Front driver side, Toyo Proxes 4--yes, it's been used already!

by Glen A.

If you’ve never driven a Mazda RX-8, you should at least try one.

While it falls into the sports car category, the thing about the RX-8 is not the power (though it’ll get you going pretty quickly, just not at 60 mph in 4.0 speed), it’s the handling that will absolutely thrill you. Cornering is king on this car, and you can take those curves as fast as you dare (though I’m not recommending any speed laws being broken, okay?).

However, the tires on the vehicle do make a difference, and on anything that is higher performance, you need to watch out for wear, especially if you’re fond of said road curves. I bought my RX-8 used (it’s a 2004, when the first model came out), and while it had less than 40,000 miles on it, I’m not entirely sure whether the tires were changed during that time.

The cornering was particularly enjoyable for the first several months, but after a year, I could tell a noticeable difference in the way it handled. I had the steering and the brakes checked at about the six month mark, and both were said to be in good condition. It was another eight months after that that I decided to have the tires changed.

When I owned a Hyundai Sonata (the car prior to the RX-8), we had a tire go flat on us while we were on the freeway, and it happened to be in a narrow construction zone. Fortunately, two men jumped out of their car and helped us get the spare on so we could get back on the road. They were quick, and the change couldn’t have taken more than 5 minutes, which is still an eternity on the freeway.

Anyway, because of that experience, I’m much more cautious about tires. If you buy them, you know when you did, you know what kind of driving you’ve done, and you know how long the tire is supposed to last. When I do buy tires, I’ve tended towards replacing all four at once, and I’ve tended for middle of the road or better tires in the process.

Thus, when I went to get the tires for the RX-8, I was given three different options for the size of tire I had. I opted for the Toyo Proxes 4, which is an all season blackwall, that supposed to be good in most temperate weather–so in most cases short of heavy snow or ice. Where I live, it doesn’t snow very often, but there are chances of ice now and again. The main thing is rain, with standing water happening fairly frequently.

In early to mid-September, though, summer is still winding down, so right now the roads are fairly dry, though not quite as heated as they can be in July or August.

There was a definite difference in handling after Les Schwab had the new tires on the car. I went and tested them out immediately in hills and curves that weave through countryside north of a town close to where we live. The RX-8 doesn’t need much in the way of steering, and with the Proxes gripping the road in the turns, the car sat down and just powered through them. It was awesome.

Apparently there are newer versions of these Toyo Proxes. From what I can tell, these were originally made five years ago. However, they are a good performance tire, and one that is supposed to last. I’ve had them for a day now, so not much to go on in the endurance category, but I plan to update as time goes by, particularly if anything untoward happens.

In the meantime, though, I’d recommend these tires to anyone who wants to see an immediate jump in performance of their car. These are made for 15-19 inch wheels, so they’re not going to fit on every vehicle, but most likely will fit on a variety of smaller sports cars.

Cost for all four tires came to $892.36. Each tire rang up at $206.59. The additional $66 was for wheel spin balance on each, and tubeless valve stems.