Hi all!

I am new to the forum and am taking delivery of my new RX-8 this week. Because I live in Minnesota and plan on driving the RX-8 year round, I will definitely need winter tires.

My Mazda dealer is proving to be quite flexible and willing to deal on a variety of items, but when it comes to winter tires, I really don't know anything. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find pricing on winter tires at Tire Rack or anywhere else on the net to compare to the dealer.

Can anyone please tell me what I can expect to pay for winter tires that I would put on my stock 18" rims when they become available again in the Fall?

Also, if I were to buy both tires and an extra set of rims, I see that some people have been purchasing 17" rims. Why is this? Is there a problem fitting aftermarket 18" rims on the RX-8?

Thanks!

 

Some Canadian owners did a lot of research, found some Toyo 'Garit's and some cheap 17" alloys that would fit over the huge front brakes.....
that's the setup I got.
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doclink to last years post

 

Doctorr, thanks for the reply.

Have you or anyone else that lives in the lands of snow and ice tried using the Ultra High Performance All Season Radials like the Pirelli PZero Nero or Continental ContiExtremeContact tires rather than true winter tires?

From what I'm reading, it appears the RX-8 stock summer tires wear out incredibly fast and I'm wondering if I could get almost as good winter performance and longer summer life with one of these tires rather than switching tires twice per year?

 

I got 17" Fox Sport2 wheels and Dunlop M3 runflats; with higher profile -- advised for better snow performance -- circumference is the same as 18" wheel and lower profile. Also slightly less wide for same reason. They are great in snow but actually, in Wash. D.C. area I'm thinking they are overkill for the amount we get so for the Fall am thinking of getting all-season performance tires as replacements for the stock tires and selling the winter wheel / tire combo -- only about 3,000 miles on them. Please let me know by post or PM if you're interested.

 

There has been a lot of discussion about winter tires vs. all season tires. Use the Search function.

 

I have the Dunlop M3s as well and love them. They worked great for me all winter in Wisconsin.

 

All of the winter tires posts will tell you that the stock tires stick like hockey pucks. 18" winter tires that will fit the stock rims will probably cost u 700-1000. I got the MIchelin 18" AlpinPilot (245/40/R18) and they cost me 800 shipped from tirerack. I'm thinking about sellin them for 700 with 0 miles on them....if my internships dont pay as much as i'd like