Had the luck of my tire being pierced by a wrench this past weekend (https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-multimedia-photo-gallery-6/wrench-tire-mod-156328/)

so I'm in the market for new tires. I've been searching amongst the various OEM sized tires at tirerack and can't decide on what set to get.

Basically I'm looking to buy a cheaper tire without sacrificing much performance. Tires are anywhere from $104 - $276 and I don't know much about tire specs. Any help in the right direction is appreciated. Thanks!

 

I'm assuming you only need 1 new tire or do you now want a full set?

If you're getting a full set, consider 245 / 40 / 18.
Kumho STP (or SPT) is a good choice

 

Well since my tires are already low on tread I figured I might as well get the whole set so I won't have to go through this again in the NEAR future.

Why do I want to go with a full set of 245/40/18 VS the OEM 225/45/18 ?? Cheaper?? More Performance??

 

wider is better. The 245 looks pretty good, and I think the car handles exceptionally well with that size tire. (I'm on my 2nd full set of 245's now)

look into Kumho's, Toyo T1R's are nice (but pricey)

 

Can you provide a picture of the 245's on your car so I can see what they look like. Also, the Kumho's you mentioned are $203 per tire so those may be out of the question. Was not really looking to spend $800+ on tires. Maybe more like $500-$600.

Any other recommended tires? They have tires that include a Navigator when you buy all 4? Sweet deal if you ask me

 

Pic of 225 vs 245

 

That picture helped allot. Does the stock wheel still fit a 245/40 VS the OEM 225/45?

Certain cheaper tires (Sumitomo HTR Z II I'm looking at you) only offer a rim width of 8.0-9.5 while others are 7.0-9.0. Does this matter?

 

Yes, 245's fit stock wheels fine. Don't get crappy tires, tires make one of the biggest differences to your suspension

 

Well, where is the line drawn on what's crappy compared to whats not? I don't auto-X or anything and just need 4 new reliable tires for local daily driving. Those 245/40/18 Sumitomo's didn't received bad reviews from the customers who bought them, and I'm a tad strapped on cash...(only reason I was looking)

It was previously mentioned that Kumho's were good and I saw that they had the OEM 225/45/18 Kumho Ecsta SPT's for $112.

Should I just stick with stock tire size and not worry too much about wider tires? (something I can worry about when I decide to get aftermarket wheels)

 

I have the Kumho SPT stock size on my wheels. They feel like they have a little more sidewall flex than the stock tires, but for normal driving I don't see any difference in grip, and they are 1000x quieter than the stock Potenzas. Overall I really like them, but I might try something different next time just to see.

 

I've had experience with Sumitomos on another, they suck worse than the RE40's lol

 

So I decided on keeping the stock size of 225/45/18 and going with the Kumho Ecsta SPT's. Only problem now is that due to lack of funds I'm going to have to order 2 tires for now and order the remaining 2 in a few weeks.

How will this affect my ride having 2 stock worn out tires and 2 new fresh tires? Should I put the new tires in the front or in the back? Any further help is appreciated. The tires are on order tomorrow, thanks!

 

Sorry to threadjack but since 245s fit on the stock rims, would 265's fit? I got some nice compound tires in back in 265 off a drift car..

 

^don't do it

 

i've always wondered... why not 255/40/18. they're closer to stock size and wider. is it because they dont make tires in that size or because they dont fit 8" rims?