Will a RWD car be able to suffice during winter and bad weather? I've heard iffy things about this, having good and bad points.

I intend to get the RX-8 as my daily driver. So let me know! :)

What... has the world been contaminated completely by the "build 'em cheap" front wheel drive generation.

I've owned front wheel drive, rear wheel drive and 4 wheel drive vehicles.... and really, 4 wheel drive aside... rear wheel drive is infinitely preferable.

Would you think twice about a 325i BMW??? There may be other things to concider about the RX-8 before deciding it is good as a daily driver... but IMHO the FWD/RWD is just a matter of learning how it handles.

If you plan not to have an exciting drive to work, go gentle when it rains.... as it WILL get a bit lively at the rear... but it's somthing you'll get to love.

What sort of weather conditions are you talking about, because I don't think there are any conditions where I would take an FWD car and not a RWD car..... although there are conditions where I'd leave either and take my Landrover.

I agree with BlueAdept, but would add that good snow tires are probably going to be necessary. The stickier the stock tires are during the summer, the less traction they'll have in the winter. Add to that the fact that they're wide, and it could be stuck going nowhere fast in winter. Add a set of Blizzaks or other high quality snows and you'll be much better off than anyone in a 4WD vehicle with all-season tires.

IMHO, good snow driving is a result of:
1. good common sense from the driver (no tailgating!)
2. good driver skill (& experience)
3. good snow tires

I'm afraid mine's gonna be kept away from daily driving... my trip to work is grueling on a vehicle and I think I'll just stick with the Landrover...

People can hit it, scrape it in a car park... do whatever... and I really don't care, you can't intimidate somone driving a vehicle made entirely of girders and grime.

That said... I might drive it daily... just not to work... infact I think I might just go driving for the pleasure again... been a while!

People can hit it, scrape it in a car park... do whatever... and I really don't care,

Haha... sounds like a derby to me.

I dont think the RX 8 will be able to handle the fierce winters of Canada. So it will not be my daily driver.

Yes, daily driver!

daily driver. cant afford another car. when its too bad out i'll take my wifes truck or light rail. portland has a great light rail system.

It will be a daily driver for me. I can't afford to have it sit at home!

As previously mentioned regarding inclement weather, prudent driving and selection of good snow tires should be all a person needs to deal with that issue.

I can't wait to get my hands on one for a test drive. there is a dealership only 5 minutes from my office. Can you say "long lunch hour"?
Bonus Item :) - I recently discovered that my company participates in Ford's X-plan purchasing, which qualifies on Mazda products (I already checked that out), Jaguar and Volvo as well. Not Aston-martin though :( I just hope the RX-8 is not subject to exclusion like Thunderbird and F-150 Lightning currently are.

That would seriously blow chunks:mad:

Originally posted by Immi
I dont think the RX 8 will be able to handle the fierce winters of Canada. So it will not be my daily driver.

I think the RX-8 will do better in the Canadian winters than the Miata, and there are plenty of daily driver Miatas up there and in Alaska. I suppose it depends on where you live and what you'll be doing with it, though.

No matter what I get, RX-8 or Miata, it'll be my daily driver. What's the point of having the car if you don't take advantage of it as much as possible! :)

I've never had much problem in either rear-wheel drive or front-wheel drive in the snow or otherwise. I just won't drive like a dummy in bad weather conditions. It's really just a matter of common sense about the whole deal, as was mentioned before.

Originally posted by Rich


I think the RX-8 will do better in the Canadian winters than the Miata, and there are plenty of daily driver Miatas up there and in Alaska. I suppose it depends on where you live and what you'll be doing with it, though.

you're probably right - but i'd rather not drive a manual rwd car - period

ill just get a fwd car for my daily

Even if I dont' have to go anywhere that day, I will still drive it. It is well suited to be a daily driver, it's versatility is one of the most attractive parts of it.

You do have to be more careful with RWD in ice and snow, especially if you have 250 horses trying to spin those wheels. People have been driving RWD in inclement weather for almost a century though. I guess I'm lucky that I don't have to take this into account to much living in South Carolina. We get snow here about two or three times a year. Heck, it hasn't rained here since April, I wish it would though, my grass is dead. :(

If the RX-8 does become a reliable daily driver that would certainly change the rotary engine's image for the better. With the environmentally friendly emissions and good MPG i am assuming this car could be a great commuter car for those who drive long distances to work on the weekdays and also be an exciting car to drive for leasure on the weekends.

I think people have been brainwashed by the motor companies who tell us that FWD is better.... It's mostly just cheaper to make.

IMO you have to be equally careful in a FWD car.... agreed it behaves differently once you push past a limit... FWD will tend to understeer, while RWD will oversteer under power...

I don't get a lot of snow here, but I would say that it has been no more or a problem for me to drive rear wheel drive cars in poor weather than front wheel drive... My highest power car was rear wheel drive, and in slipery conditions it quickly trained you to drive with respect, but was never ill mannered.

A RX-8 with 205/55/16 Nokian winter tires should handle a Canadian winter no problem. I used to drive my old RWD AE86 GT-S in the winter and it was a handful, until I put some skinny Nokians on it... then it stuck like glue and make me feel like Burns in Sweden! :eek: All it takes is the right tires, a good driver, and some common sense.

I'm not worried about the RWD aspect... it's the ground clearance that could be a problem in the snow.

It might turn into a rotary-powered snow plow!

Taller tires would help with ground clearance, perhaps 205/70/16's would do the trick. Also Miata's are decent in the snow with the right tires, and you don't get that much lower than that.

there really shouldn't be an issue until there is about 10 inches of snow on the ground... beyond that stay home or call a cab! ;)

Personally I'd be more concerned about the rotary engine starting and not blowing up in -35C weather. I've heard of people destroying their 12A's in very cold weather.

Yes FWD is much cheaper to make and i also believe easier, and FWD has understeer, i've never driven a FWD car without understeer, and RWD sometimes have oversteer but not all.

Hmmm... I guess that really is fairly "inclement"... on the weather front!!!

Anyway, I think FWD/RWD is a fairly moot point... you'll crash either if you don't know what you're doing and don't respect the road conditions...
I don't agree with "enjoy" though, my rear wheel drive Triumph was very well balanced and at the limit it would drift without either over or understeer... but I could get either over or understeer on demand depending on power and steering input... That's how it should be, and those cars that didn't have oversteer are just waiting to bite you if you push them that little bit harder. IMHO if you can't reach the limit, then you'll never know where it is, and that could be just as much of a problem..

As for the snow, the ground clearance could be a problem, but I'll defer to the others,,, if you can get taller snow tyres and the Miata is OK, then I don't see a reason why this should be an issue...

The spy photo's showed it being tested in some pretty nasty cold conditions... so perhaps earlier problems sith cold will be sorted.

I said some RWD cars have oversteer doesn't refer to all of them, same with FWD cars some have understeer. i didn't refer to all of them, i currently drive a 1992 Mercedes Benz 190E 2.6 and ive topped it out at about 135MPH and it has great handling with no cases of oversteer; but thats beside the point, i was onyl refering to some cars sorry if i didnt phrase it correctly. and yes you can make your car have over or understeer depending on the power and steering, i agree with that.

Anyone have any links on handling and driving techniques... I'm sure we've all had our own experience... and everyone thinks they are the best driver right? But I'm sure we could all learn from each other, and a link to a "hints & tips" page from say a professional racing driver or somthing would be a good read.

I think the RX-8 would be a great Daily Driver. With new technology in it like Stability control, a Limited Slip diff, and Traction Control you might not even notice the snow. I went to Canada in 1991 ( the last time I saw snow :D ) and I rented a Ford Crown Victoria. I thought it would haddle terrible especially since I have no winter driving experience and it's rear wheel drive. To my surprise I didn't have any trouble at all. I was even able to out corner smaller front wheel drive cars in and out of the snow w/out any wheel spin or slippage. Ah, the beaty of technology.

Last time it was REALLY cold here I took a wrong turn and ended up on a road made entirely of ice!!! It was not pretty as it was downhill and and a 90 degree bend at the bottom.... 5mph was enough to guarantee that there would be no stopping!

