how well do you think it'll handle? The RX-7 wasn't too great on snow(what does in a RWD car) considering that both have about the same HP...

I'm betting my WRX (ok, trading in my WRX for an RX-8) the RX-8 will do pretty well in the snow, provided snow tires on 17" rims (assuming the car came with 18") are fitted. The stock 18 inchers are likely to function as toboggans.

I think the 50/50 weight distribution will give it neutral handling in any conditions; provided the ground clearance isn't a problem, it should do fine with proper tires. Those with DSC and traction control should do even better.

Incidentally, my '79 RX-7 with snow tires wasn't too bad.

I drive my Miata on good winter tires and it weighs much less then the 8 and handles like a dream. If you are not used to RWD (Right Wheel Drive) it will handle much differently then WWD (Wrong Wheel Drive) cars but I will take RWD to WWD any day.

How do think it will handle the snow with the stock 18 tires and the traction control + DSC. This will be my every day car and we do get some snow in Philly Pa. I'm not saying I will be driving the car in 8 inches + snow but 1 - 5 inches?? :confused:

Originally posted by Midnight Flyer
I drive my Miata on good winter tires and it weighs much less then the 8 and handles like a dream. If you are not used to RWD (Right Wheel Drive) it will handle much differently then WWD (Wrong Wheel Drive) cars but I will take RWD to WWD any day.

i was meant to say rear wheel drive...

The problem is with the tires not the car. If the tires are anything like the stock tires that come with the Miata, forget it.

I got my Miata in January. Because it had the 16" tires the 14" snows that I had ordered would not fit over the bigger rotors. I had been waiting for over a month to get the car so I wanted it regardless of the amount of snow on the ground. We had about 2" on the ground on the side streets but the main roads were clear.

The dealer asked me three times in a 5 min call if I really wanted to pick the car up. When I went in to sign the papers he asked twice more. When I got the car I had a bit of trouble once I hit the snow but I grew up on Northern Ont. and am very used to driviing RWD on lots of snow. Once I was on the main road I had no problems.

The next day the service manager and I were talking about what to do about the snow tires. During the conversation it came out that I had picked up the car with the summer tires and he said "You must really know how to drive, we had three guys sitting in the trunk just to get it into the garage".

If you are not used to the snow or don't get snow tires for the car, take a cab to work that day. Save yourself the body shop costs.

In the winter I worry more about the other idiot who thinks all season tires are fine on their car running into me then me running into anyone.

Also having two sets of tires allows me to get really good summer/high performance tires for the summer and good winter tires for the winter. Tire wear/cost is split over the two sets of tires so the total cost is about the same as driving one set and getting rid of them that much sooner.

good reply......dodn't think of gettign a spare set of rims fto put snow tires on....


i had an 3RD gen before, it was in garage during Chicago winter..so I never did drove that on snow...sad though....

Back a couple of months ago there was an article with the RX-8 tested in the snow? Does anyone have that post?

i have the video of it being tested in the snow last year in norway or finland. :D

WORD!

but i dont know what i've done with it, it handled SURPRISINGLY well in the snow, at least to me.
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Did they test it with the stock 18 tires?

Is there anyway you can fine the video and post it?

:D

it had 16s on i believe

16 - no DSC or traction control for the test.

I would think the 18 which comes with the DSC and traction control would do better in the snow.:eek:

Hmmmm, I've always thought snow tires were only allowed on 4WD (AWD) cars? I mean during the winter the in the southern california mountains where it snows sometimes, I would see signs saying only 4x4 or awd cars can drive without snow chains as long as there are equiped with snow tires.

Originally posted by Y&Y
Hmmmm, I've always thought snow tires were only allowed on 4WD (AWD) cars? I mean during the winter the in the southern california mountains where it snows sometimes, I would see signs saying only 4x4 or awd cars can drive without snow chains as long as there are equiped with snow tires.

Seriously? No, that means that AWD vehicles with snow tires don't need chains - 2WD vehicles, even with snow tires, require chains to make up for their lesser traction.

Midnight Flyer has it right - the standard summer tires, whether 18" or 16", will be utterly useless and dangerous in snow. DSC and ABS don't matter when the rubber just doesn't have any grip. If your RX-8 will see any snow, then either a) park it and take alternate transport whenever there's snow on the roads, or b) buy spare wheels and mount proper winter tires on it. With proper winter tires, I expect the RX-8 will do just fine on snow - I intend to take ours skiing in the Rockies regularly.

Regards,
Gordon

the car in the vid has the 16's on it but i thought that perhaps they were test the dsc and traction control. i don't have anywhere to host the vid but someone else here must have up somewhere or i could email it or whatever to whoever can host it.

edit : you know it might be up on the vid page of the mazda japan site either by itself or as part of one of the other vids.

Originally posted by ACRX8
16 - no DSC or traction control for the test.

I would think the 18 which comes with the DSC and traction control would do better in the snow.:eek:
Like others said, having DSC or traction control doesn't matter. It's all about the TIRES. Stock RE040 Potenza's are SUMMER only Z rated rubber that does not work very well in the snow, if at all. There is NO WAY you can drive safely on summer tires in 5 inches of snow. So for those of us that will drive all year round (me :) ) we need seperate 17" steelies and snow tires.

Originally posted by Quick_lude
So for those of us that will drive all year round (me :) ) we need seperate 17" steelies and snow tires.

Me too! One interesting note - A contact at Mazda North America Operations in Irvine checked for me and told me that the 16" alloy wheels from the base car WILL fit over the larger brakes on the sport suspension/18" wheel versions. If true, that opens up a few more winter tire options (as well as wheel options, what with most of the buyers of the 16" wheels wanting to upgrade right away ;), so we could buy their take-offs ). I'm still sceptical, though, so I'd love to see someone actually confirm the 16" wheels fit over the bigger brakes.

