Velocity-8

LOL :D

Tinkerer

Menac,

You're from IL and never loaded up the back end on a rear wheel drive? Standard practice in the northeast and it works! Besides, if you really get stuck you just crack open a bag of sand and start throwing it under a tire!

Tinkerer

dag

I am starting to feel lucky I am in Colorado right now. Who would have thought that for the past two weeks, the weather in Colorado would be that much better than NJ. Either way, I would rather be testing my Winter wheels out in NJ than here driving a crappy rental car.

dag

doccable

Velocity-
Check out this thread... Omicron found a helluva buy on some all seasons.

Ajax

well, i'm originally from IL so i can handle the ice, but then again, i've never driven a rear wheel drive car on ice... only FWD... if it ices here in dallas, i'll just stay home :b

Velocity-8

Thanks. Those tires are on the top of my list. I'm looking at new rims with Summer tires and using the stock rims for UHP All Seasons or HP Winter tires.

Either way, today was too scary. I've been driving for over 20 years and today was the most helpless I've felt in a car in a long long time.

Irish_in_a_RX8

iTrader: (1)

Glad to hear you made it. We certainly got a punch today, i got caught this morning at the 8.30 rush. Isnt it supposed to be spring this saturday!...

Velocity-8

Thanks! Be careful tomorrow morning. There is a black ice warning.

Oh, Happy St Patty's Day too!! I would love to be back in St James Gate right about now!

Irish_in_a_RX8

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Velocity. Everyone has been asking the 'irish' guy what I'll be up to...normally its a quiet Guinness next to the fire - j/k, normally quite a few beers amongst 10 pubs! Tommorrow though its going to be a different story...with weather conditions as they are. Oh Well.

Happy St Pats!

D MENAC 7

Nope, never have loaded up a rear end of any vehicle with rear wheel drive with weight.

Trust me on this one, no amount of weight will do any amount of good for traction with the stock tires as they are on this car. The reason has to do with the compound the tires are made of. They get hard as a rock in the cold and do not give to allow any movement of the tread to grip at all. I have had experience with this just this past month.

Putting weight in the rear of this vehicle will throw the ballance off so that when things start to break traction, the rear now being the heaviest section of the car will pull around due to the forces of physics and you will lose control faster than without the weight.

On these tires in snow, weight has no factor what so ever as far as extra gripping force. Post a thread and you will have multiple members atesting to this fact.

My last vehicle was a pick up truck. I NEVER weighted the rear of this truck. I know that is the most common practice for a truck. However, I ordered what I knew was the most efficient way to get around in the winter and in wet conditions. I got a slip differential rear end. The RX-8 has a similar rear end but the biggest difference is the tires. That is why with winter tires, the 8 is a tank so long as it doesn't get over 4 inches of snow underneath it.

The tires on my truck were your typical all season radials. I remember in particular a Christmas Eve of 2002 where we had a snow that was coming down fast. That year my wife and I procrastinated and had to get just a few more presents so we braved the weather and went out in my truck. Mind you, no additional weight in an empty bed and all I had on it was a toneau cover. Because of my learning to drive experience in driving in a town where it was all hills and curves (typical river town on the Mississippi) I knew very well how to drive in this type of weather. I was passing pick up after pick up who were stranded on level pavement at stop lights and chuckling all the way to my wife to look at the fools who couldn't get going.

Well, this winter on my stock tires, I discovered how they fealt as I was the one who was nearly stranded in 1-2 inches of a surprise snow squall as I left work early one day. It took me over 45 minutes to drive what normally takes 20.

I add 300 pounds to my vehicle as I am not a small person. This had absolutely no effect. You could say I am built like a pro wrestler, though if only I had another 6 inches, either way, I could have beeen famous by being in the ring or in a particular type of movies. :D

RevRaz

I'm surprised to hear that all your co-workers also drive in sideways :D

Seriously though, good to hear you avoided it.

Velocity-8

Thanks!

They get on the road farther down from the icey spot but they saw the police heading back where I was.

Tinkerer

I've driven many a rear wheel drive with weight. It's always worked but I'll head your warning about these stock tires. We learned how to drive in the snow and everyone was expert at driving forward, sideways.

I was out in it today and the rear end snapped loose on just about every backroad turn (not being so careful) but never felt like it was going to come around. (Knocking on wood) I've never lost a rear wheel drive in the snow unless I was in a lot having fun. I'm not so sure this will come around on me, but it's been a good 10 years since I've driven anything but FWD or AWD. I'm being a little cautious but driving more like I used to with RWD in the snow

RX-GR8

.

Velocity-8

RX-GR8

That is HILARIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!