‘better’ is only a credit card away and relative. Is better 1 second faster lap times or 40k miles vs. 20K miles or $100 a tire vs. $200? The performance of your RX-8 is in you’re a.. err, seat. Your job is to know the limits and use it or abuse it. Oh, and 20 mpg out the box.

My Potenza’s did the job, 7 track days, 21,000 miles, still street legal, but you’re on your own at the track. Greasy and slippery on summer track days, and bumpy roads make you want to curse. Noise, I have more complaints about the aerodynamic noises of the RX-8 above 70mph than I so the tires. Your mileage may vary.

 

I had mine on for 3,000 miles before i got all of them replaced because they suck, of course they had to replace them with the same crap tire so i'm still stuck with them. I wish i would have gotten the dunlops oe on my car

 

Yeah, Volvo gets Dynaudio. How 'bout some platform sharing? Best factory sound system I've ever heard.

And to stay on topic, the Potenza's were terrible below mid 50F's also. Obviously they suck in the snow, being summer tires, but they were kind of dangerous when it was chilly out.

 

I don't see how the Japanese-designed/engineered/manufactured car with Japanese designed/engineered (and probably manufactured) tires, for sale all over the world (not a US-only car), shows how the "Ford element" has anything to do with it. There aren't many cars that roll off the showroom floor with the "best" tires available as standard equipment, because the "best" tires in a given size is a constantly moving target given the passage of time and the whims of the engineers/accountants who spec out the tire fitment... Not to mention that your personal gauge(s) of what makes a tire "good" doesn't necessarily match that of what the engineers wanted.

As for the tires themselves, and cost comparisons with Toyo tires, you know that Bridgestone offers a MUCH better deal to Mazda than they offer to consumers in the replacement tire market. Tire Rack prices have zero relevance to the true cost of the tires at the OEM level.

 

What in the hell are you doing with your car? Driving it on sandpaper? One person gets about 40k miles out of them, another gets around half that with 7 days at the track, and you get 8000?

 

i plan to get those Kumho's soon. My stock tires are worn to ****. Went into Firestone and they told me they'd pricematch, so i dont have to waste money on shipping. $79 for a tire with great reviews seems like a bargain.

 

I have the Potenzas on my 8. These tires are horrible. I've fishtailed the car several times on dry pavement. I'm always affraid to hit the accelerator too hard because the back end always tries to swing out from behind me.

The tires only have 11k miles on them. I am going to switch to different tires once these are worn out.

 

Hmm....I have 19k on mine and I fishtail on quick turns...

Time to make the switch to whatever?

 

Please don't buy Kumho's , the only good thing about them are the cheap price. You will regret it, there quiet for the first thousand miles or so, then they become very noisy,they wear fast than the suggested milage, the grip is poor in dry, downright pathetic in the wet. The kuhmos lasted 4 months and 1 week....i was mad!

I made and many of my friends made the terrible mistake of getting these tires on a group buy for our Z's. Spin the extra coin and get something that exceeds in performance, like the Nitto's 450 and 550's. These tires i absolutely love, superb compound,excellent grip, excellent tread wear, quiet from the day i got them to the day i replaced them. Superb grip in the dry and good grip in the wet. I live here in FL were we have flash downpours everyday in the afternoon (summer time)and minimal slipage out of these tires even doing 50-65 mph in hard rain.

I get the Nitto tires for 120 a pop , maybe more or less in your area, but i know when the potenza's wear down on my 8, i am going back to the Nittos again.

Had them on my Mustang, Maxima, and Z. I am even going to get them for my Titan.

To give you a idea of how good these tires are, i had Perelli P5000 on my Maxima, they lasted 6 months because of the soft compound. The nittos were a fraction off from the Perelli in the handeling department and lasted a full year and 3 months with proper tire rotation. I spent 225 a pop for the Perelli's and 6 months later i had nothing to show for. All i got out of the Perelli's were the excellent handeling capabilities out of them, tread wear was excessively poor, although they were quiet too from being mounted on till the day they had to come off. Wasn't so mad, because the tires excelled in all areas except one, but 225 a tire and only lasting 6 months , that was unacceptable and expensive.

Choose wisely...you can buy Khumos if you want to, i hope you have a better experience than i did and my friends, because those tires i wouldn't touch even if somebody gave them to me for free......

You pay cheap, you get cheap......

 

Which Kumhos did you have? I used two sets of 712s on my last car, and I agree they're a cheap tire for a cheap price. On the other hand, the MX is supposedly excellent, but much more expensive than the 712. I've heard the SPT is better than the 712 in all respects.

 

i've got the SPTs on my car, and they are superb. Better dry handling than the potenza, MUCH better wet handling. I've put just under 5k miles on them since last november, and you can't tell there's any tread gone.

and that's not mentioning they are whisper quiet (still), and very smooth. those were the two thigns that i noticed with in the first 50ft of pulling out of the driveway after putting the SPTs on. They's also did great on the tail of the dragon.

all this for less than 1/2 the price of the potenzas. when i finally do wear though these, i'll definately get another set (or whatever replaces the SPT in kumho's lineup).

 

the road is my track? either way ive got 10kish on my good years and 7/32nds left on em still

 

The ECSTA SPT's are what I ordered Sunday. I've spoken with several very knowledgable members here and they come highly recommended. Tire Rack rates them pretty high in that class of tires, and the price is right. I can't wait to get them on.

 

I had the ECSTA 711 for my Z, and they were crap! Maybe the 712's are better or the MX, but i highly doubt they match Nittos in all around performance ,ride quality, and handeling.

 

Umm... that's a characteristic of rear drive cars. It allows drivers more options to adjust their cornering attitude.

 

711? There's the problem. The 711 is garbage compared to even the 712, which itself isn't great. Don't base your opinion of the entire brand based on one of its worst products. If I based my opinion of Michelin on the XGT whatever that came on my wife's Toyota Echo, I'd think they were garbage. But having been around a racetrack in a PS2 equipped Porsche GT3 (sadly, as a passenger), I know that Michelin can make some pretty good tires.

 

I have 25k on my car and the RE040's are shot... and this is with 3/8 of the milage put on my winter tires

looking at SPT's or KDW2's...

 

Has anyone given thought to Hankook RS2 ? I just bought a set for the Porsche. We will see if they stick or not.
About the time I wear them out will be time to get a set for the Mazda.

 

from what i hear about the kdw2s, they are loud as hell, and the treadlife is even worse than the stock potenzas.

 

yea KDW 2's aren't worth it if you're not tracking it.... even then there are better choices of street tires for track duty....

when my Dunlops are done i'm probably gonna pick up a set of Falken RT-615's, best street tire for track duty imo

 

I like the Nitto's but the Kumho 711 suck. I had them on my Jetta VR6 and they are bad. I like the Firestone Firehawks but they are not longer made. I am now running the BFG KDWS on our mustang and they are aewsome with great grip wet or dry and great mileage thus far.

 

the 711s are 2 model generations back. the 712s were a big improvement over the 711s, and the SPTs are even better than the 712s.

 

I don't drive my car in the rain or snow and on dry roads they have been fine. They are summer tires. I don't want all season and when I change them, the only reason I am considering something else is to go with a 245/40/18 size.

 

^^^ its a good thing, because the potenzas are terrible in the rain. they turn into skates.

 

I have noticed that. I have gotten caught in a rain shower a few times (4 to be exact, I'm counting ) coming home from work. Definately feel them wanting to give loose around turns.