I finnaly bit the bullet and ordered my tires and wheel for next season. :D

Kosei K-1 TS 17x8 (15.2 lbs.) $239 each with lugnuts and centering rings.
Humho MX 255/40-17 (25 lbs.) $125 each.
$1546 mounted, balanced and delivered. Shipping was $90.

Should be about an inch smaller in diameter and a little over an inch wider then the stock bridgestones. And will save 7.6 pounds of rotating mass per corner.

And I learned that if you call Conner at Tirerack, he does know of several 17" wheels that fit the '8. I asked him why they don't show 17" wheels on their web site and he stated that the subject had come up but the 'Rack decided they would only show the OEM size and larger. Go figure.

 

Nice. So why the Kumhos instead of something like the New Azenis coming out? Especially in the PNW where it doesn't get hot like in the south?

Be warned, the MXs NEED heat in them to be at their optimum operating temperature. The Azenis work very well in the cooler weather like beginning/end of the season.

 

sounds like a good combo. the mx's are pretty fast, although interesting to see how the new falkens are.

if tire heat is a problem, running multiple drivers can help manage this. also the primary driver gets the first run on warm tires.

james

 

I'm very interested to see how the 255's work in STU

 

On about half of the events people are hosing down their Falkens, so I'm not too worried about heat. And just about any tire will be better then the OEM's. I'm hoping I won't have any rubbing issues in the front. I'm not going to get caught out when the "tire wars" heat up this spring, I'll let everyone else do the new tire testing

 

Quoted for prosperity. :D

 

Not getting caught up in tire testing is a better path to prosperity if you foot the bill for your own rubber.

However, it may be an interesting quote for posterity's sake. :p

 

Why 8" wide wheels instead of 9" (or even wider)? And why not 275 wide tires?

 

I would have loved 9" wheels and 275s but I really had very little clearance left with the OEM tires after dropping it 1 1/2 inches. So I guess I'm being a little conservative until I see how the 255s fit in the front. I may end up not dropping the coilovers as much if clearance becomes an issue. And I don't have the budget this year to do any experimenting. (Saving pennies for the Bremerton event! :D )

 

Doh! Whatever. :D

 

If you tell the Tire rack wheel selection page you have an RX8 Automatic it will give you 16's, 17's & 18's.