I replaced my OE Dunlops with the Goodyears last week and did my first Autocross on them this past weekend. I'm favorably impressed with these tires. I got the 225/40-18s, so they're just slightly smaller than the OE 45's. The tires have a slightly more "crisp" feel to them in cornering, they're about as sticky as the Dunlops were, and they're very well behaved when they start sliding - no sudden transitions or nasty surprises. The 225/40-18s were $182 US apiece from The Tire Rack.

The Goodyears got rave reviews from Car & Driver, and came in first out of a field of 11 performance tires. Tire Rack surveys score them pretty high too.

The Tire Rack has a pointer to the full report here: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y_f1_gs_d3.jsp

 

The "crispness" you feel while turning is probably because of the shorter sidewall. I've had these before, not bad tires. Very good in the wet and generally a good value for the cost. But the sidewall is softer than a lot of other summer tires. If you stayed with 225/45/18, you probably wouldn't be remarking on their cornering capability.

There are tires available with better grip and stiffer sidewalls, but they're either less competent in the rain and/or more expensive. I still feel the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 is the best overall handling street tire, but the costs are too high for most people. For the RX-8, if I stay with an 18" wheel next year, I'll most likely either be using the PS2's or the Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07, but if those weren't options, I would consider these tires again.

 

Hmm, when I first put on the GSD3, the first thing I noticed rather was the lack of a crisp turn in compared to the Dunlops. I also have 225/40/18 to fit the stock rims. 2000 miles later it still has a bit of a spongy feel when diving into 90 degree corners hard, although for whatever reason it has lessened considerably compared to when it was brand new. It feels a little crisper and stiffer overall than when new, but still just a tad spongy compared to the Dunlops. Mazda knew what they were doing choosing the Dunlops as OEM tires, it's a huge part of how precise and sharp the RX-8 feels. I like the GSD3 for a lot of other reasons but turn in crispness and precision I would have to say is probably it's biggest weakness.