^I wrote this thread about a year ago...

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension-55/impressions-new-nitto-nt05-184327/

 

Now, after driving on many different tires. I wouldn't buy the NT05's for autocross....They are good if you are on road courses and can actually build up some heat in them, but they just cant compete with the top autox street tires...

 

I have never gotten more than 15k miles from any set of tires on my 8. I corner hard and often and grind them to dust.

Original Pole Position, ok in the dry, ok wet, undrivable in snow, very loud when 2/3rd gone. Rating 6 wouldn't buy again. Directional Summer only

Perreli P Zero 235/40 18 Great in light snow for 2 years, very weak the third year, I used them as a winter set. Decent dry and wet, not as loud as the Potenzas when worn. Rating 6 wouldn't guy again.

General Exclaim UHP, diluted my handling so bad I thought I needed an alignment, good in wet. Rating 2 would never buy again, robbed me of the go cart handling. 245/40 18 directional

Continental Extreme Contact, good all around and huge imprvement over the UHP and these were my winter tires. Great in snow but seem to wear down faster than most. 235/40 18 directional, rating 7

Continental Extreme Contact DWS, 235/40 18 I love these tires, only had them a couple thousand miles, not directional, corners like on rails, haven't autocrossed them yet, but I do drive hard, pushing to a drift on highway on ramps, rarely brake at all for corners, and zoom through the gears to 100mph on country back roads about once a week. I got them for winter tires and may get a set of 245/40 18 for my summer rims in the spring I they keep giving me so many smiles per gallon. Rating 9 but to early to tell. $160.00 ea

 

Tire Specs: Continental Extreme Contact DW 265/35/18
Rating: 9.5
Vehicle: 2005 RX-8
Location: Miami
Driving Conditions: Daily driving - city/highway commuting
Driving Style: Aggressive
Miles Driven on Tires: 500
Would Buy Tire Again? OMFG Yes!

Comments: These tires are AMAZING but I have no track experience with them. I will say they are the best wet/dry weather tire I have purchased to date. In the twisty's the Yoko's were awsome but these Continentals are on a whole new level of grip! I will say that these tires are also bigger then the yoko's by 2 sizes (245 to 265) and this is contributing to the added grip. With that said I have not been able to find the limits of these tires on the street and I probably never will. I will need to go to the track.

 

I'm weighing Star Specs vs. NT05 right now. I read all the comparisons and in a vacuum I'd take the Star Specs, but the NT05 is $156 each vs. $200 each for Star Specs. Is that being penny wise and pound foolish? Usage is DD with 5-6 track days per year.

 

In the long run, a second set of wheels with the Star Specs is probably your best option. I know several people who drive their Stars all year round, plus 8ish Autocross sessions and dont seem to have many problems. That being said, i believe he also lives with the reality of buying tires every year...

If your track days are super important to you and you want the best experience possible, Stars. If its something you do, but pushing your car and yourself to the highest limit is not really your goal, saving the 200 dollars up front may be worth it to you, thats for you to decide.

 

Tire Specs: Bridgestone Potenza RE 11 245/40/18
Vehicle: 2004 RX-8
Location: Niagara, Canada
Driving Conditions: Seasonal driving summer - city/highway commuting
Driving Style: Aggressive
Miles Driven on Tires: 1000 km
Would Buy Tire Again? Definate Yes

Comments: These Grip extremely well but need to be warmed up also perform in rain tread wear not so great and expensive but well worth the cash!!

 

Tire Specs: Bridgestone Potenza RE040 225/45/18
Rating: 8 (summer only)
Vehicle: 2006 RX-8
Location: Central MA
Driving Conditions: Seasonal driving summer - city/highway commuting
Driving Style: Aggressive
Miles Driven on Tires: 28,000 mi
Would Buy Tire Again? Yes, at less than $150 per.

Comments: Excellent in the dry, predictable, good turn in, solid and handle high cornering speeds. The tire must be treated well, though - rotate regularly, don't abuse it - I got a lot of service out of them. Good in the wet until about 20k or so, then just average. Wear was even across all four.

