before I buy an 8
 

long time view, 1st time poster...........im thinking about buying an 8 ....before I do I have some questions....


1. This car will most likely be used in the winter ( :mad: ) isnt this car rear wheel drive? how does it drive in the snow? will getting snow tires make a difference?


2.from my house to my new job, it will be about 25mins away (highway) 21 miles...will this car eat away alot of oil/gas even though it will be highway miles?

1. yes, I don't know about snow I live in CAli, and yes.

2. I drive about the same distance to work, I fill up about once a week and for my oil I fill her up about every 1,000 to 1,200 miles. Just to give you an idea.

1. If your going to drive it in the snow yes snow tires are highly recommended. Long as snow isn't to bad it drives fine.

2. If you don't drive like a maniac ( like me ) then gas/oil shouldn't be a problem.

i live in CT, we get all kinds of snow storms, before i buy the car im trying to future situations.....i want the 8 so bad, but just the winter concerns me.....i drove a friends bmw when there was just alittle snow and forget it , the car was going all over the road.......dont want that happening to me with the 8 ........then again he didnt have snow tires on

A set of snow tires on 17" rims can be found for under $1,000 new or even less used from a board member. Do you have that money to spend and a place to keep the tires? That's what I do and it also helps keep the winter miles off of the nicer summer tires.

The car is basically undrivable on snow/ice with the stock high perf. tires, whether Dunlop of Bridgestone. But given proper snow tires (Blizzak is one of many possibilities) it's a whole different story.

eeps, I just bought an RX-8 and I live in Wisconsin. Even though our winter is for the most part over I believe that a good driver can beat the winter conditions in this car. You'll find it extremely stable.

I also live about the same distance away from my work and I will say that the gas does go down a bit faster than my previous car, but I think it's a small price to pay for such a damn cool car. (that and I have been driving it fairly hard)

I'd just suggest many many test drives to make sure that the car fits you.

One more thing, when i was buying the 8, the dealer was just about jamming winter tires down my throat. If you think the stock tires are loud, just try putting on winter tires! I think all-season tread should work fine.

I live in MA, so we get worse winters than you, and I didn't let that stop me. I did get snow tires for it, as everybody here recommends. Didn't have too many drive-in-the-snow occasions this winter, but had zero problems in those I did face.

I put 4 Blizzaks on 17" wheels....Wonderful in the snow/ice here in Albany NY... Dont even try it without snow tires.... :nono:

I'd assume too that you'd need to be sure to get the DSC / Traction control. Think you have to get the sports package to get it.

I have a base 8 manual with no DSC or TSC. I live in MN and we get plenty of snow. I drove my 8 most of the winter with snow tires. As long as I kept the RPM's below 4k or so it was fine.

The car handles very well on snow and ice WITH snow tires, better in fact than a number of front wheel drive cars I've owned.

Again, you HAVE to get snow tires. Please don't buy the car without them.

I live in Ontario just north of Toronto and decided *not* to winter drive it. By the time I bought winter rims and tires, it was just as cheap to buy a winter beater.

I was not concerned about my driving or the way the car handled. I was more concerned about the idiots drives that should not even be on the road in the winter, you know, the kind that slide into the intersection on red lights.

I drive in Chicago, they keep the roads pretty clear so I get away with Avon all season ultra performance tires. I put 245/40/18 on the stock wheels. Looks great and quieter then stock. In the snow they are OK, very good in rain. They would run you about $580 shipped, they give you about 90% of the OEMs and winter driving in one tire plus you can sell the OEM.