How much will 225/45ZR18's cost? How long will they last? I drive pretty hard. Can I get at least 15k out of them? I drive hard.

I've looked up prices at the tire rack nad they are about $200 pop, but is that indicative of street prices? If I had to fork over $800 bucks every 12k miles, that would mean $1600 bucks a year for tires. That would surely make me go broke.



My 45k mile Bridgestones on my Honda only last, 27k or so. That's about 14 months of driving. Is there any chance in hell to get Z rated to last more than 15k?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...rk=1&do=Search

 

You can get winter tires and put them on your car for a good 4 months so you get better winter traction and extended use of your tires.

Next, don't go with the run-flats again. Get some Falken tires that will run you around $100-120 a pop, making it 500-600 a year for tires max.

I think you'll be okay if you take my advice

 

The UTQG rating and your personal driving style are the biggest determining factors to how long a tire will last.

Most sport car drivers drive somewhat more aggressive than normal. For those individuals a fair estimate of how long a tire will last is to mulitply the UTQG rating by 100. So Bridgestone's S-03 tire which is rated at 220 would last close to 22,000 miles.

Now if you drive very hardcore you probably won't get even 11,000 miles out of them. And if you drive ultra-conservative, you might get close to 44,000 miles out of the same tire. Driving style even if you aren't burning rubber makes a huge difference in how long a tire will last.

Usually performance tires will have lower UTQG ratings due to their softer compounds and thus better grip, but don't assume the lower the rating always means a better performing tire. Many tires like the Bridgestone have reasonable UTQG values but excellent performance. I am also a Kumho fan for those looking for a cheap long lasting tire that has reasonable performance, but I don't see one that fits the RX-8 application well with its 18X8 wheels.

Good luck,

-Mr. Wigggles

Ps. One more thing, keep the tires properly inflated. Having your tires drop into the low 20's in PSI will cause them to where much faster than normal.

 

hmm... thanks for the info guys. I did some checking and it seems that neither Kumho, Falken, or Nitto make a 225/45-18. The Bridgestone S-03 and Pirelli Asymetrico's seems to be the best bang for the buck at around $200 bucks a pop and a 220 and 240 USQT ratings. I guess I'll need to go a bit easier on my tires to make them last at least one year then.

Maybe I can slap on a 225/40-18 Kuhmo's for a slightly lower aspect giving me cheaper tires and a slighter shorter overall gear ratio.

but looking at the Kumho's in other sizes they seem to be a great performance and value.

 

don't forget ironqqq, that grippier tyres are softer, and hence fall apart faster.... well, this isn't ALWAYS true, some tyres are more equal than others, but in general, you'll find that higher performance rubber which is softer/faster will come apart quicker than harder/"control" rubber... so, those higher USQT ratings may indicate a harder compound, or a more conservative contruction than the Falkens, Nittos, or Kumhos...

 

Hmm, I wonder if my current summer rims on my car 17"X7 5 bolt, will be able to be transformed to winter rims? I'm just worried that they won't fit over the large brakes. Can anyone take a guess?

 

it's very possible... the sport brake package only comes with the 18's, right?? but the base model runs 16's, and those brakes aren't TOO much smaller, are they??? you may be able to do it...

 

According to most article I've read, the car comes with Bridgestone RE040, with are rated at 120 (this is not a typo). Once I get the RX8, this will be the 3rd car in a row that I get with that tire, Audi TT and A6, on the TT they lasted only 12K miles, on the A6 it looks like they will do better. While not a bad tire it is not as grippy as the rating shows and Audi does not use them anymore because of that tire having a tendency to bubble their sidewall if you hit a pothole hard. Bridgestone must give the manufacturer a hell of a good deal, that tire seems to show up everywhere on cars with 17" or 18" optional wheel packages.

 

Please remember that the "Universal" Tire Quality Rating is not a standard by which you can compare ALL tires. Only compare tires made by the same manufacturer as a "200" rating on a Bridgestone is not the same as a "200" rating on a Pirelli.

See Tire Rack's info here:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/general/utqg.htm

Quote form TR's info:
"These tests are conducted independently by each manufacturer following government guidelines to assign values that represent a comparison between the tested tire and a control tire. While traction and temperature resistance ratings are specific performance levels, the treadwear ratings are assigned by the manufacturers following field testing and are most accurate when comparing tires of the same brand."

Sorry, but there is no standard to compare all tires except experience.

PS: There are a LOT more options in the 235/40-18 size...wonder how they'd fit???

RX8 Dreamer

 

It has been my experiences that Tire Racks prices are at or below street prices (unless by "street prices", you mean that you're buying them on the street from the back of a truck ). In the past year, I've been asking about prices in those sizes while I've been at this or that tire shop, and $200 a pop is basically what I've seen too.

---jps