...in the SNOW. :eek:

I waited through the last two snowfalls to get my RX8. I picked it up last Wednesday. The dealer told me that the tires were three-season.
The snow has melted. Winter was over. I'll buy snow tires next year.

ha-HA, says old man winter! I'm going to F with you now!

I got stuck in Manhattan at 2pm today, in the middle of today's ice/slush/snow storm. I had to drive back to Brooklyn on 2 inches of ICE.

DAMN this car SUCKS in the snow.

It went like this: Riding the clutch to start VERY slow, to keep from sliding sideways, shifting at 1500 rpm, driving in 3rd gear at 12mph - and not letting the rear wheels slow down too fast, because that made the rear end swing out and threaten to smack the bus in the next lane.

Understeer, oversteer, inertia, traction, mass - the car was a physics lesson in action. In a parking lot it would have been fun, but this was Manhattan - busses, taxis, pedestrians. I was truly scared. I never had so little control over my car. :(

I missed my Audi today.

I put 17" rims with blisaks and haven't had any problem in the snow

But I thought the snow was over!

I'll get the snow tires next season, I said.

The ride was damn scary- I kissed the ground when I got home.

yeah the RX-8 is death on a stick with out snow tires. I bought Pirelli Snow performance tires on 18 inch rims for the snow it got me from Manhatten to White Plains today but still it was scary every now and then I could feel the rear lose traction. But if you have to driver the RX-8 in this weather get the tires it was worth it for me today

Glad you made it home okay beefy!

same thing for me today in Maryland, but the roads were not that bad. I was scared when I saw how bad it was snowing at work. The roads were fine by the time I left work though.

Yea today's storm in MD and PA really SUCKED. It wasn't forcast very well at all so I went into work thinking it was just going to rain. 48 degrees when I got to work. About 1 1/2 hours later it's 28 and snowing. I waited it out til the end of the day. I did however get to find out exactly why people like the heated mirrors so much! The rear defroster was a bit slow though. Anyone else have that problem?

It's not really the car as much as it is the cars tires. I almost went off the road twice last year in stock tires, but this year I got Pirellis and it drove fine.

:rolleyes:

You bought a rear wheel drive sports car with summer tires and complain about poor performance in snow.

:rolleyes:

No, no. I'm not complaining about how the RX handles snow driving.
It just scared the sh*t out of me.

My last rear drive was a 1991 Nissan 240sx. It had all season tires and 1/2 the horsepower. I never had trouble from 91 to 95 with that car. I've been driving front or all-wheel drive since. I got sick of the front drive compromises and wanted a RWD car again.

For the last two years, i'd be thinking "what kind of car would I want to be driving right now?" A RWD sports car was the answer 9 out of 10 times. Today I needed the other car.

i'm SO glad i drove the camry to work this morning, even though the ground was just wet near my house, on my 30 mile trip to work there were sections of icy slush slick stuff that my 8 with the stock tires would've NEVER made it out

i learned my lesson the HARD way like you did today joe, i'm NEVER taking the 8 out with stock tires if *any* mention of the s-word is in the forecast :p

Snow tires and rims - next year.

Do a search. Those of us with Snow tires have no problem. The oem tires are summer performance tires. In the snow, you need winter tires! Then the car will be more than fine.

No, no. I'm not complaining about how the RX handles snow driving.
It just scared the sh*t out of me.

My last rear drive was a 1991 Nissan 240sx. It had all season tires and 1/2 the horsepower. I never had trouble from 91 to 95 with that car. I've been driving front or all-wheel drive since. I got sick of the front drive compromises and wanted a RWD car again.

For the last two years, i'd be thinking "what kind of car would I want to be driving right now?" A RWD sports car was the answer 9 out of 10 times. Today I needed the other car.Tires, not car.

Beefyjoe, you have a good point. Dealers ought to be obligated to specifically caution buyers about this. I mean, after you've signed the papers and all, wouldn't a little heads-up be appreciated? Maybe they think buyers will resent hearing this detail, but seems to me they'd resent being surprised on the road a lot more.

I knew about the problem before buying -- but it was because I studied this board for a long time before committing.

The dealer says "three season" tires - be careful.

I thought he said that to cover his back, but he meant it.

I KNOW how to drive - Tell the OTHER idiot customers of yours that they should be careful. Boy, was I wrong.

I never had summer tires before. I'll be smiling in July...If I make it past March.

BTW, anybody purchase tire&wheel warranty coverage? The tire goop ruins the tire, and Mazda will replace the tire if it flats, and replace the wheel if it bends or breaks. Good deal??$350 for 75k.

Thanks, all.

[QUOTE=beefyjoe
Understeer, oversteer, inertia, traction, mass - the car was a physics lesson in action. In a parking lot it would have been fun, but this was Manhattan - busses, taxis, pedestrians. I was truly scared. I never had so little control over my car. :( .[/QUOTE]

Stay put with the car if you can, get a Hotel room and save yourself the nightmare of thousands of $ of damages or a write off if you were to wreck. Either that or get yourself a low cost 2nd car for occasions like today....far less anxiety!

The dealer says "three season" tires - be careful.

I thought he said that to cover his back, but he meant it.

I KNOW how to drive - Tell the OTHER idiot customers of yours that they should be careful. Boy, was I wrong.

I never had summer tires before. I'll be smiling in July...If I make it past March.

BTW, anybody purchase tire&wheel warranty coverage? The tire goop ruins the tire, and Mazda will replace the tire if it flats, and replace the wheel if it bends or breaks. Good deal??$350 for 75k.

Thanks, all.

Snow + rear-wheel drive + regular tires = chaos. Either way, glad you made it through. As for me, Manhattan + snow = fun, but only with a cabbie in charge. :D

Gald you made it home safe! I'm in FL so I don't know about snow driving in the 8 but as far as what I've read...the 8 needs snow tires really bad!!!

What is this "snow" stufff you speak of???

Charlie from Tennessee :p

I am also intrigued by this 'so called' 'snow' is that the white stuff I see on the mountains??

I know the solution cant be as easy as this but why not put a couple hundred pounds of weight in the trunk wouldn't that help with traction??

It's no so much the car, but the combination of summer tires and RWD. Most cars with this combo (and this light) would perform the same way. Ask anyone who has owned a mustang, camaro or firebird. Same hoprror stories

I would argue that with DSC and BLizzak's my RX-8 handles better than most SUV's...No kidding.

im not even commenting on this one!.....you can see where i live and i did not have fun yesterday!!!

me either...I thought it would rain all day and maybe some token snow, so I left the beater at home. I was scared when I looked out the window and saw the blizzard around lunchtime. Wasn't too bad getting home though. Camden sucks at taking care of the roads

When you buy the car, don't you look over all the specs? Do you just walk in and blindly make a +- 30k purchase blindly?

Things like this are why there are directions to use trash bags, and warnings not to leave food in the refrigerator where sperm samples are kept. C'mon people, do your own research, have some common sense. (this is not an attack on the quotee or the thread starter, only using the quote as a spring board to discuss a genral issue.)


Beefyjoe, you have a good point. Dealers ought to be obligated to specifically caution buyers about this. I mean, after you've signed the papers and all, wouldn't a little heads-up be appreciated? Maybe they think buyers will resent hearing this detail, but seems to me they'd resent being surprised on the road a lot more.

I knew about the problem before buying -- but it was because I studied this board for a long time before committing.

glad I live in Texas :D:D:D:D:D

DAMN this car SUCKS in the snow.
Summer tires suck in the snow on any car, be it a FWD Saab or RWD Mazda.

Beefyjoe, you have a good point. Dealers ought to be obligated to specifically caution buyers about this.
The dealer told him the tires were "three season" and he understood that meant not good in Winter.

Snow + rear-wheel drive + regular tires = chaos.
Snow + RWD + regular tires = no problem.
Snow + RWD + summer tires = problem.

Things like this are why there are directions to use trash bags, and warnings not to leave food in the refrigerator where sperm samples are kept. C'mon people, do your own research, have some common sense. (this is not an attack on the quotee or the thread starter, only using the quote as a spring board to discuss a genral issue.)

Along this path...
From the simpsons last night:

"...Springfield has come down with football fever, and the cure is to take 2 tickets, and go to the game this Sunday! Note: tickets are not meant to be taken internally.

Homer: See, because of me they have a warning now."

Yeah, just remember.. for every warning you see.. someone somewhere has done it...

Along this path...
From the simpsons last night:

"...Springfield has come down with football fever, and the cure is to take 2 tickets, and go to the game this Sunday! Note: tickets are not meant to be taken internally.

Homer: See, because of me they have a warning now."

The dealier is an IDIOT. You should go back there and b!tch them out. As far as nobody telling you about the 8 in the snow...what, are people supposed to send you a memo about everything? Try searching.

This has been discussed many, many, many times before.

The 8 is GREAT in the snow with SNOW tires. Any car with summer performance tires is bad in the snow. Try putting your 8's tires on your old Auddi and see what happens.

:rolleyes:

You bought a rear wheel drive sports car with summer tires and complain about poor performance in snow.

:rolleyes:

Agree. People need to do the research. There must be hundreds of posts which mention how bad the stock tires are on snow and on wet roads at low temperatures. The fact that "no one" told you how bad it drives in snow is because it doesn't drive bad in snow IF you have the right tires. It's like someone putting track tires on a WRX and then blaming the car for bad driveability in snow.

I hope I don't sound too harsh here, but I hate to see titles on threads like this with a title that blames the car for something that was the result of the tires and insufficient driver education.

My only complaint about my dealer/sales people was that they didn't emphasize the need for winter tires. If it weren't for this forum, I'd have been in a South Jersey ditch at the first snowfall.
By the way, I think my Pirelli's make my 8 handle better than my wife's Santa Fe. She slid on the local rural road that leads into my street & I turned very nicely into my street at the same time. Of course, I'm a much more careful driver! (Thankfully, she doesn't lurk on this forum to see that.)

Really, the dealer was a great guy. He sold me the car at the best price & fastest delivery - after I walked away from two other bad deals.

My brother had a 1985 RX7 GSL-SE, Red. fantastic car. He spun out going downhill in a snowstorm in Maryland. Hit a snow drift. It was 15 years ago, he was fine but it was all I thought about yesterday.

Thanks for not beating up on me. I realized that I have never owned "summer " tires, and the experience was a white-knuckle eye opener :eek:

Today is different. Lots of clean(er) pavement, and I can fishtail when I WANT to.

yea I had the EXACT same problem last week. Nice day out in the morning, snow startin comming into Toronto around 3pm. Tested out the roads @ 5pm, it was fine. Once i got about 2km from my house everything started to go crazy. very very scary, car going side ways, couldn't downshift, etc, etc.. Check out my post in the canada forum if you want to read more :) it was "Scariest Drive YET!!!"


MrJynx

When you buy the car, don't you look over all the specs? Do you just walk in and blindly make a +- 30k purchase blindly?

Things like this are why there are directions to use trash bags, and warnings not to leave food in the refrigerator where sperm samples are kept. C'mon people, do your own research, have some common sense. (this is not an attack on the quotee or the thread starter, only using the quote as a spring board to discuss a genral issue.)

Well, I know it's a sports car but I think it's retarded that summer tires are put on cars where there is snow on the ground 3-6 months out of the year. I feel sorry for you guys up there. I can imagine all the uninformed people who weren't told not to drive on those tires in the snow (think ladies especially).

For me, the tires are good except A.They wear easy B.And are a bit noisy. They could have gotten good all-seasons that don't sacrifice handling for the same price. Even here in Florida I'm afraid how the tires will handle in the rainy season. They must have had some great deal with Bridgestone knowing people would be shelling down $200+ per summer tire which dealerships are quick to push.

