Hi all:

Here in NH today we got a few inches of snow with a nice ice base. All I have to say is that with these new Pirelli's the car goes great! A few time the transction control kicked in, but had no issues getting around. Speed Racer,RPIRX-8, Wasy, Spin9K how'd you guys do today?

I live in Haverhill, MA. My 8 did great. I have the Blizzak WS-50 on it. No problems on the ice. The traction control did kick a few times, but it was fine.

Mark

P.S. Sorry I didn't make it to the gathering last month.

Mark:

Sorry we missed you. You 8 seems like my exact copy except mines an auto. :) What other options do you have, if any?

No options, just the GT package. Looking to get an MP3 player though.

Mark

I had a chance to play in any empty snow/ice covered parking lot for about half an hour this morning. When I mashed on the throttle the wheels broke free easily even with the traction control on but I think that should be expected. Once the rear wheels are spinning it is pretty easy to get the tail to step out of line and it is just as easy to control the rate of the rotation. Add a little counter steer and the car drifts beautifully. Its motions are very predictable.

I spent most of today on the road and the car was fine when it was driven with a little bit of respect for the weather. The Pirellis definitely make this car driveable in the snow. :D

Originally posted by Speed Racer
I had a chance to play in any empty snow/ice covered parking lot for about half an hour this morning. When I mashed on the throttle the wheels broke free easily even with the traction control on but I think that should be expected. Once the rear wheels are spinning it is pretty easy to get the tail to step out of line and it is just as easy to control the rate of the rotation. Add a little counter steer and the car drifts beautifully. Its motions are very predictable.

That all sounds great if drifting is what you want to do! But the original poster wanted to know how well-behaved the 8 is in snow, not what kinds of "tricks" will it do!

Originally posted by jtimbck2
That all sounds great if drifting is what you want to do! But the original poster wanted to know how well-behaved the 8 is in snow, not what kinds of "tricks" will it do!

Maybe I phrased my response poorly so let me try this again but let me preface this by saying "playing" in the snow provides a safe and controlled way to find the limits of the car (braking, accelerating, and cornering).

If you turn off the traction control and drive around with a moderately heavy foot this car will spin and you'll end up spinning off the road. So please drive within your abilites.

On the other hand if you drive conservatively and are mindful of the road conditions this car should be very driveable in the winter. The back end is a little lively and you won't mistakenly confuse this car for being all-wheel drive.

When driven conservatively the ABS, TCS, and DSC do an admirable job of keeping the car pointed in the correct direction. When the back end does step out of line the oversteer is easy to control with throttle modulation and counter steering. In other words the car is fairly forgiving for driver error, especially for a rear-wheel drive car. :)

I understood your posting Speed Racer... I know I had "fun" today driving in :D

Kevin,

I was down in your area today because I had to attend a conferrence in Boston. I-93 was a mess and I got stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic in Manchester. After sitting in line for over 2 hours I gave up and returned home. On the way home I was almost nailed by a Jeep Cherokee that was spinning out of control. He missed my car by a couple of feet and kissed the guard rail pretty hard. I guess that is what you get when you bomb down an icy interstate at about 80 MPH. I hope your commute to work was a little less eventful.

Roy:

Well I made it in with no issues. My fiancee, well that's another story. She left for work today (She works outside of Boston) at 6:30am. I called her at 7:45am to let her know I was leaving for work she she was just getting by the Mall of NH. This would normally be a 10min commute on the highway. Anyways, she calls me at 10:30am (after being on the road for over 4hrs) and her boss tells her to forget it and come home. DUH!!!

I'm hoping with the sun going down and the temp dropping won't make my drive home an eventful one. I "think" I know how to drive in these conditions, it's the people who own trucks and SUV's that think they can go 80 in this weather that scares me!! :eek:

Originally posted by my10ae
...Spin9K how'd you guys do today?

