Ok, I'm going to montreal on the 30th of August. I called up Talon Tire and will be heading there on a Saturday (when they are closed to the public) and they are going to see if they can get a 16" wheel on the car. He said they would try a 15" but I really don't think that is going to happen!

Anyway, they are VERY helpfull there and they have EXCELLENT prices. Shipping from Montreal to Ottawa for an entire 4 wheel set he said was $35 and you don't have to pay the provincial sales tax! Big $$$$ SAVINGS!


Once I find out more info I'll post it. He said he can discount for more packages of course.

Hopefully this pans out.

I sent f1michel a message since he is in Montreal as well.

 

i'm working that saturday but it all depends at what time you figure you'll be there. i'mat the office up until 2
pm or so and could be there by 2:3o max

i'd love to be there as well. any idea of the cost for the rims and tires?

 

Be very careful. Do not order any tires until you
have a rim that fits.

My dealership could not fit 16" rims onto the RX8.

They will be getting me a package that includes 17 "
steel rims and 225 50 winter tires. I'm thinking of
going with a Michelin product.

Danny

 

So you are saying 16" WON'T fit the car? And how much would be the 17" rims? any idea about the tires $$ ?

 

This is why we want to TEST this. This tire shop is top notch. Basically he needed to know the centre bore. He said heck if you have the right dimensions it should be no problem.


I originally was looking at 17" rims, apparently there are NO 17" STEEL rims what will fit the 8 either! They don't make 17's with that correct dimensions and bolt pattern!

17's should be 215/55/R17, if you go 225 I would still go 55 because your are loosing too much height.

If we can get 16's to fit 215/60/16 would be the tire and there are TONS of options at that size and some good pricing

Here are the rims I was looking at originally and they should fit.
http:\\http://www.tiretrends.com/wheel_cata...p3?wheelID=209

heck they even look like the RX8 stock rims

What Michelins are you looking at?

I've have got some recommendations from a few tire shops and they have all been either get the Dunlop M2's or M3's or get the Yokohama AVS901's or the Toyo G02.

Not one mentioned Michelin, I think it has something to do with price / performance I find Michelin way overpriced.

 

I'm game. Please keep me in the loop.

I also asked my service guy at the dealership to check out his tire contact and see what is available. He also says his tire guy is pretty good at this. Will be interesting to see what the final fit looks like with respect to tire and rims.

 

Why would you buy rims that look identical to the original rims???

Come on be adventerous, like here's a few ideas if your intested

http://www.renesis.ca/gallery/evolv/

 

Evolv, because they are the cheapest possible rims available. If I wanted new rims I would have to look at 18" rims that are in the 900 each range!

I really want steelies. Alloys are just going to get pitted anyways.

 

I would welcome posts from anyone who can put together a 'Steely/Good-Snows' package that I can just order & bolt on....

Yes, I am lazy, and yes, I am interested!
.
.
.
doc

 

Doctorr... how north are you? :-)

 

dammit, away from the forum for two days, you miss big stuff...

sorry guys, group buys have to be OK'd by the powers that be.

...temporarily put on pause.

*PAUSED*

ok, so Wing, 'cause this is your idea, talk to BOOSTD7 or Jason (or Sputnik/Toadman if neither can be reached) about this whole this, and i'll open 'er back up when the air is cleared.

sticky so that people know what's up.

*STICKY*

 

*PLAY*

ok boyos, we've got the seal of approval.

proceed.

 

Ok thanks!

Now I'm just waiting for f1michel to let me know his plans to visit Talon Tire or not.


Anyone else in Montreal willing to spare 30 min to an hour at Talon tire for a wheel fitting?

If I get no takers I'll be heading to Montreal on the 30th and will do it then. I was told they would try 16's as they would have to order 17's.

let me know guys! If 16's don't fit they will have to order some 17's for a fitting, I'm not sure if I can head back or not. It would start to make no sense for me as driving to montreal on premium is not cheap

 

I'll do it on the 30th if you give me the address & phone No. of Talon Tire and if my car comes in by then. Mazda is replacing a bumper that cracked during off-loading from the ship in Vancouver, so I hope to get it on Aug. 22 or 25. Otherwise, perhaps one of the other Montrealers (who would like to have an answer to this winter tire/rim question) can help out.

http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8913

Is it the brakes that are too big to take the 16" rims' I thought there was another thread in the General Discussion Forum where it was said to be OK.

 

I measured the current rims and the brakes are 1" from the rim.