How long have you had your car? I've driven through some heavy rain down here and through GA without much incident. These tires aren't dangerous in the rain really. They do handle a little worse in the rain as they get close to the wear bars though.

Yeah, I agree, atleast in northern climates they should offer the sale of winter tires on the car or something. However, we are a free market society.. buyers beware!

I just bought a new set of RE040's for about $185 each.

Well, I know it's a sports car but I think it's retarded that summer tires are put on cars where there is snow on the ground 3-6 months out of the year. I feel sorry for you guys up there. I can imagine all the uninformed people who weren't told not to drive on those tires in the snow (think ladies especially).

For me, the tires are good except A.They wear easy B.And are a bit noisy. They could have gotten good all-seasons that don't sacrifice handling for the same price. Even here in Florida I'm afraid how the tires will handle in the rainy season. They must have had some great deal with Bridgestone knowing people would be shelling down $200+ per summer tire which dealerships are quick to push.

I live in Montreal Qc ..

I have Yoko Ice Guards on my 18" stock rims and the car drives Great.. I drive in snow storms / Ice storms / Anything.... I just have to take it slow....


My dealer told me Not to even attempt to drive even a block in the snow with the stock all seasons...

My Is300 was 10 times worse in the snow then the RX8..

Get a set of Ice Guards and your good to go :D

Congrats on the RX8

You are going to Love It!!!!!!!!

I hope I don't sound too harsh here, but I hate to see titles on threads like this with a title that blames the car for something that was the result of the tires and insufficient driver education.

The title got you here. :D I hate starting lonely threads. I'm at the top of the board today. Yeah!

I view winter driving as a form of recreation. I love going out in the snow. And I've been lurking here for a while. I love the car and have no regrets at all, except maybe that there's no factory turbo model yet....("RX8TURBO" is an available plate ;) )

glad I live in Texas :D:D:D:D:D

Don't be too glad... you're missing out an a whole lot of fun. RWD snow driving is awesome, and the '8 with snow tires is incredibly balanced and sure-footed. I much rather drive it than my 4x4 SUV with all seasons.

Don't be too glad... you're missing out an a whole lot of fun. RWD snow driving is awesome, and the '8 with snow tires is incredibly balanced and sure-footed. I much rather drive it than my 4x4 SUV with all seasons.

Agreed. I was concerned about winter driving when I first bought the car... little did I know it'd be downright FUN, lol. I still worry about other drivers, hidden patches of ice, etc., but overall, being able to point the car anywhere you want it makes snow driving rather entertaining.

This thread is really a re-hash. Numerous previous threads and posts have made it clear that this car does not perform well in the snow with the stock warm-weather performance tire (DUH!!), but is great when shoed properly with snow tires.

"Course, that's not a big concern on the Gulf Coast.

The snow has melted. Winter was over. I'll buy snow tires next year.

ha-HA, says old man winter!

Hey, how long have you lived in Brooklyn? It can, and has snowed in the Tri-State area up until early April. This can happen again :eek:

Agreed. I was concerned about winter driving when I first bought the car... little did I know it'd be downright FUN, lol. I still worry about other drivers, hidden patches of ice, etc., but overall, being able to point the car anywhere you want it makes snow driving rather entertaining.

I call it "all the fun of drifting, without the tire wear" :)

My favorite place to go is on Lake Geneva, WI in February when they let people drive on the lake... I find a secluded area away from the ice fishermen and set up some cones to practice ice-auto-cross. Good times... ;)

Beefyjoe, you have a good point. Dealers ought to be obligated to specifically caution buyers about this. I mean, after you've signed the papers and all, wouldn't a little heads-up be appreciated? Maybe they think buyers will resent hearing this detail, but seems to me they'd resent being surprised on the road a lot more.



And they should tell you to obey the speed limit, use your seatbelts, don't pile seven people in the car, don't drive when drinking, look in your mirrors before changing lanes, allow two car lengths for every ten miles an hour, look before opening your door on busy streets, don't drive though standing water more than 4 inches deep, drive with your lights on at night, and use your wipers when it's raining.

