How's The RX-8 Perform In The Snow?
 

Had one for six winters, up here in north Canada, with one set of snow tires.

Has ABS, stability control and traction control - my last car (Acura) had 'none of the above'......

Stops nice and straight with two wheels on ice and two on pavement, and accelerates with no problem out of the same situation. Obviously if you drive it like a rally car you will end up in the weeds, but same with any car.

However, the stock summer rubber has the same traction qualities found in a hockey puck, so without dedicated winter tires you are a dead man.......

S

Okay, thank you. So, winter tires are basically a must if you're going to drive it in the snow? How much do those cost normally?

All winter tires are not created equal. Better to refine your question a little based on what tires your looking for. I now use Blizzaks religiously - they do an excellent job and wear really well. By far the best winter tire for the RX8 I found back when I was a new owner.

One caution, be sure your OK with cleaning up body rust if your using in the winter, especially if roads are treated with sand (paint chips) or salt.

Find a great selection of tires at good prices on TireRack.com.

Thanks you. What prices do the Blizzaks range from?

Here in Chicagoland, I've never used snow tires. I use all-season tires in the winter. I must admit that the roads are usually plowed by the time I get out and the Continental tires I use are more optimized for snow than most tires.
What ever you do, don't try to use the summer tires when the temperatures drop below freezing. The rubber is too hard and you will loose traction quickly.

last winter in PA we got him by back to back to back blizzards. I drove my 8 lowered and with winter tires, drove like a champ.

Just make sure you let your car warm up nice and plenty before you go anywhere.

Tip: Drive slow, 5mph below the limit.. then when conditions change drive accordingly, which means much slower.

Always look ahead and beware of black ice and ice unser the snow, becareful of stop sign areas.

Most Americans alive today drove Rear Wheel vehicles so don't be paramoid.

Stay out of deep snow - I find that if the snow starts "lifting" the car - it will tend to lose traction - even with snow tires.

with proper tires the 8 does pretty good as long as you arent plowing snow

Sounds like my neighborhood last year. Nobody is nice enough to come plow through our neighborhood so the wife gets stuck driving me on bad days. I hate the sound of my car plowing through ice.

A good set of snow tires go a long way during the winter months. Good tires and throttle control and you'll be just fine. Just tone back the aggressive driving habits when need be.

what kind of snow tires do you use? were supposed to get a bad winter this year in Idaho so I may be forced to buy snow tires for my car for the first time.

Blizzaks
They got me through the last 2 winters here in NJ without a problem. Last winter was NO walk in the park, the Northeast was nailed by snow all season.

Oh I know. I heard about that mess.

Yea Blizzaks are amazing, the commercial is true. Lol I saw a jeep jet stuck on a hill and i made it up with my 8.

We have a pretty nasty storm going today in Denver Metro CO. I have BStone Blizzak LM-60 225/45/18 on and the car was a breeze. Snow and/or sluch about 4" on the road, a 3 mile stretch with glazed ice from blowing snow, and some long steep hills. I have the GT with Traction control, stability control etc. Car was rock solid passing SUVs, AWDs, FWDs that were struggling. Just as good as my BMWs and better than my Audis, Speed6, and EVO VIII.

Hope this helps anyone else new to this car in snow.

I've had similar experiences in my 8. With winter tires, heartily recommended. (With summer tires, don't even think about it. Completely different car.)

I can vouch for that. I can tell I'm losing traction with my summer tires even when the pavement is dry, just due to low temperatures. The on ramp near my house requires a sharp right turn, and I can feel the back end starting to slide out whenever I push the car at all when I have summer tires + low temps (e.g., 40 or less). Swapping to the winter tires makes a world of difference in low temps, not to mention snow or ice.

So even if you aren't going to drive your 8 in the snow, be sure to get winter tires or switch to all-season tires if you plan to drive it when it's cold.

Just had my first run in with snow with the 8. While moving its not to horrible, but just trying to get out of my girlfriends driveway was a nighmare yesterday.. I just hope there doesn't come a day where we get hammered with snow while I'm at work..

I've decided that once I save up a little money I want to buy and AWD Subaru, I've found some decent ones on Craigslist for around $2000, (they are '95 - '99) but they seem in good shape. And it's just ment to be a winter/beater car (an also save on gas a bit lol)

I live in NYC and we get a fair amount of snow and ice, like others have said , with the right winter tires ( i used to use Dunlop winter Ports but now Conti Extremes DWI) and take it easy and drive with common sense you re fine. Really deep stuff unless plowed can cause a problem as she will plow and get stuck. Keep some weight in the trunk like a bag of rock salt and small military shovel for digging. I also keep a strip of rubber matting back there too in case i Do get stuck I can slip that under the rear wheels. Summer tires on anything over a sprinkling will have you doing nothing but spinning your wheels:) get some good winter rubber, drive carefully, and like someone said non aggressively, put the front seat warmers on on and enjoy being in your ride!