Excellent Bad Weather Car
 

When I say "bad weather", I mean California rain... When I mean "car", I mean RX8 with TCS/DSC (Sport or GT models).

The electronics (TCS/DSC) are so good I can't believe it. Try as I might, the car will not break free, even in driving/flooding rains. The ABS are also supurb. This car may be as good as any I've ever owned, and this is the first rear wheel drive (other than 4x4 truck) car I've every owned. My wife's Subaru is great, but I would say that this car is as good as the AWD in the rain.

I would be tempted to try driving this thing in the snow, with some good snow tires. I would bet that it is as good as the front wheel drives I used to drive through the Utah mountains in the winter.

Of course, turn off the TCS/DSC and this car is a blast to power slide and drift around in (wet roads are less punishing on the tires!).

Ditto for Snow

My old '97 Miata (with no electronic assistance of any sort) was the best winter vehicle I've ever owned. I've had a Cadillac, Talon, and Grand Prix, among others. It was a tank in the snow, loved the rain... just amazing. The 8, so far, has been just as good. That's part of the reason I love Mazdas; all that sporty engineering pays off when it matters most. :cool:

yeah, DO NOT turn off DSC/TCS (if you have it) in the rain...I had it off and hydroplaned...did a 180 into a cement barrier on a highway and tore a chunk out of the bumper

Yep- some of the most fun you can have behind the wheel... the '8 rocks in the snow. This morning was drift-o-riffic :D

I like that it doesn't drift in the snow but goes straight, that is unless you take off DSC which is fun in the right places. :)
Speaking of snow and bad weather. It is suppose to be 58 and rain here tomorrow, and 11 and snow on Friday. Gottal love northern Indiana weather. It snows drops to 0 then melts and goes to 50. Third time in a row since November. :D

Rain
 

I must concur. Was driving around Indy yesterday in torrential rains -- first for me in my 8 and it acted superbly. I have a 4Runner which was driving with me for most of the trip (my wife was driving it, while I drove the 8, for some long reason I won't explain). I am already suppressed by the 4Runner with AWD/4WD in the rain/snow. The 8 actually did a great job in the torrential rain at multiple speeds. Of course, I did not drive and unrecommended speeds. I want to live long.

Yup, I was driving in to work on a wet road this morning when I checked the traffic I was about to merge with, looked forward again and found the Jeep in front of me had slammed on his breaks. I slammed mine and the ABS kicked in and got the car slowed down. Yeah it was probably my fault, but the car saved my ass

Which brings up another point, Gambit....this car has saved my butt on several occasions thanks to its great stopping power.
For example...when going down I-20 at 75mph in the rain, you don't really expect traffic to just STOP. Note: this is INTERSTATE-20. Yep, there was an accident on the road and traffic just came to a halt. As I was slamming on my brakes and realized that I was going to stop in time, I became more worried about the people behind me not being able to stop. One guy had to use the grass median, but nobobdy else hit....

That's just one example. Yay RX-8!

You snow-drivers all have 'snow tires', right? ;)

Of course... there's no way to keep the shiny side up driving those OEM's in the snow and ice.

Or at least pointed the right direction...

I'm still battling the snow, every day :(

I had a similar experience (but in a Toyota Celica). The guy in front stopped, I stomped on the brakes. I heard screeching tires behind me, so I let up and swerved around the guy onto the shoulder. The car behind me skidded right through where I had been and slammed into the guy, with hefty damage to both vehicles. The Virginia State Trooper complimented me on my reflexes. *Whew!*

DAMN you're lucky, you woulda been sandwiched bigtime. I was headed toward the shoulder htis morning but the car stopped before I made it over

no snow tires btw, just the regular ones on a wet road

I'm LOVING my RX-8 in the snow on the Pirelli PZeroNero M+S tires. Yes, I know pure snows would be even better, but man, this works great! No issues getting around at all.

Stew

Yup...I LOVE driving this car in the rain, especially with all the rain around here recently. I am generally a very safe driver, but in this car I feel invincible in bad weather. My other car that I use to commute is a 1990 Toyota Previa with tires that need replacing, everytime it rains I shart in my pants while driving it. Hopping in the 8 after driving that thing is awesome.

Yeah, I know. It was one of those moments when I looked up into the sky and said, "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!"