I'm now at 16K on the Hankooks and just about to reach the wear limit. I do 16 miles each way mixed with some extended fwy travel and the occasional spirited drives. Was hoping to get to 20K but I'm not sure I'll get there. Knowing treadwear ratings vary, I am admittedly surprised they wore out this quick without track abuse. Rotated every 5K and aligned at least once. In comparison, the RE-50's went 29K under similar driving conditions with "half" the treadwear rating.

Regardless, they are a good tire and are holding up well amidst one of the worst rainstorms California has seen in years. I may consider getting these again despite the hefty price tag to replace so often.

I found them to be really really bad in the wet when at the first wear bar.
I got rid of them asap after that, and I'm glad 'cs it has been raining non stop recently.

Don't get me wrong they are slipping to some degree. But being they're nearly at 2/32 I'm actually surprised how well they're behaving right now.

Hefty price tag? 15K miles and your Bridgestones got 29K? If I didn't know better I would think Bizarro logged in under your name. Your car is definitely an outlier on the bell curve. Interesting.

EDIT" I looked at your ownership thread. Did you buy your car used? If so I can guarantee you that the person who owned it before you changed out the stockers for a new set before you bought it.

LOL no. Brand new.

Best guess is that it's partly due to the suspension geometry that changed shortly after installing the tires. I'm taking it back for alignment as the on-center feel has diminished slightly. No visual signs of uneven wear; no saw-tooth edges either. Will update if anything unusual is found.

The on centre feel diminishing is likely due to worn upper strut mounts. Check those out first.

Thanks - I had inspected them 2 months prior as the passenger strut nut worked itself loose (slightly). They appear to be fine; no excess play. Regardless, I'm planning to replace them when the new suspension goes in next year.

Keep me updated on this. Any time I see something as unusual I like to find out the reasons why. Maybe you have more suspension than tire, and that would explain the excelerated wear. If your suspension allows you to do things your tires aren't ready for, I can see it getting wore out quickly. I wonder what a more race specific tire would do for you. I found in my mustang that sticky soft drag radials last twice as long as street tires because the street tires were constantly spinning, even under normal street driving, my car was too powerful for the tires. I wonder if this is the case for you.

Took a look at alignment today. Rear toe was within spec but a bit aggressive at .18*. Dialed it back to 0 and will continue to monitor. No other issues found.

Design, I was in California a month ago during that rainstorm, and happened to be near mullholand highway, so I thought why not...I couldn't believe how well these tires were gripping in the rain, I was pulling more lateral g's than I could on a dry day in Vegas...but Vegas roads are also the crappiest/slippiest roads I've been on, idk if it's oild buildup or what but it's awful

So, the only question is, which tires would you go with if you wanted the same steering response as the Potenzas, but want to stay in the 160 dollar range??

RE760 Sports. They seem very well matched to the car, better than the Firehawk Indy 500 tires I had before. According to the weather droids I'll see how they do in the wet by tomorrow night, but they are quite good in the dry. No track time yet but I suspect/hope they'll do well enough because they have real good dry grip all around, and a very precise, easy to drive feel to them. $155/ea in the 225/45-18 size on stock wheels, no rubbing or scraping in the wheel well.

I went with the V12's in 225/40 18.

Great tires so far. Need more seat time to really tell though.

Decided too by the hancook Ventus V12 225/40 18's based on the reviews here.
It seems the best price i can get from America's tire is $734.80 - 80$ Hancook rebate =$654.

Anyone have suggestions for a cheaper price, that doesnt involve having them sent in the mail.?

Look into the continental extreme contact dw. Or if you need something for some light snow and rain there is the dws series also. You can get them for a good price if looking outside of the Ventus V12's.

you could get them here for $600 shipped, and they usually get to you in a day or 2.

Tire Details - Discount Tire Direct

Still loving my V12's after about 8k miles. They still have quite a bit of tread left (I'd say probably 60-70%) and still grip very well. They also handle fantastically in the rain...and surprisingly well on ice. I got to find that out this morning after last nights rain/snow froze overnight. Not a bit of ABS intervention this morning.

Don't bother, the DW's have been on back order from Continental for months.

I would Advise against the DWS' if you want to retain summer tire grip and response. The DWS' are an all season, the sidewalls are like gummy bears. You lose a ton of steering response and your MS3 will feel like a totally different car. They'll work great for all weather and climates, but in my opinion, a dedicated summer/winter set up is the best way to do it.

