Kewlb

Hey,

I do not want to be one of the people telling horror stories about stock tires and snow. I live in MD and while all the roads I have to travel on are always cleared, etc.. I do not want to take any chances.

The problem is that NO ONE sells 18" winter-only tires. The best I can do is find all-season tires.

What is everyone's opinion on these tires and would they work for very minimal winter driving? (about 14 miles each day 98% highway)

Dunlop SL Direzza® 225/45R18 - BSWTL
All-season performance tread design balances dry and wet grip for excellent all-weather grip.

rx8wannahave

I looked real quick but it stated (tirerack) that it's a summer tire and not a all season tire, are you sure they are all season tires?

Kewlb

This is just what Sams Club said (ONLY tire dealer around that actually has 18" tires that fit the stock rx8 wheels)

right now I just can not afford a new wheel and tire set.

RotrDoc

TireRack has a neat "drop shipment" program that delivers any tire they sell to a local shop for mount and balance. I used this with a local Firestone store for my last new shoes, with great results--TireRack selection and price, local dealer rapport and road hazard guaranty.

rx8wannahave

^cool, I didn't know they did that...

Anyway, if you want "all season" performance tires that's not the right tire, but per the user reviews they are pretty good.


Dunlop Direzza DZ101

rx8wannahave

Wait....do I have the right tire?

Kewlb

I think sams listed the tire wrong, I cant find any information about the one they listed.

rx8wannahave

Yeah, me either I actually went to Dunlup's website and they did not have that tire listed.

AVON makes a all season tire that per the reviews is pretty good. Check it out...



Avon Tech M550 A/S

I know of one RX8 owner who got these tires and he was happy with them. If you look at the reviews it seems to be a GREAT deal for a performance A/S tire.

The only reason why this might not be the tire "FOR ME" is that I don't know how much it weighs compared to the stock tire I have. If it's less...I might, when the time comes, buy this tire also.

Then again, I live in FL so why do I need a A/S? lol

Kewlb

That is not that bad.. what is the difference in VR and WR when it quotes size? For some reason using the tire finder I couldn't pull up this tire for the RX8 6-speed.

rx8wannahave

Those are speed ratings and not size ratings so I'm not sure???

W = Up to 168mph
V = Up to 149mph

??

Kewlb

thanks for the help rx8wannahave the tires you suggested look good and have gotten good reviews.

StewC625

I switched mine to Pirelli PZeroNero M+S tires, in 245/40-18 size from Tire Rack. I paid $150 each for them, plus tax and shipping and had them mounted by a local performance shop that is on TireRack's list of authorized installers - and who has become my scheduled maintenance resource.

Be careful of the Firestone stores - the one near me was all set to do it (I didn't have the tires drop-shipped there - had a thing about having them show up at my door - that was one cool-looking stack of rubber there!), and then their service manager told me, "Umm, you really don't want us doing this. Our machine isn't nice to 18" wheels with low profile tires." The dork at the desk was all about the sale, but the manager himself stepped in and said the right thing. He also directed me to the shop that did it.

All up, including tax and installs I was in for $720, and because I only had 3500 miles on the car when I did this, I was able to sell the OEM rubber on the "for sale" forum for $400 shipped, so my net cost was about $320. Not too bad.

I'm in a similar situation - my roads by and large are always cleared quickly and well, so it's just needing something that will get me home when I'm caught out in it. I work from home when not traveling for biz, so the option to just stay home on a crappy day is very real.

Definitely get the all-season shoes. Those Avon's are good, but the Pirellis are even better, if you can get them. They tend to be in short supply.

miater

firestone's 'machine' isnt' nice to 18 inch low profile tires?

you mean the machine they use to mount them ? I know nothing of how that works.

balance? align? what....thanks..

StewC625

Their mounting machine. Basically, it's a device that the wheel is mounted on like a record on a turntable, and then it has levers that force the tire bead over the edge of the rim. If they don't have plastic/nylon coated levers, or if the machine isn't specifically designed to handle low-profile tires on large-diameter wheels, the machine can (at best) scratch the crap out of your rim edge and (at worst) bend or flatten the rim edge.

Also, the mounting surfaces on the unit where the wheel mounts up should also have protective coatings on them.

Specifically ask them: "Do you guarantee you won't scratch or chip up my wheels?" if they won't issue the guarantee, then walk the hell out.

miater

thank you.

texlaw

I bought the Avon Tech 550 A/S when my orginals finally gave up the ghost at 33,000 miles. I live in Dallas and have no real need for snow tires but I do go up north to UT and CO on occasion and wanted something that would give me some confidence of actually getting back home in winter months. They have been great on dry and wet so far. No first hand knowledge of the snow traction. If we get winter precip down here it is usually ice and snow tires aren't going to help much. I bought from Tire Rack and had the Firestone dealer put them on with no scratches or problems.

rx8wannahave

No problem…glad I could offer some help.

Hey, I think Stew found you a better tire. Why didn’t I find that one when I searched on tirerack via the RX8 search????

Anyway, I think I agree with Stew…I would spend a little bit more since the Pirelli has even better ratings.

OliverB

The Avon Tech 550 is a great tire and good for wet roads even if you do not encounter snow. The high performance A/S category is the fastest growing category of tire sales in the U.S. For everyday driving I prefer to have confidence that my tires will perform well on wet roads - which you are likely to encounter most of the year!