Tire Specs: Bridgestone Potenza RE050 225/45/17
Rating: 10 for this car, 9 for an RX8 (it is soft)
Vehicle: 2005 Legacy GT wagon 5MT
Location: Central MA
Driving Conditions: Seasonal driving summer - city/highway commuting
Driving Style: Not as aggressive
Miles Driven on Tires: 25,000 mi
Would Buy Tire Again? Yes

Comments: Excellent in the dry, predictable, okay turn in, solid and handle high cornering speeds. Notably softer than the 040, offering an improved ride and a little less responsive. Excellent dry grip but phenomenal wet grip. I like the fact that this tire is not directional - I have a set of five that is wearing very evenly, and I expect a good 35,000 out of them - but this is less than 30,000 per tire. This tire offers a nice, comfortable ride. It is the perfect tire for this car, which really does need stiffer dampers.

Tire Specs: Continental Contiwintercontact TS810 225/50/17
Rating: 10 (as a performance winter)
Vehicle: 2006 RX-8
Location: Central MA
Driving Conditions: Seasonal driving winter - city/highway commuting
Driving Style: AVerage
Miles Driven on Tires: ~ 30,000 mi
Would Buy Tire Again? Yes, at less than $150 per.

Comments: Excellent in the cold dry, predictable, offer a nice cushy ride. I'm on my second set - I love this tire for the rx8 in the winter. Wet performance is excellent. It is quite soft, and I take it easy on this tire, but it is very very solid at fast highway speeds in the cold weather. Snow grip is fine - better than any all season but this is not a snow tire, so you will have to take it easy. The real weakness of this tire, and every performance winter I've owned, is on the ice. I've needed a push once in my RX8, but no big. I commute on the highway so this tire makes a lot of sense. Snow performance noticeably worse above about 15,000 mi, but still completely serviceable until you hit the wear bars.

Tire Specs: Bridgestone Potenza LM-25 225/45/17
Rating: 5 (performance winter)
Vehicle: 2005 Legacy GT wagon 5mt
Location: Central MA
Driving Conditions: Seasonal driving winter - city/highway commuting
Driving Style: Average
Miles Driven on Tires: 20,000 mi
Would Buy Tire Again? Certainly not

Comments: Excellent in the cold dry, and that is all. Just okay in the wet. Merely passable in the snow - and that is low praise for a tire on this car in the snow. Wet performance just okay as well. Not quiet. I just don't get this one at all - it is barely better than an all season. The second worst Bridgestone effort I've owned (nothing is more underwhelming than the craptastic RE 92)

Tire Specs: Continental ExtremeWinterContact 225/45/17
Rating: 10 (snow tire)
Vehicle: 2005 Legacy GT wagon 5mt
Location: Central MA
Driving Conditions: Seasonal driving winter - city/highway commuting
Driving Style: Average
Miles Driven on Tires: 4,000 mi
Would Buy Tire Again? Yes

Comments: Excellent in the snow and ice, very sure footed. A very comfortable and quiet (for a snow) tire. Not bad in the dry. Wet braking is the only weakness, but you probably wont see much rain with these anyway. I rate this tire very highly as a snow tire, I don't think there is a better one.

Tire Specs: Hankook Winter iPike 185/60/14
Rating: 8 (snow tire)
Vehicle: 1999 Miata
Location: Central MA
Driving Conditions: Seasonal driving winter - mostly backroads commuting
Driving Style: Average
Miles Driven on Tires: 12,000 mi
Would Buy Tire Again? probably - not many choices in this size

Comments: It's fine - good on ice and snow, spongy in the dry. Fine in the wet - really, not bad under any conditions. If cheap is what you're looking for, this is a very good option

Tire Specs: Toyo T1-R 195/50/15
Rating: 7
Vehicle: 1999 Miata
Location: Central MA
Driving Conditions: Seasonal driving summer - mainly back roads commuting
Driving Style: Aggressive
Miles Driven on Tires: 25,000 mi
Would Buy Tire Again? Yes, but only because I have to . . . and I may not at that.

Comments: This tire gets a lot of good press, but I have found it a little disappointing. The only saving grace for this tire is its very good rain performance. It is soft, and offers weak turn in. It is stiffer than the T1-S, and no worse in the rain, but dry performance is merely good. Driven aggressively it is fun - it is predictable and provides good feedback, but it is squirrely at the limit. In the miata this is a good trait because you can have a lot of fun with it, but when you start to slide the tail and the grip comes back, it is abrupt and less predictable. I would not run this tire on my RX-8. It can be bought at Goodwin racing for the same price as the RE-11 (in miata size), and there is simply no comparison. You can find other tires for your car that are better, and you should.