Regards,
Gordon

I'll try to mount one of my Millenia's 16s on the RX-8 and see if that works... if it does then I'll just slap tires onto those old rims and be done with it.. They even have a Mazda logo :P

Does the base with the 16 have all season tires?

Is there even going to be a company to make an 18" snow tire? I know: smaller wheel=better in snow, however, with a lot of new cars and their increased wheel size I would think at some point someone would come out with a larger snow tire. I would definately buy an 18" snow tire rather than buy 16" rims and tires for winter. However, the latter will have to do since (as already said) the summer tires are a no go.

Actually, the more narrow the tire the better traction you typically get in snow. Wheel diameter shouldn't matter much. Personally, I'd get a set of 18" winter tires and use the same rims. Salt pitting the alloy finish is marginal (at best) and even if that was the case, a powder coating paint job could be done cheaper than a set of 17" winter rims (although it is convinent to simply swap wheels instead of tires).

I had driven my FD for 3 winters in Canada. Many asked if it was a handful, but with proper winter tires, relatively low torque (before turbo spool-up that is), excellent chassis feedback, and the all-important LSD, the car was actually excellent to drive hard in the snow. I would imagine the RX-8 to be as good if not better.

For my miata I have priced the 16" tires compared to the 14 and 15 and the price difference is quite a bit. I would hate to think of the cost of an 18" snow. It would be cheaper to get steelies and a 16" snow then 18" snows for your OEM rims. Not to mention the damage that the salt and slush will do to the rims.

On the Miata forum they also mentioned that the price of the steelies is about the same as cost to mount and balance the tires over 2 years.

Originally posted by Midnight Flyer
For my miata I have priced the 16" tires compared to the 14 and 15 and the price difference is quite a bit. I would hate to think of the cost of an 18" snow. It would be cheaper to get steelies and a 16" snow then 18" snows for your OEM rims. Not to mention the damage that the salt and slush will do to the rims.

On the Miata forum they also mentioned that the price of the steelies is about the same as cost to mount and balance the tires over 2 years.

What was the cost?

Usually it's about the same cost for the steellies as balance and mount the winters after 4 yrs. It's like $40 a year for a balance and mount (cdn) and about that per steelie. So your about even. If you take into account the wear and tear on your tires and rims, get the steelies.

Winter damage is not minimal my alloys look like CRAP after 3 winters! They looked like crap after one. You can't tell from far, but they are rough.

Plus you can get a set of steelies for about $50-70 each.. refinishing alloy rims is at least that if not more. Plus you have to go through the hassle of remounting the tires every fall/spring and risking tire and rim damage. I'd rather have a seperate set of steelies/tires and do the switch myself in my garage with a proper torque wrench.

I agree that steelies are the best way to go (well after not driving it in snow that is although that can be a blast in a RWD car).

Do they make 18" all season tires?

Originally posted by ACRX8
Do they make 18" all season tires?

Yess, but all-season tires are pretty useless. They're worse than summer tires in the summer, and they're worse than winter tires in the winter.

Bridgestone makes 18" winter tires (Blizzak LM-22, IIRC), as do several other manufacturers. Seriously, trying to "get by" on all-seasons in winter conditions is the wrong area to try to save a few $$ when you're risking your $30K+ car, not to mention your personal safety.

The ideal for winter tires is to go one or two sizes narrower (while keeping the same overall diameter), for better 'bite' - the tire will cut through the snow rather than float on it. For the RX-8, a 205 width would be ideal, but that seems to be tricky to find in the right diameter for a 16" or 17" wheel. There's a few 215 width options, and quite a few 225 width choices in winter tires.

Regards,
Gordon

There is no such thing as an "all season" tire.. :p Unless you've driven driven a summer with proper summer tires or a winter with proper winter tires, you won't know the huge difference each makes over an "all season" tire in same conditions.

Originally posted by Quick_lude
There is no such thing as an "all season" tire.. :p Unless you've driven driven a summer with proper summer tires or a winter with proper winter tires, you won't know the huge difference each makes over an "all season" tire in same conditions. Not true at all.

When I owned an Audi TT I dumped the stock Bridgestone Potenza 040s for a set of Pirelli P7000 SuperSport all-weathers and never noticed any difference in summer handling compared to the stock tires.

Granted, I'm sure I would have noticed a difference on the track, but in normal everyday driving the Pirellis were every bit as good as the 040s, had excellent wet handling as well and also handled snowfalls of up to 5" without any issues (any deeper than that and "plowing" the snow with the front bumper became a bigger issue...)

While steelies are handier in switching tires (I can swap my wife's Volvo in 30 min using a hydraulic jack), they are definitely heavier and make a fairly dramatic difference in acceleration, braking, bump control, steering feedback (taller sidewall), and fuel efficiency. These observations are from a stock alloy Volvo rim and same sized Volvo steelie rim using the same make of winter tire (father had the same car/tires). In terms of cost savings, if you're going to pay someone to swap to steelies it would probably cost almost as much as using the stock rims and swapping tires. BTW, powder coating is approx $100 per rim in Ottawa and Montreal (good time to repair curb rashes as well).

Swapping tires on stock rims are only $50 Cdn locally, and not only make the car look better, but behave better as well. As for salt pitting etc, my FD alloys handled the double duty for 6 years without one finishing issue (did clean the car whenever I could though). I do agree that 18" winters will be expensive, but IMO well worth the benefits. To each their own I guess. :cool: