Please don't have a heart attack on me for even considering driving this car in the winter but me being the Canadian that can only afford ONE car needs to know if this car is OK for year round with snow tires of course for Toronto. I really love this car and would like to know anyones thoughts. I have a feeling I am going to have to be considering another car :confused:

Thanks in advance,

Diane

If i were in TO i would drive it without hesitations !! You guys get half the snow we have here in Mtl and i strongly consider it .

I'm planning on driving mine year round, including skiing day trips to Lake Louise etc. I'll be getting a set of separate wheels with winter tires - see the other threads here and in the Tires/Wheels forum for more discussion on those.

Regards,
Gordon

I'm driving mine year -round here in the GTA. The car was tested in Sweden or Finland for winter driving while in the testing phase. The GT model also has a Limited Slip differential, Dynamic Stability Control, Traction Control System, Electronic Brake Force Distribution, and ABS to helps us out in all types of wheather and driving conditions.

I'll be putting on winter tires. Just waiting for info from this thread before purchasing. http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8888

For sure I will be.

Thanks so much for your quick answers. I am looking at the GT model in automatic (yep can't drive standard). I am 34 and was quoted $1800 for insurance(have no claims or accidents) but after seeing some of the rates out there I am wondering if that is high.

Diane

Toronto is high, That might be normal for the area.

You could learn manual in no time, but if you want auto, that's great too!

Only thing I wish I had was DSC for the winter.

Never too late to learn. My son's girlfriend's mother just bought a Mazda 6 with stick to celebrate her 50th. She never drove standard, and my son is teaching her now.

Originally posted by GTADiane
Thanks so much for your quick answers. I am looking at the GT model in automatic (yep can't drive standard). I am 34 and was quoted $1800 for insurance(have no claims or accidents) but after seeing some of the rates out there I am wondering if that is high.

Diane
That does sound high. I have a Prelude, 32, no claims/tickets and pay about $1500. Keep in mind that the Prelude has a very high insurance rating. Your rate should be lower, shop around.

The 8 with DSC/LSD should be a very good winter car. AS LONG AS YOU PUT ON WINTER TIRES. :) and don't floor the gas pedal while taking a corner.

GTADiane,
I am driving an automatic RX-8 and it is just fantastic. Mine is a GS, without all the traction control features mentioned above, and even I will be driving that in the winter in Montreal (albeit not fast). Indeed, the GT model, which does come with the traction control features, should be just fine. I'm going tomorrow to Talon tire to have some rims tried on for fit. I'll post the results in that thread.

Here in Montreal, I'm leaving my car in the garage for the winter. It will help keep its resale value, and instead of paying for rims and tires, that would amounth to the same as buying a winter car ( el cheapo ). And all those rocks on the road, :eek: just don't want to see that front end all messed up...


But I guess you guys in toronto have much less snow ( dont know for the salt and rocks and the road ) . So i guess its safe for toronto driving, just keep it off the road if you get an other army shoveling day ( when you had to call in the man in green to help take the snow away ) how much fell, a couple of CM:D just kidding...

Madjoker

i am doing the same as MadJoker here in Laval. I will hide it under a nice "tempo" as i do not have a garage. I plan on taking it out at least once a week when the streets are clear to keep it in perfect running condition. Here in Laval i have a 30K comute to the office, all HW so it's pretty much clear 90% of the time.

I'm thinking of extending my lease 6 months on my Passat... anyone ever done that ? Wonder if the lease goes down much when you do that?

Hi F1,

I wanted to extend the lease for 6 months because the TSX wasn't due out for 3 months (I wanted some leeway in case the car was delayed) but Acura only agreed to 3 months. It's interesting how the lease expired just as the car started to ship. Imagine, a car manufacturer that could actualy predict when the car would be available (they missed by 3 days). Mazda please take note how they manage this.

BTW it is completely at the discretion of the company who is the holder of the lease, in my case it was the dealership. There may be a clause in your lease in regards to extension. I suggest that you look into it. Mine went down based upon the normal breakdown (capital, interest, taxes). No penalty.

Good luck.

Thanks a lot Mac, i,ll call the dealer or VW canada tuesday and see what they can do and the price they want. i,m paying 511$ a month and anything under 400$ would be fine with me for 6 months. I loved the car, never had any trouble with it so another winter using it would be great.

In case you are on this thread, and have not browsed the Canada section lately, there is a thread on block heaters.

We don't have em, and apparently can not get them either..

I will not be driving my RX8 in the winter because in the past I owned a bmw. I stored it for 3 winters, and on the 4th winter I decided I'd take the car out. The car has never drivin the same since.

I just sold it, and because it was considered "winter driven"..... It lost some value.

I perfer to keep my rx8 for the next little while. I think I can handle looking at it for a few months in the garage. I'm also debating on moving down south, so I think all year driving of my 8 will be great for later on. :)

I've never used a block heater in the GTA these past 25 years. My cars had them up north when I lived there (Sudbury) because of the cold winters. All of the parking spots at work had plug-ins for block heaters so your car would start when you were going home after work.

You should have no problems here in our winters.

Anyone who has the money to purchase an Rx-8 should have enough scratch somewhere to get a beater for the winter. Go to a Police auction or something and pick up a car for the price of a nice meal. The winter is a savage for quickening the demise of both the engine (especially with our rotaries) and body.

Originally posted by Mr. Eccentric
Anyone who has the money to purchase an Rx-8 should have enough scratch somewhere to get a beater for the winter. Go to a Police auction or something and pick up a car for the price of a nice meal. The winter is a savage for quickening the demise of both the engine (especially with our rotaries) and body.

For me, it is not an issue with money. I just purchased a 2004 Toyota Matrix XR. I also have a 2001 Chev Cavalier and a 1985 Camaro IROQ Z-28. I bought the car so I could enjoy it year round. I've worked a lot, and I'm going to have fun 365 days a year and get my money's worth out of it. I do intend to take care of it. My IROQ is in extremely good shape, and has many years left in it. I have no worries or issues with driving in the winter as I've seen the result of it on my 18 year old car when I take care of it. Just to let you know, my 21 year old son is now driving the IROQ, and I know the car will go another ten years easy driving it year round.

My issue isn't about money either, because for the price of wheels and tires I could get another car.

But the pain in the butt it would be to sell that car every year, man what a pain, or store it someplace? Nah, not worth it. Plus I'd be paying for a car I can't drive?

I figure I'll trade it in 7 years down the road (maybe less), it will be still running fine than.