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Best Tires for the Mazda Mx5 2008

Mazda Mx5 2008 drivers have left 18 tire reviews on Tire Reviews, covering 203,800 miles of real world driving. Every tire they rated is ranked below, so you can see what actually works on this car.

This page covers the Mazda Mx5 2008 specifically. For the full picture, the Mazda MX5 page combines 352 reviews from every variant. All Mazda MX5 reviews →

  • 18owner reviews
  • 203,800 milescovered on them
  • 16different tires rated
  • 62%average tire score
Most fitted size - 6 reviews 205/50 R16 To scale, mm
Ø 611 205 103 16" 103 All 205/50 R16 data →

The quick answer

Season Owners' pick Owner rating Our category test
Summer Dunlop SportMaxx RT 8.2 Current version: Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 89% from 3 reviews Best Summer Tires

Highest weighted owner score from Mazda Mx5 2008 drivers. Full rankings and the evidence behind them below.

The best rated tires for the Mazda Mx5 2008

Rated only by drivers of this car. Each tire needs at least 3 reviews from the Mazda Mx5 2008 to be ranked; the order weights a tire's score by how many reviews back it, so one glowing review cannot top a table.

Summer tires

The highest rated tire in the Summer category for the Mazda Mx5 2008 is the Dunlop SportMaxx RT - 89% from 3 owner reviews across 63,000 miles. The current tire in that line is now the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2.

# Tire Owner rating Reviews Distance reviewed TR Score
1 Dunlop SportMaxx RT Replaced by Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 89% 3 63,000 miles 8.2

Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best Summer Tires →

TR Score is the tire's overall Tire Reviews rating out of 10, built from independent test results and every owner review of that tire - not just the reviews from this car. The owner rating column is this car only.

The best rated tires that fit the Mazda Mx5 2008

The rankings above can only speak for tires a Mazda Mx5 2008 driver has already reviewed. These are the highest rated tires we hold that are actually manufactured in the sizes these drivers run - 205/50 R16 and 225/45 R17 - whether or not anyone here has fitted them yet. They are ranked on the TR Score, which is built from independent test results and every owner review of that tire.

Summer tires

Our highest rated tire in the Summer category, in this car's sizes, is the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6, at 9.7 out of 10.

# Tire TR Score Made in Mazda Mx5 2008 reviews
1 Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 9.7 225/45 R17 Be the first →
2 Continental PremiumContact 7 9.5 225/45 R17 Be the first →
3 Bridgestone Potenza Sport Evo 9.5 225/45 R17 Be the first →
4 Michelin Pilot Sport 5 9.4 All your sizes Be the first →
5 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S 9.4 225/45 R17 Be the first →
6 Hankook Ventus Evo 9.4 225/45 R17 Be the first →

Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best Summer Tires →

All Season tires

No Mazda Mx5 2008 driver has reviewed a tire in the All Season category yet. Of the ones made in this car's sizes, the Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3 is our highest rated, at 9.6 out of 10.

# Tire TR Score Made in Mazda Mx5 2008 reviews
1 Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3 9.6 225/45 R17 Be the first →
2 Michelin CrossClimate 3 9.5 All your sizes Be the first →
3 Continental AllSeasonContact 2 9.5 225/45 R17 Be the first →
4 BFGoodrich Advantage All Season 9.5 225/45 R17 Be the first →
5 Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3 9.4 225/45 R17 Be the first →
6 Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6 9.4 225/45 R17 Be the first →

Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best All Season Tires → Test winner: Goodyear Vector All Season 4

All Weather tires

No Mazda Mx5 2008 driver has reviewed a tire in the All Weather category yet. Of the ones made in this car's sizes, the Vredestein Quatrac is our highest rated, at 9.5 out of 10.

# Tire TR Score Made in Mazda Mx5 2008 reviews
1 Vredestein Quatrac 9.5 All your sizes Be the first →
2 Vredestein Quatrac Pro EV 8.3 225/45 R17 Be the first →
3 Vredestein Quatrac Pro+ 8.1 225/45 R17 Be the first →

Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best All Weather Tires →

Winter tires

No Mazda Mx5 2008 driver has reviewed a tire in the Winter category yet. Of the ones made in this car's sizes, the Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3 is our highest rated, at 9.5 out of 10.

# Tire TR Score Made in Mazda Mx5 2008 reviews
1 Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3 9.5 225/45 R17 Be the first →
2 Michelin Alpin 7 9.5 225/45 R17 Be the first →
3 Bridgestone Blizzak 6 9.4 225/45 R17 Be the first →
4 Goodyear UltraGrip Ice 3 9.4 225/45 R17 Be the first →
5 Nokian Snowproof 3P 9.4 225/45 R17 Be the first →
6 Kumho WinterCraft WP52+ 9.3 All your sizes Be the first →

Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best Winter Tires → Test winner: Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3

Fitment comes from each tire's manufactured size list, and the sizes are the ones drivers reported when they reviewed. Check the size, load index and speed rating on your own doorplate before buying - a size a previous owner ran is not always the size your car left the factory on.

Every tire reviewed on the Mazda Mx5 2008

The complete record, including discontinued tires and tires with too few reviews to rank, ordered by the amount of evidence. A further 15 tires have a single review each; they count toward the totals but are not listed.

Tire Season Owner rating Reviews Distance reviewed
Dunlop SportMaxx RT Replaced by Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 Summer 89% 3 63,000 miles

Tire sizes Mazda Mx5 2008 drivers run

The sizes fitted in the reviews on this page. Each one links to the top rated tires in that size, across every car.

205/50 R16 6 reviews 225/45 R17 2 reviews 215/40 R17 1 reviews 205/55 R16 1 reviews 205/45 R16 1 reviews

What Mazda Mx5 2008 drivers say

The most recent owner reviews from this car, in their own words.