My point is where does dealer responsibility end and owner responsibility begin?

But the tires in the snow are a major concern & safety issue. MY salesman said to me, "Remember to be careful when it rains or snows, Guy. The 8 tends to slide a little. " He spent more time telling me about the flooding issue than warning me I wouldn't be able to drive the car in the snow.

The title got you here. :D I hate starting lonely threads. I'm at the top of the board today. Yeah!



The discussion was probably worth it. :) Have fun driving that car.

I have found that even all-seasons on the 8 still give me handling in snow that was not as good as all-seasons on an FWD. But in Ciincinnati, we have had only three days this winter for which I would have really needed snow tires, and two of them were not fit for anything but 4WD.

Hey, how long have you lived in Brooklyn?

Since January 1966. I was born in a blizzard.

It can, and has snowed in the Tri-State area up until early April. This can happen again :eek:

The latest spring storm I can recall happened on Thursday, August, 7 1983. One day i'll tell you why I can remember that day.

Agree. People need to do the research. There must be hundreds of posts which mention how bad the stock tires are on snow and on wet roads at low temperatures. The fact that "no one" told you how bad it drives in snow is because it doesn't drive bad in snow IF you have the right tires. It's like someone putting track tires on a WRX and then blaming the car for bad driveability in snow.

I hope I don't sound too harsh here, but I hate to see titles on threads like this with a title that blames the car for something that was the result of the tires and insufficient driver education.


I’ll jump on the bandwagon here. You can read about it all you want but the fact is that most people read about it and think of their own driving experience with rear wheel drive cars that don’t have dedicated snow tires. They think just what I did, “they don’t go very well, you don’t want to do it but if you take it slow you can make it if the snow isn’t too deep”. Then you drive it and think exactly the thoughts expressed in the opening post.

Anyway, I have been trying to convince Mazda that they should at least have the option available. It seems to me that if you were buying the car as winter was approaching, especially if you special ordered the car, there should be a choice. I would have picked the all-seasons instead of the 3 seasons.

BTW, I was driving from 495 in Mass to Maine in the storm yesterday (in rush hour of course) in a 4WD truck and it still took 5 hours for a normally 2 hour trip. That snow sucked.

When you buy the car, don't you look over all the specs? Do you just walk in and blindly make a +- 30k purchase blindly?

Things like this are why there are directions to use trash bags, and warnings not to leave food in the refrigerator where sperm samples are kept. C'mon people, do your own research, have some common sense. (this is not an attack on the quotee or the thread starter, only using the quote as a spring board to discuss a genral issue.)
My dealer did not say one word to me about this. I did my own research and found out about it.

Not everyone who is buying an 8 is coming from a background with performance cars. There are even some idiots who buy this car having driven nothing but FWD Oldsmobiles for the past ten years.
And there are cars in this class that come with all-season tires, stock.
It's easy to look down on those who weren't aware of the problem while thinking about this car. But if we all knew everything there is to know about the 8, there would be no reason for this board.

I think dealers are afraid to tell prospective buyers not to drive it in snow with the stock tires, figuring it might scare off potential buyers. But we all know this car is dangerous on snow in stock tires. It's not enough for the dealer just to say "be careful." That implies you can drive it in the snow exercising proper caution.

Coincidentally, my last car was an Oldsmobile Alero.

My dealer did not say one word to me about this. I did my own research and found out about it.

Not everyone who is buying an 8 is coming from a background with performance cars. There are even some idiots who buy this car having driven nothing but FWD Oldsmobiles for the past ten years.
And there are cars in this class that come with all-season tires, stock.
It's easy to look down on those who weren't aware of the problem while thinking about this car. But if we all knew everything there is to know about the 8, there would be no reason for this board.

I think dealers are afraid to tell prospective buyers not to drive it in snow with the stock tires, figuring it might scare off potential buyers. But we all know this car is dangerous on snow in stock tires. It's not enough for the dealer just to say "be careful." That implies you can drive it in the snow exercising proper caution.