It really depends on the rim, some are smaller on the inside than others.

It doesn't have to be on the 30th. I will be heading to montreal on the 30th, so they said they could accomodate me.

If you will do it FOR SURE, then it doesn't matter if it's the 30th or if it's sometime in September or whatever.

It's just that I'll be in Montreal on the 30th and they agreed to help me out. If you're in montreal you could do it any M-F

go to www.talontire.com they are just off of henry bourassa, I believe I was speaking to John, he was VERY helpfull.

Let me know if you'll do it. I guess you'll know if you'll have your car soon!

 

I'll let everybody know as soon as I do. In case the guys at Talon ask, do you have an idea how many folks are interested in the Quebec/Ontario group buy (taken a poll?)

 

I think there was at least 3 or 4 so far interested. I'm sure more will chime in once we actually get an option package.

For the time being I don't think the Talon guys care, they said certainly they would love to put a "package" together though even for 1 person.

But here's what I have.

Me: FOR SURE
Canada: I am guessing yes
f1michel: seems interested
doctorr: Said he was game.
mac: Not sure but he may be when he gets his car
Bulldog6670: says he's game
Ogilthorpe: is in

edit: up to 7ish

 

count me in !

 

If the package is nice, then I will be in too. You have to have winter tires...

 

They will probably be 16" steelies (if possible) or inexpensive 17" alloys.

md, I thought you wanted 18" winters on alloys?

 

I will probably be in even though i'm thinking a 2nd car for the winter. I'm sorry Wing if i haven't answered you faster or called Talon yet. i'm in a very tight schedule these days with kids, studying for work stuff and the GF as well... ;-)

 

That is mainly due to the fact that the wheel spokes curve outward to clear the calipers.
If you put a straight edge on this ( I did) the clearance would only be 1/4" ( 6mm)

 

Up here in Canada we are maybe a bit more interested in winter tires. Something about driving half the year on ice and snow has that effect! <grin>

I think it is useful to mention a couple of things about wheels and tires I have observed:

1) If we use narrower wheels and tires ( 7" wheel width and 205/50/17 tires) we have more clearance.

2) A lot of snow and winter and "all weather" tires have been mentioned in a few threads here.

3)We do not have a lot of wheel well clearance, so it may be useful to consider the fact that under some conditions ice and snow will pack in the wheel wells, so a small outside diameter is useful but makes the speedo reading less accurate.

4)"All season tires" generall mean they have decent wet characteristics, and a bit of ice capability.
However they usually get hard in cold conditions, and are not useful for ice as a result.

5)Winter tires fall into two groups:
Good for cold and ice
Good for snow.
These are two quite differing requirements.
There is no such thing as an ideal snow result and an ideal ice result in the same tire.

6)Winter tires wear a lot more quickly than most summer tires.
A winter tire needs to stay soft and pliable in very cold weather. If you drive in warmer conditions they are usually quite soft.

7)Snow tires have tread swedges that extend over the sides of the tires a bit. The biggest problem on ice and snow is lateral grip.

8)Winter tires make a lot more noise than summer tires, expecially snow tires.

9)We are driving cars with high speed capability. As many will still want to go fast if road conditions are good, it is probably best to buy a winter tire with at least an "H" speed rating.
See:
http://www.tiresafety.com/size_class/size_nav2a.htm

An H rated tire is good for 130mph (210kmh)
Tires with ratings of V, W, Y, and the older (deprecated) "Z" rating are higher yet.

10)We also need to pay attention to load ratings.
If the RX-8 is 3000 lbs ( 1364kg) and we carry four passnegers, luggage, etc., we need to allow for about 4,000 lbs. (1820kg)

That means the tires must be rated for at least 1,000 lbs. (455kg) each. That is a load rating of 81 or higher.
http://www.tiresafety.com/size_class/size_nav2.htm



I hope this is helpful to someone.

 

I have talked to a couple of online tire and wheel sellers.
In general they say that there is little margin in wheels, and a bit more in tires.
They mostly are volunteering little discounts on wheels, and about 5% on tires.

Shipping is also a fairly large cost factor.
A set of 4 wheels, with tires mounted, weighs about 200 lbs.

Expect to pay around $50 to $75 for freight in Canada.

We should also try and buy from out of our province for the majority, from a dealer with no presence in our province.
That way we avoid provincial sales tax. Of course for Alberta that is a moot point.

 

I`ll certainly have an interest if the deal is good. I have yet to get my car but it is expected in a few weeks.