I plan on buying an 8 within the next month or so. I live in Wisconsin, so I'll definitely need winter tires. This will be my first experience doing this kind of thing, so I have a few issues that hopefully can be answered on this board.

I have read through most of the posts about winter wheels/tires and some of this may be there already but there is just too much info there to make things clear to me.

My initial thoughts are that a 17" wheel/tire combo is the best way to go due to being less expensive than the 18" as well as the fact that 18" winter tires are a little harder to find. (although I still may consider just 18" tires on the stock wheels)

I love the stock wheels and am wondering if you could actually get those in 17"? So far, I really don't see anything else that I like. Are those stock wheels only something that Mazda has? Also, won't having 17" wheels/tires make the odometer inaccurate?

Also, just for the winter, I want to have a safe tire, so I don't mind spending a little more money for better tires, but as far as the wheels, I pretty much want the least expensive ones I can find. When I buy the car, could the dealer help with this stuff and could I possibly order through them? I would actually be a little reluctant to do this since they don't seem to know much about the car in the first place.

 

hello mjd,
Welcome to the board. I'll answer a few ....

17" is better because you're less likely to curb the wheel, tires/wheels cost a bit less, and you'll find a wider selection of tires. Having said that, I bought a second set of stock 18" wheels and sensors for my snow tires because at the time I bought them, I was not sure which wheels would accept the sensors and http://www.tirerack.com was not supporting the sensors. They do sell / support the sensors now, so check out their selection of 17" wheels for RX-8s.

RX-8 stock wheels only come in 18" or 16". If you have a 6-speed, the 16" stocks will not fit it. Check out WHealy's winter wheels (search this forum a bit). I think they look similar to the stock wheels, but nicer. If you've not checked out the www.tirerack.com, you may see something there you like. If you get the correct size tires, the odometer and speedometer readings will be accurate. See www.tirerack.com for their suggested tire sizes for the 17" and 18" wheels on an RX-8.

Wise of you to invest in snow tires. Again, for wheels, check www.tirerack.com - they have wheels that cost less than the stock wheels. They also have reviews on snow tires to help you decide. You'd have to check with your dealer to see if they could help. I did my research here and at www.tirerack.com and felt I understood enough after receiving help from the great folks on this forum and TireRack to not require the dealers help (aside from installation - but www.tirerack.com can now do all that for you).

If you don't want to spend the $400 it costs for the four wheels sensors, your yellow TPMS warning light will come on after around 15 minutes of driving (some say theirs flashes, others say it stays on). Consider if that will bother you or not, especially at night.

Hope that helps,
rx8cited

 

Great answers. The other thing the TireRack does is test fit their wheels for a particular car. So the 17s will actually fit.

I'm actually of the same mindset when it comes to the wheel/tire pricing as you.

Also, I'm in WI (Milwaukee area), so I hope to see you out there! I also have yet to order... just gotta wait until spring (long story)