No problems here, but my 8 is safely inside, all dry and clean, I only ventured out in my beater 4 wheel all-drive Eagle Summit. As always, snow is a non-event.

snow photos????

the ice was even a bitch down here in PA this morning. I didn't have any problems with my M3's on, however i did find out abundant wheelspin was quite easy to acheive :p

I also have the M3s. I unfortunately (well, or fortunately) missed the apocalypse that was rush hour this morning. I ventured out around 12 and there were some icy spots. I did catch the DSC light blinking a couple of times while i was driving, but i didn't feel any slip or swing of the car. My feeling is the DSC system in this car is of very high caliber. I should be taking a trip up to Killington, VT or Bethel, ME within the next 2 weekends. That will be the real test.

Hi All,

I live in Manchester. The building our apartment is on is at the crest of a hill. Early morning yesterday, while it was still snowing, I started out for work. The RX-8 on the downhill journey, started slipping and sliding, and eventually statred sliding sideways down hill. It was a good thing that there was a ban on cars being parked on the right side of the road.

I managed to control it, and decided I rather opt for the Corolla for the 80 mile drive I had to do. Iturned the RX-8 around, and - then - it wouldn't climb up the hill. I put it on 1st, then on 2nd - but it wouldn't budge from the one spot it sat in. I coasted it backward, parked it by the side of the street, walked up the hill - got the corolla - moved 15 miles in 2 1/2 hours, and then aborted the trip.

The RWD is quite getting used to from the Eclipse AWD that I used to drive until a month ago. It sure has got me nervous about the rest of the winter :-)

I live in Manchester. The building our apartment is on is at the crest of a hill. Early morning yesterday, while it was still snowing, I started out for work. The RX-8 on the downhill journey, started slipping and sliding, and eventually statred sliding sideways down hill. It was a good thing that there was a ban on cars being parked on the right side of the road.

What tires do you have on the RX8?

The stock tires - Bridgestone

Originally posted by deepakmr
The stock tires - Bridgestone

If you swap out the OEM tires for real winter tires you'll find that you can actually drive this car in the snow. :)

deepakmr:

What part of Manchester you from? I'm on the West Side off Coolidge Ave. I work on the East Side on Hanover St. by the Citizen's Plaza. Maybe we could meet up sometime and I could show you my wheels and tires I chose for my 8. Let me know.

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

Would love to check out your wheels. Not too sure where Coolidge Ave is though. We live on Country Club Drive - in the Washington Park Apts.

But... in the next two weeks we are shifting to the South Shore, which is where I work. The last 8 months I've been driving the 80 miles each way - really looking forward to reclaiming the 4 to 5 hours each day I spend on the road :-)

Although, I did note that you run the Miata club - and if you still welcome RX-8's like the last time around - I would surely join you.

Coming to think of it, I think I now own the Red RX-8 which had joined your outing courtesy of Talarico :-)


Deepak.

Deepak:

With the "supposed" snow coming this weekend, keep the 8 parked if you have no snows. As you found it, it can be real fun using the performance tires the 8 original comes with :)

I think you live down the road from me off of Front St. Know where Hooter's is in Manchester? Maybe we could hookup there sometime? Let me know.

Kevin

Uh, yeah.

I'm in the "was too lazy to get new snow tires and separate rims before" camp... and I couldn't even get my RX8 out of our cul-de-sac... and, well, took a long time getting it back into the driveway.

The rest of the roads were just wet, but ... not driving it until I get snow tires put on. No way no how.

Then I drove our old Cadillac Seville from 1983... which had no problems. Yay V8 and heavy chassis...

... and I'm in Washington-DC area Maryland.

I had a chance to drive my GT with stock tires in the snow and slush today. The ABS, TCS, and DSC do a terrific job of keeping the car pointing where you want it to go. But my stock tires seem more slippery than other tires I've had. So I need to allow a little greater distance to stop than I'm used to in the snow. But it's easy to adjust to that. Like most others, my main concern is that I don't get hit by others.

Sigh... out $1200 for new wheels/tires from tirerack.com, but at least I'll get to drive the car this winter... once the tires arrive and I put 'em on.

Ah well.

Well, I have to give a GLEAMING report on my snow rubber. I was out last night, at around 3am, during the height of the storm last night. I've got dunlop wintersport m3s on my 8. These tires are SWEET, worth every penny. I was passing SUVs and trucks that were off the road and sliding around. I had no slippage my entire ride (N. Attleboro, MA to the MassPike riding on I-95). I only saw the DSC come on twice during the whole drive. I am very very impressed with the 8 comboed with the snow tires. This car is a VERY capable winter driver, but you MUST put snow tires on.

