I have purchased Goodyear Eagle 1 GS-D3 Summer Max Performance tires from Tirerack.com. I have not been a Goodyear guy for tires for some time, but these tires are great !
I have been buying tires from Tirerack for years and have respected the ratings on their site before. These tires have the best rating for any tire in the 245 X 40 X 18 size. They have a 8.2 wear rating and all other ratings range from 8.6 - 9.2.
I have had them for a 2K miles in dry and heavy rain and think they are the best summer tires I have ever owned.

 

How much did they run you?

 

They cost about $215 each + shipping which is from UPS and arrives in a few days. I have purchased at least 5-8 sets of tires form tirerack.com with no problems.
I live in NJ in the mountains, yes mountains where the winters are pretty rough so I have bought a few sets of Blizzacks for myself, wife and kids.

 

Here is the survey of the summer tires:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...ay.jsp?type=MP

Unfortunately for me, the price in 245/35/19 is $281 per tire. They are $212 each for 245/40/18.

I'm currently considering the KDW/2's for my 19" rims:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...y.jsp?type=UHP

They're $229 in 245/35/19. In 18", they are the same price as the Eagle F1's.

 

Jason, which rims did you get? Have you posted pics? Our cars are very similar looking so I am curious to see which rims you chose. Rims are in my near future.

 

In 19", you can forget about getting 235 for the F1's because they're on back order. The guy from tirerack said some people have been waiting as long as 6 months for it.

After a lot of research, and looking at reviews, specs, etc. I've decided the GS-03 is worth the extra money ($281 per tire) over KDW/2's ($229) because:

1) They last longer
2) They're a lot quieter.
3) Superior performance.

The actual cost is only $208 difference between the two ($916.00 vs $1,124.00).

Also, while 235/35/19 was the "recommended" size, it's about a half inch shorter than it should be. Going with 245/35/19 gives the proper dimentions, so that is what I went with on the 19x8.0 rims.

 

4 245/35YR19 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3
for 2004 Mazda RX8 6-speed $281.00 $1,124.00
SHIPPING FROM Shreveport, Louisiana BY FEDEX ECONOMY 2 DAY DEL $82.12
Addition Fees and Taxes
Sales Tax $0.00
Excise Tax $0.00
State Disposal Fund Fee $0.00
Order Total $1,206.12

 

I got the gunmetal DPK's. I'm not sure how good they will look, since I was unable to find anyone else with silver+gunmetal dpk combo, but my hopes are high.

They were $805 shipped (ups ground). That is about $180 per rim. Which is below what I've seen most people buy them for. If anyone wants the same deal, PM me and I can give you the info of the person I bought from.

 

Thanks for the info Jason. Those rims are very nice looking. Good luck. Can't wait to see pics of them on your car. That price is incredible! I think they will look very nice on the silver 8. I was also thinking about going with a dark rim. I like the dark chrome Mazda ones but, from what I've read, they only come in 18' size and I kind of wanted 19' rims.

I have to do some research though to see if the 19' will fit with the Mazdaspeed suspension. I have not had a chance to research that yet. I am thinking that they will fit but I want to be sure before ordering 19' rims.

Once I find out if the 19' rims will fit on my car I may PM you for more info on the rims because that price can't be beat.

 

Just so you know, the 19" rims with 245/35 will be almost exactly the same size as the 18" rims at 40. So if it fits the stock wheel setup, it will fit with the 19"s in this size.

 

Cool. Thanks!

 

It looks like I will get the rims tomorrow (wed). The tires are being shipped today, so I should get them on friday. Due to the tire place closing at 5:30pm, and the fact that I'd need my bosses help (he has a truck) to transport the rims and tires over, I'm not sure if I will have anything to show until early next week

 

I will be keeping an eye on this thread anxiously awaiting your pics. Waiting is a killer isn't it?

I hate waiting. When I ordered my suspension I was practically counting the days until it arrived.

 

Tirerack called to confirm my order.

Apparently 2 day fedex from them counts the first day, so it's today, tomorrow (wed) and I get it on thurs. We might be able to see it this week then

 

Excellent. I am looking forward to seeing the pics. Unfortunately I probably won't get to see them til Sunday at the earliest because I am going to NY for the weekend. I hope you can have the pics posted by Sunday.

I think I see myself ordering rims next week!

 

If you're ever in the Tampa area let me know. I'd be interested in seeing how your CZ works

 

Will do. I am planning on going up there this summer with my wife. We are probably going go to Busch Gardens because we haven't been since they put up the new wooden roller coaster. I will PM you once everything is setup so we can setup a meeting.

 

you could actually save some money and get a better tire in 245/40/18 with the BFgoodrich g-Force T/A KDW-2s. They're $178 each, but classified an "ultra high performance summer" tire instead of "max." They're Y rated so you'll have to keep it under 186 mph. Better dry traction and treadwear, sounds like an all around better choice to me (and cheaper, even than the crappy OEM bridgestones). here's a tire rack test with them:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...=44YR8GFTAKDW2

 

H0rde, if you check my first post on this thread, you would see that the KDW/2's were what I was leaning towards...

However, after much research, I found that one of the biggest complaints about the KDW/2's was tire noise. Add in that the D3's appear to be unbeatable in wet road conditions, have excellent tread wear (people reporting in excess of 40k miles with room to go), and comfortable ride characteristics... so i decided to pony up the extra $50 per tire for the D3's.

 

I also wanted to add in that the KDW/2's have very few miles reported on them. So knowing statistics, the numbers are likely skewed somewhat until there are more people to chime in.

D3: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...ay.jsp?type=MP

KDW/2: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...y.jsp?type=UHP

but you're right, the two tires are close. If I didn't care about tire noise I'd have gone with the kdw/2's. I'm sure the noise isn't too bad, but... seeing how long I'll likely have the tires on the car, it was a no brainer.

 

yeah i understand what you're saying. Both are fantastic tires, they'll beat the bridgestones hands down so it's not really that big a deal which one you go with. I don't really care about road noise, but you're right that not nearly as many miles have been reported. You can't lose with either, I'm sure. Cost will probably be the only reason i'd take the KDWs.

 

I was flipping stations tonite and came across Dennis Miller. He was saying goodyear, and showing a goodyear tire, as a new sponsor to his show. I guess I will be looking a Toyos.

 

I love the Goodyear Eagle F1 tires too since the first day they releashed them!! I will definately buy them when my potenza are finished!

I was disappointed by the fact that they don't come in our 'stock' size, because i'm planning on keeping the stock rims for a couple of years.
Can you guys help me out: should i get 225/40/18 on all four corners or 245/40/18, like omicron did with the pirellis? Omi told me its good set up but many ppl tell me 245 is too wide for front tires...
And I'm thinking of keeping same size all around because I've no idea about staggered setups!

I dunno, I'm a bit confused! please help me!

 

you want to get 245/40/18s all around, it will have less of an effect on screwing up your speedo than 225/40/18s. Almost everyone who has bought new tires that i've seen have gone with the 245s, it's very popular and no problems of which i'm aware.

 

Firstly, sorry for dragging up an old thread (better then duplicating).

I am ready to change my tyres in the next month or so.

How are the Goodyear Eagle's holding up? I am thinking of going with the 245/40R18s.

Any major problems?


Thanks,