flatso

There are very few things that I don't like about the great 8 but one thing that suprised me is how BAD the car is in the snow. I am shocked in this day and age of lawsuits and litigation that any modern car can be sold with "summer" tires. Is it just assumed nobody will drive these cars in anything but perfect weather? Do Mazda dealers point out that you will have to buy snow tires for this car if you drive it past November? Thanks to the many excellent posts about snow tires on this forum I was aware of the handling in the snow of the OEM's (of course you have to experience it to truly appreciate it) but how many unaware people will be driving down the highway hit a snow patch and..... let's hope can recover when the wheels break traction.

And the irony I was referring to is how my new modern car with traction controls and DSC and more computers then the had on the flight to moon spun it's wheels like a hamster on a habi-trail wheel in this last snowstorm(which I got caught in taking my car for the recall) and then I got in my 90 Maxima "Tree-beater" with none of these "safety" features or even ABS and it got me to work quickly and safely with hardly a wheel spin or a skid. That's progress?

Genom

I bet your Maxima has snow tires though. It's not that the car cant handle it, it's just the tire compound is not for snow. It says on all the paperwork high performance tires. I think in this day and age of litigation and suing everything, some people need to take personal responsability and be aware of their own needs. I know I dont need snow tires. I also know if I lived where it did snow, I would have certainly thought to ask the dealer about it. After all, it's MY life at risk, not my dealers.

Just another point of view.

G8rboy

All the computer power at NASA won't keep your wheels from spinning if the rubber compound in your tires has lost it's ability to grip.

Before I bought my RX-8 I ordered some 18" snow tires since I was familiar with the formula "performance tires + winter = disaster", so I only drove my new car for 24 hours without snowshoes. I did experience how bad those Potenzas are in the snow, so I called my dealer's sales mgr and told him to be sure they're telling everyone about the tire situation (since they didn't mention it to me). He tried to give me some line about how it's a rear-wheel drive sports car and shouldn't be driven in the winter anyway...so I spent the next 20 minutes educating him.

Even though the message that you need snow tires to drive an RX8 in the winter seems to made it's way around, seems there's still confusion over the reason- the car is no way at fault, unless you blame it for being a balanced, rear wheel drive car. Had they chosen to sell the RX-8 with all-season tires, then it could be considered driveable in the winter (although I wouldn't do it). With a car that can be pushed to the limits of handling, you don't want tires with a compromise, so Mazda did the right thing and put high performance tires on it instead. If you want to drive the RX-8 year round in cold climates and get the most out of it, you have to own two sets of tires- plain and simple. It's worth it, though!

Velocity-8

I sent Mazda USA a few emails about this and they said I need to buy snow tires if I want to drive the car in snow. I told them I was surprised that a car that is marketed as an everyday real world sports car should come with Ultra High Performance All Season tires. They ignored that part.

I told them that there are NO snow tires made in the stock size and that their owners book said not to use different size tizes due to the DSC and TCS. Their answer was they can't control the tire makers.

I told them I felt that the stock tire pose a saftey issue and that the car was very scary to drive in light snow. They said "Sorry for any inconveinces this may have caused."

Smoker

Hmmm..... think about the alternative, let say you are running Mazda, and you decided to put All-Seasons tires as a standard on the RX-8 for your reasons listed aboved.

Problems:
1) Performance figures for all aspects would be hammered becauses of tires are not designed for hard driving, track testing, etc etc.
2) In turns, the RX-8 would simply be known as a good looking Sport Coupe with limited performance, therefore you will miss the entire Sport Car market segment
3) Owner who actually bought the car would definitely complained about having to shell out extra $$$ to put Performance tires on the car just to get in back where it should be performing. (for reference, think Canzoomer and our HP issue)
4) Due to less than stellar reviews, and missing the performance oriented market segment the sale would be poor and results in a wasted of invest on part of Mazda, Results: goodbye Rotary Engine

All in all, I think Mazda did the right thing, it does not make sense for them to invest so much money in a performance vechicle and ended up slapping on some All-Seasons just to throw all that hard work away at the end. In a very narrow perspective, yes it would nice to have tires that work all season all but not if the car is in a Performance car market where owners expects top performance and are willing to shell out extra cash for snow tires if they want to drive it in the winter.