And they should tell you to obey the speed limit, use your seatbelts,
"They" do tell you this -- when you get a license or take driver's ed.

And Mazda does tell you to check the oil every second fill-up, let it warm up before shutting it off, etc.

My point is where does dealer responsibility end and owner responsibility begin?
Let me put it this way. If you lived in a place where there are rattlesnakes or copperheads, and your cousin visited from a place without snakes, would you warn your cousin about their presence -- or just assume that everyone knows to watch out for snakes?

I've never ever ever warned anyone about snakes or aligators. and I grew up in Louisiana and now live in florida. AND is spend plenty of time in rural areas. They should know better.


"They" do tell you this -- when you get a license or take driver's ed.

And Mazda does tell you to check the oil every second fill-up, let it warm up before shutting it off, etc.


Let me put it this way. If you lived in a place where there are rattlesnakes or copperheads, and your cousin visited from a place without snakes, would you warn your cousin about their presence -- or just assume that everyone knows to watch out for snakes?

I've never ever ever warned anyone about snakes or aligators. and I grew up in Louisiana and now live in florida. AND is spend plenty of time in rural areas. They should know better.
I can see the snakes and the alligators aren't the only cold-blooded creatures around, lol.

But I thought the snow was over!

I'll get the snow tires next season, I said.

The ride was damn scary- I kissed the ground when I got home.


No Stability Control?

And any lightweight rear drive vehicle will be a handfull in the snow. Try driving a Miata in the snow. :eek:

I haven't had to drive my RX8 in the swow yet- knock on wood.

No Stability Control?

And any lightweight rear drive vehicle will be a handfull in the snow. Try driving a Miata in the snow. :eek:

I haven't had to drive my RX8 in the swow yet- knock on wood.

Somehow you've missed the entire point of this thread. Stability control is ZERO help if the tires don't have any grip. Grip=snow tires. Miatas, BTW, are a blast in the snow... even more fun than the RX8 thanks to their light weight tossability... assuming of course you have snow tires.

I drove from Somerset County to Ocean County in New Jersey in that same storm, about 75 miles. I think the snow crews that salt the roads got blindsided by this storm because it was in the 60's the day before. They were not prepared and had to play catch up all day.

But I had changed out my stock tires to Pirelli PZero Nero M+S in January. I couldn't believe how stable the car was on both ice and snow. Much better than the stocks and even better than some of the other cars out ther that I saw slipping and sliding their way down the road.

Definitely the tires that are the factor here, not the car. FYI - I have a base 8 with no Traction Control.

how about when its raining?
how does the car handle in the rain with the stock tires?

stock tires in rain is fine as long as you keep the speed at a *sane* level.

how about when its raining?
how does the car handle in the rain with the stock tires?
I think it handles great in the rain, as long as it's above 40F or so. I was actually surprised how well the wet handling was, considering how crappy the bridgestones were on my Miata in the rain.

Ouch! - no one told this guy how bad it drives WITH STOCK SUMMER TIRES either: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-20/1110347582251300.xml

" Osmena, who is moving in with a brother in Nutley, landed at Newark Airport at 10 a.m. He promptly retrieved his "baby," a 2004 Mazda RX-8, from a storage facility.

Then he promptly crashed it, those grippy tires not quite grippy enough for the icy mess along Route 21 in Newark. Osmena was uninjured, but the Mazda didn't fare as well after spinning and hitting a guardrail.

"I'm really upset," Osmena said. "The damage is pretty bad." "

how about when its raining?
how does the car handle in the rain with the stock tires?

Max Performance Summer tires are designed for dry roads, plain and simple. If you hit a curve at a high rate of speed and the roads are wet, be prepared to loose the rear end. Also, these type of tires are not inteneded for extrememly cold temparatures. The rubber composition looses it's traction whether the roads are wet or dry.

Everyone complaining about snow does realize that you don't have to live up there right? Down here in the south, we don't get that white crap. If you are gonna live in the great white north, buy a Hummer.