Hi everyone, my tyres are down to the wear tabs, so I'm going to buy some new ones this week. At one point I was considering changing to 19" wheels, but I've decided to stick with the factory sizes, mainly because I can't justify spending that sort of cash on a car that I've had almost 3 years, and might only have for another year or so.

So I am looking for any recommendations or good deals that are around, for use on NZ roads as a daily driver, with the occasional spirited weekend drive. I currently have stock 225\45\18 Bridgestone RE040s on it and I'd like to keep similar performance levels. Wet grip is something that I value highly, not because I like to drive hard in wet conditions, I just think that it is when something is most likely to go wrong, so will keep away from the cheaper tyres that rate poorly in that area.

I'm currently considering something around these 2 options:

HANKOOK K415 $246 each
BRIDGESTONE POTENZA RE002 $307 each

Dollars are a little tight, so I don't want to spend more than the RE002s but would love to hear your thoughts\experiences on anything else in that sort of range.

Cheers
Scott

 

+1. I'm interested too. What's available in NZ might be a major factor. So..any tyre experts have an opinion?
Sorry to butt in Scott. Thanks.

 

I've had 5-6 different brands/sizes on over the years


Falken Fk452 s are good in the wet and can be had for a good price if you shop around. The tyres I have on right now are great but took ages to bed in - Toyo proxes T1 sport.

 

I'm not sure what you can get there, but i recommend Goodyear Eagle GT's. I just got mine today. Iv have them before, great in wet weather.

 

Im looking to get Falken Fk452 for $1050 for 4 tyres (225/40/18 & 215/40/18)
But these Falkens are currently out of stock at the moment and only available at the end of August, so im waiting till then.

FK452 is a noisier tyre but better grip.(Directional Tyre) - i have this tyre on my RX7



But they also have the Falken ze912 - $850 for 4 tyres (Asymmetric Tyre)


Im getting new tyres as i got some rims for the 8

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I must admit I usually only look at two brands of tyre nowadays.
First choice would be Goodyear, I have had 3 sets of Goodyear GS-D3 and they are excellent in the wet, especially if you can get the German made ones, also excellent in the dry as well. They have a newer model out now which is Eagle F1 Asymmetric, which are probably even better in the wet.
I have also used a few sets of Toyo tyres which have been great and would not hesitate to buy another set. On my RX8 I'm currently using Toyo T1R which are great, but I would like to go to Toyo R888 which are a road legal race tyre, which I use to use on my RX2 and they really stick well.

Nice wheels Xcon, I will look forward to seeing those on your car.

Rotaman

 

Thanks Rotaman , genuine 2 piece BBS LM's

 

Thanks for the responses everyone. Shame those Falkens are out of stock, I need them asap.

 

Infact I think they would look really good on my car!!!
What size are they?

Rotaman

 

I had the Toyos on my MX5. They stuck like sh#t to a blanket and were very good in the wet. My favourite Bike tyre was Goodyear(not really relevant I know) and I've never tried the Falkens.
I knew I would find this thread interesting.
+1 on the rims!!!!

 

this is from a while back but still relevant ...........

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-whe...e-test-106729/

 

18x8 +35
18x9 +35

 

Ordered the Bridgestones. All the other options either weren't available in the time frame I need, were more expensive, had worse reviews, or a combination of the above.

I'm told the RE002s should grip as well as or better than what I have now, and be quieter, which will be very welcome on course chip roads.

Anyway, thanks for your opinions\input.

 

Give us an update once you've driven them a bit. Cheers.

 

I'm running the RE002's now - Been pretty happy with the handling. Just did Auck - Napier overnight return trip and in -2 they still seemed to hang on in the corners. Actually did my best out of a tank 447 km on 50 litres on the same trip which is 100km over my usual range.

 

The RE002s seem pretty good. A bit quieter than the RE050s, and grippier in the wet. I never liked the old tires on wet roads, they just didn't give me confidence, and even less so as they got to the end of their life, but the new tires feel better. I haven't managed to do a decent drive yet, but around town I am Really happy with the new Bridgestones.

 

i dont know but id upgrade to 245 40 18 on the stock rim..