Roaddemon

I bought a set of snow tires and 17" wheels mounted from tire rack. They were delivered to my home 5 days before I picked up my new 8. They look great handle well and turn the 8 into a automotive snowmobile. No problem at all in 6" snow. Better than my front wheel drive 626. Only problem is they cost me $1300. Lucky I got a good deal on the 8 to compensate the snows. I let the dealer know I had to make up the cost on the deal and I did.

Positron

This isn't just an issue with Mazda. If you go look at any number of high performance sports cars of different makes, they usually come with High Performance Summer Only tires. I agree that Mazda did the right thing. I DO think that the Dealers should have/should continue to make it VERY clear to prospective buyers that the tires that come on the car are NOT for snow use.

BTW, I will probably switch back to the OEMs this weekend. As good as the snows are, I want the higher performance back. So WINTER IS OVER!

mm

Baller

We live in Vegas and Southern California.....what's snow....

G8rboy

It's this real fun stuff we get to play in while you're dealing with sweltering heat, earthquakes, mudslides, wildfires, blackouts, smog checks, high gas prices and stupid governors

D MENAC 7

It's these annoying white flakes that render the RX-8 useless unless you purchase $700+ worth of snow or all season tires and put them on your car.

OK, Baller, I know for a fact that you, on rare occasions, get snow in Vegas. It happened just this past winter, didn't it? We had a student who went there for his and his wife's honeymoon and he said it actually snowed there. Not sure if you had any accumulation but, if you did, did you take your 8 out and experience this bliss?

D MENAC 7

G8rboy, I'm only 20 posts from catching up with you!

D MENAC 7

Ooops, make that 19...errrrr, 18, forgot to count this one. :D

Velocity-8

I totally understand what you're saying but the Potenza 040 aren't even that good of a Summer tire.

havyn

even the IS300 comes with summer-only tires...think about it.

G8rboy

Bastard! Soon you'll be mocking me with your brake light mod flashing in my face as you pass me!

flatso

Good point of view and I absolutely agree that you should be responsible for your own actions...but I am also a realist, a lot of people that will buy this car because it looks "cool" when they go to the PTA meeting or the Macaroni Grill. These are the ones I worry about. Most that post on here are more performance knowledgeable then the average person. A lot of buyers won't be as tech savvy and until they hit that first ice patch know how dangerous this car is in the snow. They should at least offer the option of a high performance all season and explain why they offer this option.

Perhaps I am making more of this then I should but just voicing an opinion. I still will be driving the crap out of this car come spring :p

PS my Max has all seasons

D MENAC 7

What???? You haven't bought one from me yet??? I thought all the cool guys already had one on their RX-8s.

The French Guy

To ‘where’ it may concern:

Winter = Snow = SNOW tires!!!!!!!!!!!

????????

Serge

Phase2

It all depends on the dealer you go to (and the country you are in). My dealer told me up front that when I got the car I could not drive it in snow. Over here when you are driving in snow on summertires your insurance will not pay out anyway in case of an accident.

Lucky I got my car the 1st of March, so only had to leave it at home once without buying any winter tires.

G8rboy

Nah- I made my own and started marketing it on eBay- it gives you a 20hp boost, too!!


j/k... I've been planning on it actually- you did a great job. Drop me a PM and tell me how you're taking orders... thanks.

D MENAC 7

I pointed this out on another thread a while back that Mazda should have offered a different tire for those of us who live in climatic regions. It is not summer here, 24/7 365.

BRx8

Ladies and Gentlemen we have a winner for this year's Most Redundant Statement Award! hooray for the French...

G8rboy

I mentioned to my dealer's sales manager that they could make some good money selling a winter tire package by working with TireRack.com on sourcing the tires, and as an option having them mounted on a second set of rims with TPS monitors installed and ready to go... It would be good for them selling more Miatas and RX8's in the winter, and good for the customer to have the option right there at the dealer. He basically said 'whatever'.

Yeah- get back to selling those beneficial add-ons like window etching, underbody coating and gap insurance. Thanks.

911SC

Your Maxima is also front wheel drive no? Also, if they put all season tires on the car they would have to limit it to the tire speed rating, most likely around 118 mph. Then you would be bitching about how Mazda made a sports car and put a low speed limit on it. Just use common sence.

Positron

I noticed the last time I was at my local dealership (got the recall done) that they now have signs that they carry snow tires and rims for all cars. Their prices are even pretty competitive. Surprise. They didn't have them last fall when I needed them of course. Oh well.

mm