I exchanged the DWS' for the V12's. Closest snow to me is an hour and a half away in the mountains.


Yeah, the V12's are fucking incredible for the price. It's pretty impressive. Not as precise of a turn in as the Potenzas, but way more lateral grip.

Wet traction is great. I caught a review online somewhere, the V12's were nipping at the tail end of the beloved star specs. Right there in second place beating out the Invo's and the S-drive's. That's a hell of an accomplishment considering how much these tires cost in relation to the others tested.

I noticed the same thing and attribute much of it to the Evo's softer sidewall. I cranked up PSI from 36 to 42 and noticed a significant difference. Individual results may vary. :cool:

+1 on the Ventus V12 being better at lateral grip. I replaced mine that had about 24k on them, on the Bridgestone's I got only about 18k on them before replacing.

Currently running the Conti DW (225/45/18) and still too early to tell, but the sidewall does feel nicer than the hankooks. Tread wear is rated better than the hankook's so hopefully these will last ~30k.

You're fortunate you got a hold of the DW's. They've been on back order for awhile now.

I was gonna get those over the V12's, but nobody had them.

If you can remember, try to revisit this thread in awhile and give us a little review of the DW's. I'm very curious as to how they stack up against the V12's.

I am still very impressed with the RE760 Sports. They ride a bit harsher than super spendy tires do but they work well with the Gen1's steering and overall dynamics.

They do prefer warm tarmac though so they may not be the best choice for those of you in the colder states. But for the money I am extremely impressed with how well they respond and their lateral grip. Braking is quite good, but they need some miles to develop good power traction.

My previous tires were the Firestones that beat them by a little in the TR survey, but for this car and the kind of driving I do, I prefer the 760's. They take a bit longer to come on, but they hold their ground for much longer. I haven't rated them yet but I'd give them an 8.5 all around. Just consider for that much performance at that sort of price, you are going to lose a bit of plushness.

Haven't tried the V12's but I have heard so many mixed things about them. But Bridgestone and Mazda are very good friends so that might be why they work so well on these cars. Pretty much the same price, too.

Yea I believe the 225/40 were back ordered but the 225/45 there were stock. With the poor streets around here, the 45 were a better choice for me anyway.

I'll update this after I get some miles on these :D

Cool man. I'm curious.

The only reason I wanted the 40's was for the slightly stiffer sidewall. Gave me a bit more steering response. After that disaster with the DWS', I wanted all the response I could get.

4 of these should arrive tomorrow for me.

Any comments on the tread wear on the RE760 sports? I currently am running the Goodyear Eagle GT's in 225/45/18 on 18x7.5 +45 offset Rota Subzero's and have gotten about 30k out of the tires. They were alright, but not the quietest ride and have a softer sidewall than the stockers (as expected). They also rubbed in the back when I weight in the back of the car even with the front of the rear fenders rolled.

I am looking to get another tire that will last me at least 30k and am contemplating between the 760 sports, Hankook Ventus V12 evo, Continental DWS and Cooper Zeon RS3-s. They are all in the same price range under $150/tire. I am willing to sacrifice some sidewall rigidity as long as it makes for a quieter ride. It wouldn't have hurt the Mazda engineers to put a little more insulation in the wheel wells! Any recommendations or do any of you know of special rebates on tires right now?

I'm the wrong guy to ask about tire wear, but it is a relatively hard compound. I suspect with their high UTQG wear rating they should last a "normal" driver for quite a while. I'm sure my mother could get 35K out of them.

The trouble with me is that I tend to bake tires long before the tread wears out. I'll be happy if I get 10K out of them before performance declines. Tread left is NOT a reliable indicator of tire performance over time. I haven't run a tire down to the wear bars in about 15 years.

Just picked up a set from Craigslist with only 500 miles on them. $180 for all four! They are 225/50/16s and are going on a set of RX7 FDs. Spring can't come soon enough.

I'm a big dummy and just ordered my tires. I ordered 215 40 18. They have already shipped. Am I going to be ok? Am I going to regret this mistake for the next 15,000 miles?

You will be fine.

Old thread revival

But FYI
I just bought some v12's and Hankook is having a $80 rebate on these tires untill the end of november