Angel Gabrial

hey guys what do you do about the heavy snow calgury. do you drive the rx-8 a truck or what how do you set the car up for the drive. my friend is moving to canada and wants to get an 8 soon.

sg_rx8

I've had my RX-8 for a week now and I can tell you that if you toss on some winter tires you'll be fine in the snow. The traction control and ABS are very effective and I have no problem getting around.

What I'd be more concerned is the extreme cold days. I've heard there can be some starting issues once you get down below -25C. I guess I'll know in about a week. lol

mrobert55

For my self that live in the province of Quebec...The RX8 is the best car ever to get into the snow..:O) lots of fun also if you take off the traction control..:O)
Just buy good winter tire..for myself I buy the 18 inch 225/40/18 rated 'V'!!
Hankook IceBears...
You have 238hp to get out of snow with very good ABS Brake and traction control work so great..just don't forget to take it off when you want to get out of snow...:O)

www.racingpurposeonly.com

boffam

iTrader: (1)

^I got the Ice Bears as well (W300) except 17". Funny thing...they are so quiet compared to the OEM RE040's my car is like a tomb now! Good to hear they performed well; they saw a few flakes on the way to London the other day but that was it. I've always felt sports cars are great to drive in the winter due to the communicativeness of their controls. You just have to respect their limitations, specifically ground clearance.

rx8frank

Hey finally someone from Quebec I was getting lonely hehehe

Nice to see you here mrobert55, i'm on clubrxquebec.com also.

I don't drive my 8 in snow 'cause I have steep driveway and i've owned a mustang (and had traction control) once and drove it all winter and each time I drove in my driveway I always got stuck (well most of the time it was 6" to 8" of snow) and I told myself that I would never ever drive a RWD in the snow

sg_rx8

I've got 18' Blizzak's and they are great. That's a very good point about taking traction control off if you do get stuck. With it on you will never get anywhere. Also fun to turn off and go sideways around corners

chynaman

hehe from quebec too (montreal) To be honest with you i think it's one of the good car that i drove in winter. Maybe its because i expected the worst but if you drive it like a rwd with winter tires you should be good.

BlueFrenzy

I've got the Icebears as well. Over the last 3 winters, the 8 performs just fine. Starting is not an issue either with the new flashes and the new hot plugs. The handling is just fine thanks to the 50/50 weight balance ... if anything, better than a FWD. I'm more scared of the idiot drivers around me running in their all-seasons (aka no-season tires).

The only thing I don't like in the extreme cold is the squishy feel of the clutch (guess it comes with any manual car in the winter) and the molasses-like shifting (also comes with driving manual). I was actually considering switching to synthetic transmission fluid to help with this.

Besides, we've been lucky and haven't had too much snow this winter.

LiTTleRX-8

It's not bad for the most part, and like most say, there hasn't been much snow in Calgary this year (yet). However in my area there is lots of ice and hills, practice starting in 2nd gear and he should be fine.

The City is sometimes slow at shovelling specific roads, so try not going out if there is a lot of snow until they are shovelled.

rx8frank

hey don't worry the traction control were off each time just before I hit my driveway... and I'm little suprise to see good comments regarding driving the 8 during the winter I wouldn't tought and it's great. I made a choice not letting it out in the winter 'cause I want to keep it for a long time( the calicium, rocks they put on the road).

rx8frank

So it looks we're three now hehe...are you on clubrxquebec.com forum we do meeting each year...

mrobert55

Hopping to be in a bigmeeting this year in the USA or Ontario...
We don't look alot in quebec that go on forum..mostly are rx7...
Just to check I payd my 225/40/18 icebears 926$CA ints. and TX include...

early 30's crisis

Little RX8 is right, not alot of snow here but depending where you are and where you go, ice can be a lot of fun *not so much*.
A set of winters is a must, and beware the flying gravel...
The city is great with plowing major roads, but residential for the most part gets the shaft and we're left to our own devices..

The thing here is the temp can vary 20 degrees or more in one day.. it can be a blizzard and then melting the next day. Can be very interesting to drive.. but at least it keeps you on your toes!

PS Tell your friend to keep the washer fluid full at all times

rotten42

Please do a search on the subject. There has to be 50 threads in the Canadian section alone on this topic