I also put the snow tires on the stock rims with the OEM tire size, no issue at all. I highly recommend the dunlops, as they also have great dry road traction.

Originally posted by MrWolf
Uh, yeah.

I'm in the "was too lazy to get new snow tires and separate rims before" camp... and I couldn't even get my RX8 out of our cul-de-sac... and, well, took a long time getting it back into the driveway.

The rest of the roads were just wet, but ... not driving it until I get snow tires put on. No way no how.

Then I drove our old Cadillac Seville from 1983... which had no problems. Yay V8 and heavy chassis...

... and I'm in Washington-DC area Maryland.

I'm actually getting ready to move up there from So Calif. When do you guys usually get the last of your snow each year? I'm due to leave here in Feb but probably won't actually make it up there until the mid of Feb or even first part of March. If I need to buy tires when I get there - fine. Given a choice though, I'd rather put off the purchase until next year.

Hey Speed Racer - nice V1 install! How much were your winter rims, and are those 16's or 17's ?

RPIRX-8:

Great to hear your rubber performed so well. How much did it cost you for the Dunlop's, and where did you buy them from.

Deepak.

S3/P3/E2,

Thanks!

My winter wheels are 17"x7" Kazera KZ-V and the tires are Pirelli Winter 240 Snowsports in 205/50R17 because I wanted to go with the narrowest tires I could find. The whole package with lugs nuts, spacer rings, and shipping was about $1,100 through Tire Rack. I'd highly recommend going with a similar setup. :)

Thanks to Roy I have a VERY similar setup with Kazera KZ-R's with Pirelli 210 Snowsports in 17X7. :D

Kazera KZ-R's (http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/DisplayWheel.jsp?wheelMake=Kazera&wheelModel=KZ-R&wheelFinish=Silver+Painted)

Pirelli Winter 210 Snowsports (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Pirelli&tireModel=Winter+210+SnowSport)

I'm in Billerica......and currently getting SLAMMED with a Nor'easter. Already over 12' on the ground......and its going through to sunday night......:eek:

My Altima got stuck twice today (lost a hubcap as I slid into a granite curb).....so much for a "winter" car...:(

Hey Pat,

Did you put winter tires on the Altima or are you just making do with all seasons? ;)

Its entirely a tire issue..... slightly balding (like me;) ) all seasons. I'm going to get some new rubber this week.

hows the snow up in Lebanon......are you missing this one?

So far we have about 8 inches and the RX-8 has been great except for starting from a dead stop in the deep stuff. The weather forecast seems to change every minute and they have forecast total accumulation to be between 12"-24". Either way it is still a fair amount of snow.

We are slowly getting buried here in Manch-Vegas. The snow is really coming down and the 8 is being enveloped in its snow cacoon :) Gonna clear her off early in the am and do the driveway too.

Originally posted by deepakmr
RPIRX-8:

Great to hear your rubber performed so well. How much did it cost you for the Dunlop's, and where did you buy them from.

Deepak.

Hey Deepak,

I got the dunlops through tirerack for $154 a tire. I got them mounted at Express Tire in Watertown, MA for $45 a wheel (that was an ouchie, when you go above 17" rims, prices go way up). I never believed in snow tires before, but I've been converted :)

I live in Newton, MA and I measured the snow outside my apt building at 16 3/4". From looking at the radar it doesn't seem like it is going to let up until early monday morning. I've been going out and incrementally cleaning off the car and digging out the snow behind the car. Everyone make sure you clear out the snow behind your 8s so no snow stands above the level of the exhaust pipes. I made that mistake once when i had my celica, not fun :(

Originally posted by RPIRX-8
Everyone make sure you clear out the snow behind your 8s so no snow stands above the level of the exhaust pipes. I made that mistake once when i had my celica, not fun :(

Thanks for the tip Justin!! :)

jeez gyro 12'! leave the car at home and take the dog team today.