33%
Uniroyal RainExpert 5 205-50-16- Mazda Mx5 2008 16,000 miles September 17, 2023
The tires in size 205/50/16 were fitted to a mazda nc. Total disappointment after the first 5000. Miserable in the dry, average in the wet. In conditions where there is increased slip on the road surface it is
very dangerous. This is probably also due to the Greek roads
89%
Maxxis Premitra HP5 205-45-16- Mazda Mx5 2008 3,000 miles August 30, 2023
Switched to this brand after 6 years of going through more than a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE03s per year. I’m a spirted driver as I like to get the most out of my MX5 roadster at legal speeds by throwing the car into corners and still aiming to drive safely.
I run them at 38psi as I need to travel over a windy hill to and from work every that has an 80kph limit and not good camber in the corners.
I found the Potenzas to be a bit soft in the sidewalls which caused uneven wear on the rims and would occasionally feel the back of the car could fishtail if I’d pushed 5kph too much in the corners.
Absolutely no such problem with these Maxxis tires and they are wearing evenly after about 5000ks of use. I absolutely will be buying them again.
41%
Nankang NS2R 225-45-17- Mazda Mx5 2008 1,000 miles May 10, 2021
When you read online feedback (for anything, not just tires) people tend to do it very early on, you do wonder how the product faired long term. Tire was a 225/45/17 on a Mk3 MX5 so not a very heavy car. We never ran these in very hot conditions, both times about 15'c ambient. My experience of these is on the first time out on track they were fine, they take a couple of laps to warm up and the rear could step out until they were up to temp, but after that were ok. Second time out on track on a different date they were pretty useless. Just very little grip no matter how long we ran them. The suspension setup was the same, but we were softening the damping all day to try and find some grip. They're also very noisy on the road, not only normal tire roar from having a lot of rubber and less groove, but also they make a throbbing noise like a bearing or the diff was on the way out. They are at least half the cost of any other track tire out there and it shows, I won't be using them again.
30%
Haida HD919 205-50-16-W Mazda Mx5 2008 8,000 miles November 2, 2020
Quite the worst tires I have ever had on a car and they were fitted to the car when I bought it. Grip in the dry is adequate but wet grip is really poor. These tires are fitted on the rear of my car. On a damp dual carraigeway my car will start spinning the wheels at 60mph as it hits peak torque in 3rd gear. In a way they are at least predictable because you know its likely to happen. Similarly on cornering in the same conditions there is almost no lateral grip. The ride is harsh and there is a lot of road noise. As regards wear I won't wait to find out. They owe me nothing and I will replace them, probably with Bridgestones to do justice to the car and for my own self preservation
79%
Cooper Zeon CS8 205-55-16- Mazda Mx5 2008 27,000 miles March 20, 2020
After 43k I must say that they hold on pretty good. I think that they could at least last another 20k. Dry and wet grip are still safe but not as good as new. Traction is I think where they have lost the most. Comparing to the Dunlop rt I used to have these are holding on better. I had to change the dunlop after 3 years and 35k. If I had to choose between them I would get the Cooper's
67%
Three A P606 205-50-16-W Mazda Mx5 2008 1,000 miles May 12, 2018
I bought these as a comfort/winter runaround tires for my MX5. I have been surprised by the grip in both wet and dry, comparable to good quality Falkens for example. Turn in is definitely softer than sports tires but this is to be expected. These tires do have very soft sidewalls so wouldn't take well to abuse such as kerbing and might be more subject to damage from sharp edged potholes, they do however give a very comfortable ride without noticeable tire noise. All in all a good alternative at the low price and much more capable than other "cheap" Chinese tires.
89%
Yokohama Advan A11A 205-50-16- Mazda Mx5 2008 October 21, 2017
I went through 2 sets of these the last 70.000 km. Ages really well. Road feedback is very good, and the sides rigid. Grip is ok (not exceptional) in the dry, maintaining easy control, while offering the opportunity for some rear-wheel drive fun. On wet tarmac you need to be careful, especially during braking.
Not availiable any more, too bad cause I had gotten used to its quirky nature. I will go for a Michelin PS3 , since I can't seem to find a better opyion in these dimensions.
0%
Uniroyal RainSport 2 225-45-17- Mazda Mx5 2008 4,000 miles June 30, 2017
I got rainsport 2 fitted to my wife's mx5 after she complained that the car felt as though it was sliding on bends in the wet. I took car for a run in the wet and the car was a death trap the Mazda dealer had fitted nexen tires to car they were okay in the dry but deadly in the wet. I went straight to the garage and got rainsport 2 fitted this completely changed the car awesome tires
0%
Dunlop SportMaxx RT 205-50-16-W Mazda Mx5 2008 30,000 miles June 20, 2016
After 3 years and 45000km there is no real wear but it seems that they have become hard because dry and especially wet grip is now bad. A very nice tire when new but now they need replacing
89%
Dunlop SportMaxx RT 205-50-16- Mazda Mx5 2008 30,000 miles February 28, 2016
After 45000km it still grips reasonably well and still has at least 20000km worth of tread. In my case the wear is good althought I mainly drive in town with occasional fast bursts. The only negative i find is soft side walls and slow steering response

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Where this data comes from

Every rating on this page was submitted by a driver through the review form on this site, naming the car, the tire, the size and the distance covered. Reviews are checked by hand before publication, and the page rebuilds automatically as new ones arrive.

About the TR Score

The Tire Reviews Score rates each tire out of 10 using independent test results and the full body of owner reviews, so you can check a car-specific ranking against the wider evidence.

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Who does the testing

Every test published as a Tire Reviews test is run by Jonathan Benson, who has been testing tires independently since 2007.

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