My assumption is NO! But it's worth asking. I am moving to Anchorage from Seattle in the next couple of months and due to financial situations I am unable to purchase a new vehicle. I am assuming that I will need to keep my car in storage in alaska until April or May once the snow is gone. But that worries me a lot because rx8's need to be driven. I'm afraid I will have more problems keeping it in storage than leaving it here. So confused! Thanks for your help.

 

are you living in the city? i'm sure they use snow plows there and with some good winter tires you should be ok. if you're outside the city, i think you'll have some issues.

2-4 inches tonight and it's only October.

 

thanks for your reply, and yes they use plows in the city but I'm concerned with my car being rear wheel drive. I'd like to talk to someone that has driven an rx8 in the snow.

 

i live in spokane. not saying we get a ton of snow, but i live on base and the roads are fn horrible. i get stuck everynow and then, especially when its icey. but the snow is manageable, just leave a few minutes early. i drove two winters with bald *** toyo's and i got from a to b. honestly it was kinda fun drifting around base and not breaking everything on my car. alaska may suck. just put it in storage untill the global warming kicks in then we can all drive without the worry of snow.

 

I live in Canada. I drove my car in winter in the snow. I had to put on winter tires and put 4 bags of sand in my trunk. Gas milage -1, grip +1. Its do-able. I'm not going to be doing it again this winter. I'm getting a winter beater. So yes it is possible.

 

I would say Studs are a must and be weary of hill starts. The sand bags are likely a good idea.

Some general tips about snow:

Don't ever try and Turn and Brake. It doesn't work, you're going to lock the front tires and under-stear straight ahead.

While going sideways is fun, always be aware of where your *** end is.

Brake early, brake lightly. Your tires only have so much grip, trying to stop suddenly will likely lock the tires, you want them turning, they're more effective that way (even/especially while trying to stop).

First chance you get, go to a parking lot with fresh snow and just plain feel how the car behaves.

If they salt the roads up there (I assume they do) wash the underbody of your car weekly, if not daily. All it takes 1 one winter and any work on your suspension goes from taking a hour to taking 5.

 

Thank you! That was very helpful. I was also worried about the salt on the roads, how do I clean underneath my car? I'm still a little nervous but I think going to an empty parking lot will be helpful just to get a handle on how it feels. Thanks again!

 

Just use a hose with a Nozzle... though really, all of this is more complicated because you're in Alaska. It's a lot colder there than I've had to deal with before (I spent the last 5 years living on the shore of Lake Ontario in Upstate NY, snowed 3-4 times a week during the winter).

Alaska complicates the cleaning thing because you're definitely going to need to keep the Hose inside to keep it from freezing and in general, I'd be worried about cold starts. Will you have a heated garage? :P:

One last thing, make sure you get the under body treated to prevent salt corrosion. It's standard on all cars sold in New England but I'm making the assumption that it's not in some parts of the NW (such as Seattle?). We're probably talking up to $1k to get this done but it's worth it if the car doesn't have anything coating it now.

 

I am the owner of a 2004 6-speed RX-8, and I live and drive my car every day in Fairbanks Alaska. Just about a week prior to first snowfall I installed Blizzak LM-25 tires.. and I have had only one problem this winter.. getting started up an extremely steep hill after someone stopped in front of me. I ended up putting 200 pounds in the tire well area, and since then I've had no problems. The important thing is to make sure you slow down in advance of stop lights, and be gentle letting the clutch out to avoid wheel spin. Don't try to take off fast, and remember that you get a lot of power in the higher rpms - don't get up past 6k unless you are on dry road. I have an oil pan heater and a transmission heater that I use to plug my car in when its outside, and I keep it garaged overnight. Anchorage is a bit different than up here though.. the big difference is that you will have to deal with a lot more wet snow than I will due to our lower temperatures. but the Blizzaks should take care of most of the problems.

If you have any specific concerns that I didn't mention something about, just let me know.

 

Absolutely!

I drive my car in the winter and it's actually really good!

I use bridgestone blizzak ws50 and they grip like crazy. Our winter was insane last year and I never got stuck once.

 

I got my awd winter beater for 1200$ canadian and put maybe 300$ on it during the winter. Winter tires + rims for the rx8 cost alot more than crap tires you can fit on an escort or a protege, you need 17".

In the end, I was much better of with my subaru. Check this possibility out, it costs almost the same, and you dont want to wreck your rx8 dont you?

 

Just remember too, you're not supposed to pump your brakes if you have ABS, but there is an exception. If you are sliding with your brake foot to the floor, and all four wheels are completely stopped. The ABS has no idea the car is moving. Take your foot off the brakes to let the tires spin and then reapply the brakes to let the ABS and stability control start to work again.

 

how do you know they're completely stopped?

 

You're sliding and not slowing down.. :P

 

could be still rolling though..

 

When you're sliding smooth and your brake pedal is not doing the ABS crunch. ( I think it feels like the brakes are coming apart when the ABS is activating).

 

ahh ok

 

It's very rare that you slide in a perfectly straight line, usually the back end will come out in one direction or another, even if it's by a small amount.

Scott, that's a pretty epic point. I've never experienced that but I'd imagine it'd have to be a pretty long, steep hill.

 

I experienced that on the first BSCC event in the snow when I tried to get up the first hill off of the freeway to get to the track. I was sliding down the hill sideways and I realized the car didn't know it was moving. I released the brakes, let the wheels spin and reapplied the brakes and it started to slow.