 

Tire Specs: Dunlop Direzza Star Specs (stock size)
Rating: 9
Vehicle: RX8
Location: New Jersey
Driving Conditions: Street, 'mountain' commute
Driving Style: Aggressive
Miles Driven on Tires: 19,000 (hard to believe)
Would Buy Tire Again? I did, just got my 2nd set today
Comments: Great tire, kind of loud but who cares. Dry traction remained remarkable even when very worn. I even drive these tires in winter (not on snow, of course) because I can't bear the thought of lesser tires on an RX-8 (I use Wintersports on my Miata in snow).

 

Tire Specs: Bridgestone Potenza RE-11
Rating: 9
Vehicle: RX8
Location: California
Driving Conditions: Mostly dry
Driving Style: Aggressive
Miles Driven on Tires: 2,000
Would Buy Tire Again? Definitely
Comments: I'm a very aggressive driver. So i corner fast, accelerate fast, and stop fast. So i need very sticky tires. My first set (Toyo tires) slipped alot and i always had understeer. So i bought these, and my first run through a canyon and i was very impressed. These tires love to grip the ground and it's very difficult to break their grip. They are quiet when i'm just cruising down the freeway, the thread is worn down quickly though because how soft they are. Also the wet traction is simply unmatched! I'm very happy with my purchase, yes they are expensive but totally worth it. You'll be happy when you take a corner at a speed that is alittle scary for you and find out these tires will hold on for your life...truly an amazing tire

 

Tire Specs: Toyo Proxes 4 - 245/40/18
Rating: 9
Vehicle: 2005 RX-8
Location: Los Angeles
Driving Conditions: Daily driving on a tight canyon. Lots of turns and moderate city/highway commuting.
Driving Style: Average for an 8 owner
Miles Driven on Tires: 34,000
Would Buy Tire Again? Yes, if I didn't have to pay for them. Kind of pricey.

Comments: Got these with the wheels. These tires would have lasted 50,000 miles if I did not drive daily in a tight canyon. Inside and outside wear from the turning, but center still lots of tread. Alignment checked and all OK. These tires bite on corners when dry, but are useless in the rain. Great summer tire or minimal rain areas like SoCal. Never ran the car on a track.

The factory Bridgestones were trash. They lasted 20,000 miles, rough, noisy and handled poorly in dry or wet.

 

It seems this thread is long dead, but I'll post here anyway becauase I searched and found it :P

Tire Specs: Kumho Ecsta SPT's - 245/40/18
Rating: 7
Vehicle: 2004 RX-8
Location: Cincinnati
Driving Conditions: Commuting, Tight Twisty roads close to home
Driving Style: Aggressive
Miles Driven on Tires: 11,000
Would Buy Tire Again? Yes, if I didn't need an A/S tire. These are the stickiest tires I've ever driven on.

Comments: Got these with the car 11k miles ago, and seeing as this is the only set of tires I have had on this car, draw your own conclusions. These tires were excellent, grippy and smooth when I first got the car, but are now very loud, bumpy, and have high speed vibration on the highway. Dry grip is amazing, wet grip is OK. It's scared me a few times.

Overall, I'd say if you need a "budget" summer tire, then these are an excellent choice. According to papers that came with the car, they've now got 38k on them, and are just now to the wear bars. They appeared to have worn pretty evenly.

 

I've only driven on SPT's and Hankook Ventus Evo V12 K110 for summer tires, and my review is on the previous page.

I rated the V12's a 9 compared to the 7 I also gave the SPT's.

The V12's beat the SPT's grip immediately, and when the SPT's warm up, they never get near the V12's grip.

The V12's steer different, make the car feel more planted, are quieter, and smoother, but what most people don't get is: The Hankook Ventus V12's need about 10 psi more than SPT's.

The V12's started gripping really good at 46 psi hot front, and 43 psi hot rear.

For the PSI unbelievers, look up air pressure for competition tires on TIRERACK.

 

My SPT's are getting replaced tomorrow, with a much less known tire, the Nexen N3000. The M3 guys seem to like them. I'm not expecting SPT performance, but for 349 Mounted and Balanced, I really don't care. Haha, my car is pretty much strictly daily driver.

