahead if any of you are thinking of keeping your car around for a while and going to the track.

Do the math---it will pay for itself more quickly than you think.

Happy Rotoring,

E

OK here's an update. I am going to order all 4 tires today. I got it nailed down to 4 tires, just need to pick one.

1: Goodyear Eagle GT
2) Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus
3) BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2 (or plane g-force since i couldn't see a difference)
4) ExtremeContact DW (or DWS since i see no difference once again)

I drive in Texas, so mostly super hot, often plenty of rain mixed in. Winter does see some lighly frozen/icy roads, but it's only snowed only 3 times where I live the last 10 years.

Suggestions on what is the best choice? I couldn't get Toyo's at Discount tire, so i limited it to these 4

You can't go wrong with Michelin Pilot Sports (albeit pricey) or Goodyear Eagles (more cost effective and close to Michelin's).

It may not snow much, but the temps do drop below 40F. Summer tires get hard in those conditions and you will loose grip easily in rain/icy conditions. It seems like every winter we see cars sliding through intersections in Dallas on the TV news.

ok alnielsen, what are your suggestions? I thought all 4 of the above were fine for colder/slight ice weather.

As, I don't live in the south, I have never had to research that issue. They may/may not work in the cold. I just want to bring up a point to think about before you put a significant amount of money on tires.

Ask them if they can get Yokohama S.Drives.

Great dry grip, absolutely outstanding wet grip and rain grip, outstanding hydroplane resistance. They stay flexible at least as far as 5 degrees F (lowest I have driven on them in the dry).

I LOVE them. If there is any down side to the S.Drives at all, is that the wet/rain/standing water grip is so fantastic that you might not reduce your speed as far as you should. I've hit standing water at 80+ without hydroplaning on them. And they are proper summer performance tires, so you don't give up dry grip. Their dry grip was better than my OEM tires, and only a bit less than the race quality Dunlop Star Specs I have on right now.

And S.Drives are one of the cheaper tires for the given size.

Not great in snow or ice, but any summer/all season will be terrible in snow and ice. If you only get snow/ice a couple times a year, it will probably be cheaper to call off of work and not drive than buying a beater or another set. If you NEED to drive in the snow/ice as well, don't compromise your car or your life, and buy a cheap set of 17 inch rims (look on ebay, or Mazda6 forums, since their stocks are perfect), and put a set of winter tires on. Even a used set of winter tires will last a long time if you only swap them on when you need to, and that is rare.

Go to tire rack and check the raitng for tire wear.

Pick the one with the best wear.

Your not racing and will appreiate the extra 4 to 5k mile wear bonus.

Finaly update, Went a head and got the 18x8 Goodyear Eagle GT tires. the set of 4 wasn't too bad, whole thing with warrenty under $900.

not to bad, I bought Hankook evo v12's about a few months ago. They are summer rated only.

Good luck on the tires, hopefully they last you a long time.