I decided that I could not make the turn, at least not without risking finding myself in a worse position... so I used the kurb to stop the car... slightly damaging a wheel and puncturing the tyre.... I was only about 100 yards from my friends house so I imediately ran to his house to get him to help me move the car out of harms way, but it was too late, we returned 5 minutes later to find another car embedded in the back of mine... and my friend ended up diving over his car to avoid being hit by a third car which almost joined the stack!!!!!

NEVER under estimate ice... Snow is one thing, but ICE can really ruin your day...

Originally posted by n22lasing
I think the RX-8 would be a great Daily Driver. With new technology in it like Stability control, a Limited Slip diff, and Traction Control you might not even notice the snow.
...
Ah, the beaty of technology.

While those can help a tiny bit, good snow tires make a MUCH bigger differenct. All the fancy technology in the world won't mean a thing as the coefficient of friction between the tires and the snow approaches 0. In a snow storm, I'd rather have a balanced RWD car with snow tires than a 4WD vehicle with traction control and all the other techno do-dads on all-seasons.

Technology can't give you more grip, it can just help you use what's there a little better.

Sure Rich, I agree tires are more important. They are the most important factor since they are the only thing in contact with the road. I just didn't want to sound redundant since many other people made that point earlier. Including yourself. I wanted to compare a FWD w/out computer assistance vs RWD cars with computer assistance. How many FWD cars out there have all those features? I don't even think the RSX has a LSD or TCS, does it? Many people consider the RSX a daily driver, so I don't see why the RX-8 shouldn't be. I'm sure some people can agree with that?:)

I don't see where people get the impression the RWD needs some kind of assistance to be better than FWD...

In a FWD car the engine is above the gearbox so the center of gravity is too high... and all the weight is at the front so the balance is all off...

RWD is IMHO "always" better.... "The best way to push is from behind"

Amazing how FWD is now the norm, considering it is burdened with power, torque steer, lock-to-lock steering, and braking. It's overload, imho. No wonder CV joints and half-shafts rob your wallet to replace. They have their place in snow though.

I always liked the metaphor that FWD is like a dog trying to crawl forward while dragging both broken back legs. Little tough to change direction, too. Where's the suspension/powertrain balance? :)

I agree… it appears that many people seem to favor a FWD platform over RWD. I do see this trend changing though. Lately manufacturers are introducing more and more RWD cars to the market like the IS300, G35, RX-8 and many more. I prefer RWD myself. I thought if I mentioned that the RX-8 has some extra safety features (compared to other FWD cars in it’s class) that would persuade other people that are sitting on the fence the credibility of RWD or the RX-8 as a daily driver in snow. Tires held constant.

To the sports car enthusiasts i believe we prefer RWD cars because we know what the advantages are but to the normal driver i think they would like FWD because of the responsive steering and handling it has at the average speeds.

My bro's GSL-SE handled CO winters very well. He got it in December with 70 series tires and the roads were either dry or snow/ice covered. Never had a problem. He didn't even know how it handled on wet roads untill the spring! :p I bet an RX-8 will be just as good if not better.

I learned to drive in the snowy state of Montana with a RWD car, a 1976 VW Beetle, it was very easy to slide the rear end around even with that little power. It was also very fun. The best tires I used were studded snow tires (not legal in many states) but I still managed to get myself seriously stuck in the ditch at least once a winter. I am going to have a back-up vehicle for the seriously snowy days, i.e. 6-12", this may also depend on the snow removal of your driving area. Before I plunk down 30k+ for a car in an area with a lot of snow I am going to want to test drive the rx-8 in winter conditions.

Frankly, it was an awesome car to drive in the winter. Slapped on some 205/55/16 winter tires (still have a set waiting for an RX-8 ;) ) and it hammered along great. The FD had perfect winter driving characteristics; low torque, limited slip diff, 50/50% distribution, and terrific chassis feedback. The RX-8 will do probably even better without turbos and slightly heavier curb weight.

Daily driver??? I'm moving into my RX-8 for the first month.:D

Originally posted by boowana
Daily driver??? I'm moving into my RX-8 for the first month.:D

LOL