Available tire size on RX-8 and tire choices

[mossaidis]

My buddy Eugene is trying to decide on tire choices the 2007 season. He's torn between having a dedicated of set of R (with accompanying tire trailer) and more likely a good set of summers. He drives a 2003? Mazda RX-8 in SS. Two questions:

1) What other tires sizes fit the RX-8 besides the 225/45R18? I would assume 235/40R18, but what's the best choice for max traction and reduced drag while still fitting under the fender w/o rubbing?

2) What tire offers the most traction and longevity for the money? I would assume the Toyo Ra1 and Nitto NT1 fit the bill for R-compounds, but what about summers? Here are choices I pulled up in a jiffy from the most commonly used sites for me, tirerack.com and edgeracing.com:

Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position $172
Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R $211
Bridgestone Potenza S-02 $192
Falken Azenis Rt615 (my favorite) $141-165
Hankook Ventus S1 Evo K107 $161
Hankook Ventus Rs2 Z212 $150
Kumho ECSTA MX $140
Toyo Proxes T1r $149-154
Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07 $245

Any thoughts? Comments about previous experiences?

Thanks.

[chaos4NH]

Not sure of the others, but forget the Potenza RE050 Pole Positions, I couldn't get them off my Speed3 fast enough. I saw a Speed3 at a meet on Sunday, 7500 miles on the Potenzas (all street!) and they were nearly slicks. I am trying the RT615's as street/track tires this year on the Speed3. If your friend can drop to 17" (as COM allows) he will save nearly $50 per tire, and pick up a little acceleration due to the mini gearing change.

[tmak26b]

Most of the tires you listed are worse than the ones on the RX-8 stock. I personally like the S-03. You might give up some dry grip, but you can use them for rain tires. Also they last about 20K miles and do decent in races. I go with dedicated race tires because I can pick up 2-3 sec per lap with them. I picked up 3 sec going from a set of nearly new Azenis to a set of BALD RA-1s at Lime Rock Park.

Street tires
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 1269&hl=en
Race tires


Pocono North, same difference, about 2-3 sec.

I have 3 sets of 245/45/17 Falken Azenis. THey grip nice, but they are terrible on the street due to the noise. Since I work close to home now, I am going to try to get rid of 3 sets and go race tires 24/7. Let me know if they fit you.

[mossaidis]

thanks for the input.

Yes, of course, having a set of R can never be over stated. Yet, this is not entirely an issue of how fast you can go.

Say you already have two sets of wheels/tires, one for summer and one for winter. Having a third set of wheels and/or tires is not an option for space as well as cost issues.

Storage: No storage space is available to store a third set of wheels and tires.

Costs: another set of rims would cost $500 + R-compounds $750 + tire trailer w/hitch $300(?) = ~$1600. A set of summers would cost $660+m/b $80 = ~$750. Even if you have to buy two sets of summers in one year, it's still cheaper than R's.

tmak26b, thanks for the Azenis offer. Though the decision is not up to me. I'll leave it to my buddy Eugene to do what he wants to do.

[tmak26b]

Depends on what you do and how serious you want to get into, I think it is safe to say that you can make a set of RA1 last a whole season if you manage it properly for both street and race driving. It's not comfortable, but they will do the trick. Race tires are like drugs. Once you get started, it's hard to stop.

If you race a lot, you will see the cost factor isn't as high as you will be killing those street tires pretty easy. Put it this way, I took a car that had 3000 miles to the track. WHen I came back home, the outside of the tire were completely blue. I ended up having to replace it, the race tires hold up against it so much better. Also think about the resell value of the rims, I think it will eventually even out. I did have 3 sets of rims, but I am going back down to two myself due to storage issue too.

thanks for the input.

Yes, of course, having a set of R can never be over stated. Yet, this is not entirely an issue of how fast you can go.

Say you already have two sets of wheels/tires, one for summer and one for winter. Having a third set of wheels and/or tires is not an option for space as well as cost issues.

Storage: No storage space is available to store a third set of wheels and tires.

Costs: another set of rims would cost $500 + R-compounds $750 + tire trailer w/hitch $300(?) = ~$1600. A set of summers would cost $660+m/b $80 = ~$750. Even if you have to buy two sets of summers in one year, it's still cheaper than R's.

tmak26b, thanks for the Azenis offer. Though the decision is not up to me. I'll leave it to my buddy Eugene to do what he wants to do.