If you're changing wheels too, it's generally a good idea to get the wheels one size thinner and smaller to "slice" through the snow and give your wheels (I didn't say car) better clearance. You will save money on the wheel/tire combo that way and also save gas by not having wider tires that have a snowshoe effect while creating more resistance in snow.

 

Seriously, it is nice to live in California and not have to deal with the problems of winter like you guys do. I mean yeah i know this year i will be driving up the hill but last year it didnt snow much up there. Down the hill, we get rain and what not but no snow. :-D

 

What about Big Bear? Doesn't it snow up there?

 

Yeah it snows up in big bear and lake arrowhead and crestline but it didnt seem to much last winter. I will have to make trips up the mountain once in a while to crestline so i might invest in some snow tires when i get an 8.

 

The thing that makes the RX8 so great in the summer is the thing that kills it in the winter.....it's too light. Any type of grade and you'll be spinning those tires......TCS is a joke and doesn't help for ****. My advice, the RX8 will do nicely in the winter for driving on roads that have been plowed. If your away from home and hear about snow coming.....go home fast before it accumulates. I drove my RX8 year-round here in MI without too much trouble.....but I only drove it when snow was actually falling and roads were not yet groomed once.......and I never did it again.

Do yourself a favor.....save the $1000-1200 you would spend on snow tires and take "snow days" from work. Most of the winter in the North is groomed roads where snow tires aren't needed. Unless your spending a lot of time driving in actual snow.....they are a waste of money.

 

What is winter? Is that ski season?

 

Snow tires are a softer compound and are needed not just for snow but for very cold weather. Below freezing the OEM tires will get poor traction but snow tires will be able to grip. I for one will be getting 17" rims and snowtires, about $1000 shipped from tirerack in the next couple of months. If you live anywhere that you have freezing temps I'd reccommend snow/winter tires.

 

IMO, snow tires are where it's at. Snow tires with TCS makes the car bearable, and dare I say fun, to drive in the snow. I'm not one for letting mother nature dictate when and where I can go for a couple months out of the year. To me, they are worth every penny I spent on them. I'll say it at the risk of sounding like a broken record, but if anyone attempts to drive their RX-8 in any kind of snow accumulation without winter tires they are just plain stupid.

 

OK. The tires that come with this car are rated level 3, which is the highest rated traction, as well as all weather designation, on a tire. What am i missing?

 

From the Toronto Area in Canada, It can get pretty hairy up here during the Winter I have seen a few 8 in the winter but i chose to store my car my beater is 95 corolla with winter tires

 

If you're talking about the Original Equipment tires (either Bridgestone Potenza or Dunlop SP Sport) they are summer performance tires. The tire material is formulated to grip well in warm weather only. In cold weather, they become hockey pucks, and don't grip worth a damn. In snow they're basically useless, even dangerous. So either 1) get snow tires for winter use, 2) get all-season tires for year-round use (yuk), or 3) don't drive the car at all during the winter.

 

I have Dunlops on mine in winter and it handles great! Snow on ground=winter tires!!!