Originally posted by Spinny 3ngls
jeez gyro 12'! leave the car at home and take the dog team today.

oops....I meant 12"....;)

So did everyone survive this first major snowstorm? I cleaned the 8 about 4 times this past weekend. Can't wait until the roads dry up so I can wash all this crap off my 8 :(

Yep, made it through the first storm unscathed. :D

S3/P3/E2

Well... DC really doesn't get that much snow. We might have a couple of good storms a year, at least the past few years... it's possibly to have snow as late as Feb or March, but it won't last very long usually.

We tend to get a few big snows that tend to shut down the city... but... given how bad the OEM tires are on snow/ice... I'd try to find the budget for 'em.

Basically, IMO the car's undrivable on lots of snow... with the OEM tires. Or at least, I found it to be so.

I could barely control the car... although I'm used to front-wheel drive vehicles in snow, too.

Originally posted by MrWolf

Basically, IMO the car's undrivable on lots of snow... with the OEM tires. Or at least, I found it to be so.

I could barely control the car... although I'm used to front-wheel drive vehicles in snow, too.

I concur! And I'm used to RWD.

I think my Blizzacks and 17" wheels (with TPMS) are shipping today. So I should be okay for the next storm.;)

Mr Wolf / Trekn,

Yeah, that's what I was kind of expecting. I lived in Va Beach for about 2 years but really only saw snow there once (but it played hell all over the city considering they usually don't see much). I might be alright though since my wife won't be working yet when we get there, and we've definitely discussed the likelihood of just parking the -8 and driving her car around for a few weeks if need be. You guys aren't but a few hours north of where I was before, so I can't imagine it would be too radically different. I've got time to kill before getting there, so if it appears that winter is dragging on then I'll just take my time getting there. DEFINITELY though, the next year there's going to be a separate set of wheels and tires to put on before the weather turns bad (buy 'em in the summer and have them waiting). Thanks for writing back (both of you guys)!

Here's a picture of me unburying my 8 this past Sat during the storm...

http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/11/web/443000-443999/443115_10_full.jpg

The Monday after the storm (8th) I took the RX-8 to work (80 miles). I had no problem all the way, until the last 3 miles where I needed to go through in-roads.

The usual route I take has a steep incline, and the car stuck halfway up the incline. No go - up or down. Then a few friendly folks from the homes around came out and shovelled off a bit of the snow from around the tires. There was no way I was going to get the car up the hill without the momentum, so, down the hill I went again, and went through another road.

This had quite a bit of slush on it. The Plows had given up during the night I think. The car got stuck here again, but managed to get it out with a little bit of pushing from a few folks, and the DSC switched off.

The rest of the road was the same, but kept the momentum going. The rear kept swishing out, but could get it back in control soon enough. After a little bit of the swish's, I was actually enjoying it !!!! In the begining, there was a car following closely behind me. But after the first swish - he decided to keep his distance :-)

All-in all a fun day - especially because I escaped / rather the car escaped unscathed during the day. Touch wood.

In the afternoon of the same day, I had a small trip to make, and I noticed a small incline road which was not well treated. Since it was a secluded area, I thought I'd experiment. I brought the car to a stand still, and after that the car wouldn't move upward. This was partially solidified snow that it was sitting on. Had to coast it backward, and move forward with momentum.

Of course - all of this was with the car still on its OEM Bridgestone tires.

Can't wait for the winter to end - oops, forgot - the winter has still not officially started :-(

Well here we go again.. possbily another snowstorm this Sunday (about a week after the first major storm). Gonna be a LONG winter!! :(

Hello all,

It's quite comforting to read all the posts by those who have put winter tires on their 8's. I'll be taking delivery of my 8 later this week, and the winter wheels/tires came in this morning.

Actually, I'm kinda betting the 8 will be better suited for winter than my Ranger. Lessee... 50/50 front/rear weight distribution, traction control, heated mirrors, and heated seats... yep, that's stuff my truck doesn't have. :-)

I'm starting to get to the 'can't wait' phase...
:D

Oh, if anyone's wondering... I ordered Blizzak WS-50 225/45's on 17x7.5" ASA rims from Tire Rack. I was going to order the 215's, but they were running out of 7" rims that I would consider putting on the car. The winter rims don't have to look awesome, but I do have my standards... :-)

- snowbound