Rain & snow performance?
 

I've been reading the horror stories about the 8's snow performance and I'm getting a little nervous (planning on leasing later this year). The common solution seems to be getting 17" snow tires. Does that pretty much take care of it? I'm in Connecticut and we have plenty of snow and hills, so winter performance is a big concern for me. btw anyone have pictures of their 8 with snow tires/17s?

Also how's the rain performance? I did a search on that but didn't get much. Thanks!

MUGATU WILL GET YOU !!!!

Anyways, rain performance is the same as any RWD sports car, i.e. more fun to sling it around :aroused:

As for now, snow tires should do the trick. I plan to get some this winter (for upstate NY). Drove a miata for 3 years on snow tires and that was great, so I don't see any issues forthe 8.

Here's a pic of the SheDevil with her snows on ... and YES you need them!

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...w/DSC00360.jpg

There are about a million threads on how bad it is with stock tires and a million more on how well it does with snow tires. Here's one now
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...highlight=snow

Just don't expect a Jeep.

Snow Tires

You can get 18" snow sport tires. They are a tad mushy compared to the Potenzas but I never had a single problem with them rain or snow. Some people swear by the Blizzaks but the Pirelli's work great for me. My town gets 50-135" of snow a year :eek:

The Potenzas on the other hand will kill you in the snow and you have to be careful in the rain or coming outta the car wash. I almost hit a guard rail the first time I washed the car. Scared me enough to drive like a granny when it rains.

:P

i cruised at 100mph in the rain not too long ago. stock tires were great. also have a set of snowsports that got me through the winter with very little problem. 17" blizzaks would've done better since i had 18's

Made it through the last week or so of rain we've had in RI without much concern; still had my speeds up, but not over 80. Can't really go much faster since the 'tarded drivers around here reduce speed WAY too much in the rain. Drop to 35mph highway speeds in the rain, but no speed reduction in the snow - WTF?

But I digress. The stock tires will handle fine in the rain, it's the driver who generally is the problem (in all weather conditions, frankly). That being said, these Potenza 040s are rated poorly by every source you care to look up. So there are many better options if you've got the dough.

I had a similar car wash incident. I needed to make a left turn out of the parking lot into the street, which required crossing a median.......HERSHEY SQUIRT TIME!!

:Eyecrazy:

:uhh:

:eek:

:eyetwitch

I felt like I was in NFSU.

Car Wash + Self - Traction = DEATH!!

...if the car has Potenzas to begin with.

Kaidomac, if you don't know this already, the Potenzas that are roundly criticized on this forum are not on every '8. Mine came off the boat with the alternative tire, the Dunlop 8090's. Those that have driven both say that the Dunlops are better in the rain, and I can attest that they are certainly acceptable. If you punch it on wet pavement while turning you can engage the traction control, but nothing that you wouldn't expect. Drive them reasonably and you won't be surprised.

As for snow, fuhgedaboutit. Repeat after me: "I will not drive the stock tires in the snow. I will not drive the stock tires in the snow. I will not drive the stock tires in the snow...."

Hehe you need to move over here to CT; our drivers go FASTER in the rain :D I'm debating leasing versus buying right now. I enjoy leasing because it takes the hassle of maintaining the car and selling it off me, but from what I've read on snow driving in the 8, the winter tires are a necessity. So leasing + $1,000+ snow tires? Hmm...

I have had BFG KDW2's on for 1.5 years. With these tires, rain performance is as good as it gets in a rwd car. It'll still slide if you over do it, but the tires combined with the DSC makes for much confidence on wet roads. Stopping performance in the wet is great as well.

(They'll even get you around, with many white knuckles and a little cursing, in an inch or 2 of wet snow, but I don't recommend it :))

In other words, it's all in the tires.

For cold climates (snowy or otherwise) get a set of all-seasons or snows. The OEM Potenza RE040 tires are hard as rocks at anything below about 40F. They warm up quickly on dry days but if it's cold and raining, they probably won't ever warm up. DSC has saved me on a number of occasions on cold, rainy mornings.

:doh:
oh yeah . . .

leasing also means less ability to make any changes. remember - friends don't let friends drive stock!