Hey guys, I get my RX-8 Rims back on Thursday (Hopefully looking great!) and its about time to start shopping around for some new rubber. I generally tear through summer rubber pretty quick so I try to buy at the lower end of the spectrum so I'm not quite as upset at the end of the summer when the wear bars start showing. (I would really love some Azenis RT-615's but I fear I wouldn't even make it through summer!)

Size will be 225/40/18 and right now the top contenders are:

Falken Ziex ZE-912

Kumho Ecsta SPT

Nitto NeoGen ZR

From the Falken's I have driven on they seem quite sticky, I've driven a Saab 9-3 Viggen with the Ziex ZE-512's and was quite impressed with how well they stuck for an all season. However it seems that grip comes with the price of low tread life if driven hard. Sidewall's are a bit soft. Reviews seem very mixed from "Much better than the 512!" to "These are crap I should have bought the 512's again"

The Kumho's seem like a decent all around tire. I've had them before and neither loved nor hated them. In 15k miles they were completely bald, but they are cheap and performed admirably with the abuse I gave them. Towards they end it turned ugly... terribly uneven wear, bubbles developing in the sidewalls, very very loud. But keep in mind this all kind of cropped up at once and I was nearing the end of their usable life anyways... however it has me considering other options.

The Nitto mostly interests me because of its "Designed for lowered" cars pitch and generally very positive reviews. I like the Asymmetrical non-directional design too. Being able to properly rotate my tires without have to have them remounted would be very nice. At this point the NeoGen's are at the top of my list.


Anyone on the forums used any of the tires listed above and care to throw in their opinion. Or have a favorite in this general price range that they would like to suggest? My mind is by no means made up so I would definitely like to hear what you all have to say!

I absolutely love the Bridgestone Potenza RE050. The RE050A has the asymetrical design you said you were interested in. They are the stickiest tires for the price but on the downside they wear rather quickly. Probably about 10k-15k miles at most. The Toyo Proxes Tr1 are a great mix between sticky and wear. You can get about 25k miles on those. Never been a big Falken fan. They just seem so cheap. With the Kumhos you're gonna get what you pay for and the Nittos I have on the 8 now are excellent but a little to stiff for my taste. If you have the money to spare go with the Potenzas otherwise get the Nittos.

I had a set of Falken 512s that I wasn't too impressed with. On dry pavement, they gripped pretty well (but it doesn't take much for a tire to grip well on dry pavement). On the wet concrete roads around Highlands Ranch, I found myself sliding more than once with the brakes applied. Mine were basically down to the wear bars after about 7-10,000 in 6 months (LOTS of highway miles). When I got a piece of metal through the inside shoulder of one of them, I was not at all unhappy.

If you want a tire that has loads of grip that will blow your mind, check out these:
Falken Azenis RT-615
I went through 3 sets of these on my daily driver/autox/track car back in Kansas. Wet grip is amazing too as long as you have about half the tread depth still remaining.

The set of tires that replaced the Falken 512 are these:
General Exclaim UHP
I've only driven on them since late August through mid-October, but was very impressed with the tire. I can't wait for spring to get here so I can put them back on. Didn't have a single issue with the tire. And I remember pushing them hard through some fast, sweeping off ramps and my exit speed was very high. Plus these are cheap in your size and rank #1 on Tire Rack's survey.

I had Ecstas on my 6i. Much better than the stock Michelins that they replaced (although those were wearing thin). Dry grip was great, wet grip is about average. Price point on them is great, although I've heard of them wearing quickly. Then again, most performance tires wear on the quick side.

Mmm got my Shinka's back today. Now I am really feeling the itch to buy some rubber... sure I can't actually mount them on the car for another two months or so... but at least then I can roll them up next to the car and sit on the curb and pretend.

I've got RX-8's and they've had nothing but Toyo Proxes 4's on them. They've been great tires, the treadwear is reasonable, road noise is ok, waay more grip than the stock pilots. I'm with you though I'm ready for a change and mine are wearing thin now.

Falken Ziex ZE-912 i think there great tires I had them on my 626 and I drove through a snow storm with them and they were fine But they wear a little fast. As soon as i get the speed Im going to put a set on it.

Nitto Neo Gen ZR's!! Thats what I'm getting in the next month. I've had them on 2 previous vehicles and loved them.

This may or may not help considering everyone else's feedback so far but.... I had the Kumho's and I absolutely LOVED them.