Thought I'd start a thread on this, as it is something I will need to consider over the next few months.

I certainly won't replace with the stock Bridgestones -- I don't reckon they offer the grip … and they are hideously expensive!

I have been a Yokahama fan in the past. On my Mazda Astina hardtop, they offered more grip and were quieter…

What does eveyone else think?

 

If you want to keep the stock tire size you might look into Yokohama's AVS ES100's. They are a great tire for the $$
Here's a little about them. I've gone through a couple sets on my Miata and have been very happy with em.

I'm trying to decide between them and Bridgestone's pole position in 235/40/18. Anyone have these and happy with em? I like the price of the Yokohama's better but may give these a run.

 

the stock tyre size seems a little small for the standard rim? has mazda chosen this due to cost and looks?

 

My tyre guy told me that the standard Bridgestones are bloody expensive because they're the original tyres Mazda put on the 8 and therefore they incur a genuine replacement part price mark up.
Talk about price fixing schemes!

When it comes time to replace my tyres, I'll be going with Falkens due to their soft compound (greater grip) and cheaper price (so I can replace them as often as I like due to the softer compound)

 

I used to put Toyo's on my rides. Found them to have a good compromise between wet and dry use, and were a reasonable price, however, on the recent set they seem to be a more greasy tyre and grip has suffered as opposed to the previous Toyo's.

 

AMG,

You should make a note of the country of origin next time you find a tyre you are happy with.

Even though you can have two tyres from the same make and model, they may differ from each other due to their country of origin.

From my experience, Goodyear F1's made in Germany are a excellent tyre, whereas the same tyre made in Thailand suck monumentally.

 

wouldn't tyres that suck provide more grip ???????

 

Not literally unfortunately.
The second set made in Thailand was a utter waste of money and I've been very wary since.

 

so has anyone tried a 235? thats the logical size for 8" rims the 225's are a bit of a stretch and surly wouldn't do any good for sidewall stiffness.

 

Good point - the SS had 235's on an 8" rim.

 

What about a 245/40 in a P Zero Asimmetrico?

 

To me these are looking like a good replacement tire, getting the best reviews at the Tire Rack. Description:

"The Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 Max Performance "summer" tire was initially developed for use as original equipment on some of the world's most prestigious sports cars and sports sedans by combining world-class wet and dry handling with confident and predictable cornering. Some of the first fitments include the BMW Alpina Z8, Chrysler Crossfire, McLaren SLR and Porsche GT2 & GT3 models."

The sizes are limited til summer 04, so for now the best match is 235/40YR18 (2.2% fast speedo error). Anyone already tried these?

 

Bridgestones SO3 Pole Position is a good all rounder, with excellent wet and dry grip and also surprisingly low road noise. I was very happy with them on my Bimmer - in fact it's the only high performance tyre I have EVER bought 2 sets of. Their only drawback - sidewalls are just a bit too flexy IMHO. That dulled the steering turn in response on the Bimmer a notch - easily overcome by an extra 2 psi or so.


Falkens always seem to be rated as good value, but I've heard some complain of poor road noise.

I had a good run with a set of Toyos Proxes T1-s a while back too. Very similar performance to the SO3's.

If you haven't alreday checked it out, the US site www.tirerack.com has lots of tests and user reviews that might be helpful.

 

I'm tempted to go to a 235, or maybe even 245. But there are a couple of issues.

First, the extra width is good, as is any additional sidewall to prevent the traumatic wheel scuffs many of us experienced in the first couple of weeks of ownership (well ok, "us" is a gross generalisation but it happened to me ) Equally, don't want to damage those sidewalls, though

But secondly, what will the impact be of dropping down a profile size (from 45 to 40)?

2.2% 'optimism' on the speedo (which is already between 2 & 5% optimistic)? -- Help me with my maths here, but that suggests going to a 245/40 would *just* about correct this error

Likely additional harshness and coarse surface road noise? (I must say I find coarse surface road noise the greatest weakness of all Mazda cars)

Will 245s work on the front wheels?

Tyres are expensive decision, especially as this will be a full set change. I also wonder if there are compound differences between North America/Europe and Australian needs?

 

Has anybody else noticed that the RX8 has Bridgestone SO3's fitted on it in the RX8 brochure?

It appears on the fifth page with the side on profile shot of the 8 spread across two pages.

Did we get the short end of the stick again?

 

A 235/40 will have a diameter 10 to 15mm smaller than the 225/45....'twill look a tad puny in the wheel arch....

Maybe a good time to invest in a set of adjustable height coilovers as well, Timbo.

Gomez

 

I think you have to go to 245/40.

Anyway someone did suggest Michellin Pilot Sport. They are like slicks man! Chrysler Crossfire has those. $2.5K to replace 4!

Remeber or read about GT3 vs M3 CSL? The CSL is 1 sec quicker because of the tyre - and the GT3 has Michellin Pilot (non-sport)

 

How did you spot that nojooc.. I think we can hold a class action against Mazda :p

 

Nah, there's a disclaimer inside the back cover stating that Mazda has the right to vary or change specs at any time.

 

damn....

 

I raised this with mazda and the response is that only the re040's will be supplied. Initial early reviews of the rx8 from wheels had the s03's listed in the specs, so they must have changed it somewhere along the line. I think it might be because we have bad roads in australia and the re040 has better ride quality as it is listed as a touring tyre on the bridgestone website. I think the michelin pilot sports will be good though, they shoudl be around the same price as the bridgestones?

fatmarco

 

Actually the M3 CSL wears the Michelin Pilot Sport Cups (semi-slicks DOT R compounds) which are even grippier than the standard Michelin Pilot Sports, which is fitted on the GT3.

If you are intending on using the car only for daily road use and some spirited driving in the mountains then S03, Eagle F1 GSD3, SP9000, or T1-S will be at the top of the list. Michelin Pilot Sports are notoriously expensive and up there with Conti Sports and P Zeros.

 

Hey Blackie, good post....Welcome aboard old son...

Gomez

 

Both the f1 and the t1-s are pretty average tyres these days. Both were great tyres that are now victims of poor manufacturing quality. The T1-S suffers from sloppy sidewalls, but does have excellent straightline traction.

-pete

 

Hi there. Yeah I've just started to visit this site a bit more often so I thought I'd register and post. I just got new tyres for my car and had done a fair bit of research on tyres so I thought I'd chime in as well.

I've always liked the RX-8 since its concept. I've even got an RX-EVOLV full brimmed hat from Mazda