I've got high hopes, and the reviews are mixed, though, mostly positive. I searched and haven't found many guys here that have used em.
Overall, the SPT's have been a great tire.

 

Because of reviews like this, I chose the Continental DWS instead of my usual Michelins. No regrets! The ride & handling are fantastic, and much quieter than the OEM Dunlops.

 

Tire Specs: Kumho Ecsta SPT [stock 225/45R18]
Rating: 7
Location: San Jose, Calif./South Bay
Driving Conditions: Dry/wet (no snow/ice)
Driving Style: Daily driver
Miles Driven on Tires: 35,862
Would Buy Tire Again? No (read comments)
Comments: I bought these Kumhos in early 2007 after the original Bridgestone Potenza RE040s reached the end of their life at 17,200 miles. Two things conspired to make me select the Kumhos: 1) At the time, there was a lot less choice in the stock tire size, and 2) Was under budget restraints. I really would have liked the RE050A Pole Positions.

The Kumhos had a much better ride and were much quieter than the RE040s. They also had better wet traction and treadlife. The RE040s definitely were better dry handling tires. The Kumhos were a much better daily driver tire than the RE040s and they lasted me 35,862 city/freeway miles. However, 4 years later and many new tires have come out for the 8's stock tire size that have better driving/handling characteristics for the same price or not much more. Because of that, I don't recommend them nowadays, but that isn't to say they were a bad tire. They are good tires, but just not as good compared to newer tires on the market.

I just put a new set of Continental ExtremeContact DWs on the 8 and look forward to trying them out. Wonder if they'll last just as long.

 

Tire Specs: Falken Ziex Ze-912 225/45/18
Rating: 8
Vehicle: RX8
Location: Florida
Driving Conditions: Mostly Dry, occasional wet
Driving Style: Aggressive but not street racer. I occasionally take back roads when I want a bit of fun.
Miles Driven on Tires: 8,000
Would Buy Tire Again? Yes
Comments: I bought these tires because my Falken Ziex-329s were balding due to a suspension problem and they were having a huge sale at Discount Tire Co. so at the time it was all I could afford but non the less, these are still great tires not only for the price but in general. I currently have a lowered suspension and drove over 1,000 miles without an alignment and there were no signs of Pre-mature tire wear. These tires are great in dry and wet conditions. So far I've put over 8,000 miles on the tires and there's still 95% tread life left on them. The grip isn't as great as the stock tires but the all season tires not summer tires. Road noise is decent, not as quiet as the previous Michelins I had before ever purchasing a Falken product.

 

Nobody mentioned the Michelin Primacy MXM4?
Anybody try these???

 

Go the search feature, located just below the RX-8Club.com banner (in the smaller text); type in your selection; click the option to "Search Posts"; start reading.
Or, you can even use the advance search to find more topics.
Or, or... use the site:rx8club.com <insert question here> to get the most efficiency.

 

from the grave bump: Mazda RX8 Tyres - TyreReviews

 

Sorry to bring this mummified thread back from the dead... but anybody have an opinion on Michelin A/S3+? I dont drive the car in the winter but there are mornings in the spring when it is still too cold for the summer rubber I currently have. What's the performance loss between a summer tire and a top of the line all season?

 

My buddy had em in his 06 Mazda speed rx8 in stock size. No complains from him and he drives enthusiastically. Very composed in all season including winter. He lives on a hilly area and never had any problem during frosty days.
That said he wasn't able to keep with me at the track. I have bridgestone s001 staggered. If I need all season tires I'd be considering the as3+ or conti dws06.

 

Those are the tires I'm running on and I like them a lot. They are perfectly adequate for my driving, winter (lot of rain) and summer as well. Good tread life too. I will probably replace my current set with the same tires soon.
I don't do track driving.

 

I run the A/S 3+ on my 2010 R3 and love them. They have excellent grip in the dry and great traction in the rain. In stock configuration you will not exceed the performance of the tire. You can totally disregard the plus sign, they are only a three season tire. I would never run them in the winter as the rubber gets pretty hard and slippery when the temperature falls below 45F.

 

I dont drive it much in colder weather anyway. Once salt hits the road it stays parked till spring. My big problem is that in the spring the mornings are still cold sometimes but then it warms up. So as long as they can get me by on a brisk morning I'm good. The summer tires on it now turn to plastic even on those brisk mornings.