Racingwhore

I'm possibly driving my RX-8 in the winter...Its my first winter with this car in NY....

Anyone have any tips on how to keep my baby perfectly fine in the Winter....???

truemagellen

you NEED winter tires, period.

let the car warm up...start up the car, you can start moving just don't rev it high low till the needle on the temp reaches the middle

SimplexEffect

I am going without winter tires all winter... I simply dont feel like spending $1,000 for new tires.

Also because i live in East Texas. So it doesnt get to cold or snow much here.

bean438

Winter tires for sure. If you plan to keep your car for a while get it "krowned". Oil sparay that penetrated everywhere and coats your vehicle, driving and keeping out moisture.
It is the only rust proofing endorsed by some consumer groups. Not to be confused with dealer rustproofing, and requires an annual re aplication.

truemagellen

you live in East Texas you say but you also said you were going to New York...

which one is it...

Unfortunately if you value your car you will not be able to drive it once the temp dips into freezing, period. Any ice on the road your car will be off the road.

Even as the temperature was in the 40s around here I was losing traction...the tires were stiff and stability was compromised.

I can point you to many threads with stories of accidents involving morons who drove in the winter without winter tires or atleast all season tires



I went with Blizzak LM-22s same size as stock tires...yes I'm getting another set of rims and possibly new tires for the spring...but this decision was implied when I bought the car in MN (you can also do other combos, ie 17 rims with winter tires)

rotten42

Well good luck with that!.....hope we don't see you posting pics of your smashed up 8.

Silver04RX8

Please leave DSC on and get yourself some good snow tires, something like Truemagellan is using.

StewC625

All seasons, in an area that takes good care of the roads, will work as well. Not as good as all-seasons, but they will work.

JM1FE

s/all-seasons/snows/

:D

SimplexEffect

Let me clear something up...

I live in East Texas, and I never said i was going to NY.

So i have no idea where you got that from...

BAM-BAM

Hmm... Well, I have driven a 400 HP Cobra Vert with Nitto drag radials and a 500 HP Lightning with Toyo proxies, both in the Michigan winter for several years..(temps as low as 0 degrees and snow/ice galore) and a little extra care got me through just fine, with NO DSC or TC (well, the cobra had TC but it wasn't worth a crap). So I dont see a little 200hp 6 speed being much trouble unless you drive in winter weather exactly as you do in summer, with no extra care whatsoever. I have friends with ZO6's, Lightnings, Cobra's and Formula's that drive all through winter also, yet they get through just fine as well. NONE of which change the performance tires, and many have drag radials. A little care, intelligence and lack of malice of forethought goes a long way.

Jajabor

SimplexEffect, you got confused for Racingwhore. Now you have an idea. It's cool bro, honest mistake.

Anyway, getting back on topic. I am driving my 8 in chicago. It won't snow hopefully for at least another month. But someone mentioned that regardless of snow, low temperatures can also throw the car off. How serious is that?

I am debating heavily between getting winter tyres and a beater car. Furthermore, my the mechanic at my dealership suggested that I get new 15 inch rims and snow tyres. Tirerack's recommended snow tyres are for 17 or 18 inches. I have stock 18 inches with summer tyres. Don't know what to do and time's running out. Any words of wisdom?

truemagellen

Jajabor thanks for pointing out the confusion...but that Texas owner (simplexeffect) really has nothing to worry about, he lives in texas!

Johnnyma45

Because of the brake size the smallest you can go is 17in. I got a set of 18in. Hankooks, on stock rims.

Mugatu

iTrader: (1)

I just put my snows on yesterday, as last year I learned the hard way that even in a 1/4" dusting, the stock tires so absolute ****. But after putting winter tires on, I could drive around 4x4s that were struggling.

There is no ifs, ands or buts....GET WINTER TIRES BEFORE YOU GET STUCK OR GET INTO AN ACCIDENT. Do a search to see what trouble other people have gotten into when they thought they had the "skill" to drive in snow on the stock tires. It ain't pretty.

truemagellen

Plus getting winter tires on your stock rims give you an excuse to buy new rims preferably 19s and new tires

you create necessity for yourself in the spring

RX8_Buckeye

BAM-BAM: I have no idea what your driving experience was like with the Cobra, and I can't explain why you'd be able to get around in that car with drag radials, but I can tell you from my personal experience that it is simply impossible to drive the RX-8 safely through the Michigan winter with the stock tires. It has nothing to do with driving ability and everything to do with the fact that the stock Bridgestones have absolutely no traction on snow or ice. Even when I was lucky enough to get the car moving forward, turning the steering wheel did nothing to change the direction of the car until the speed decreased below a certain threshold (~5 mph) and jerked to the side. My RX-8 was stuck in the garage throughout all of January and February last winter. Trust me, I tried on a couple of occasions to drive the '8 to work even when the main roads were clear, but the packed snow and ice in my neighborhood prevented me from going anywhere. I had to have a couple of kids on their way to school help me push the car back up the driveway... very embarassing.

xabjw4

Another tip for drivers (the ones wisely using their snow tires) in very cold climates is to replace your leading plugs (the NGK RE7A-L) with the optional hot plug for the leading position, the NGK RE6A-L. This is suppose to ensure proper cold weather operation of the motor. I was surprized to know that the 13Bmsp fires the trailing plug first at idle then the leading plug. At anything above idle, its leading plug firing first then the trailing one.

Great, Jeff B.

Wankeler

Depends on if you can get a beater cheaper than the cost of 4 - 18" Snow tires. :D

cpchester

Are the stock tires on the 16 inch wheels good for all-season use?

yamajj

this defines the drivers from the non-drivers. i've driven many a rear wheel drive cars and have never used winter tires and have been just fine with no crashes. i got a 6 speed to have fun and also to be able to drive on crappy road conditions, including ice and snow. to mother nature, i say bring it on!

yamajj

dmp

Snow? in Tulsa?

Raevik

Ok.

I have stock tires (Bridgestones) and am going to need to pick up some snow tires. What tires do you guys recommend that fit a stock setup with stock rims with no extra manipulation?

I want simple, effective, and cheap. I don't intend to put the screws to my snow tires by testing exit ramp speeds in 2 inches of powder.

Racingwhore

Hey guys..what about like time to warm up the car??....Problems involving Flooding....???

RX8_Buckeye

Sure, the dozens of members of this forum who nearly crashed at the first hint of snow last year just don't know how to drive like you . I'm sure that's it.

The fact that the car is rear-wheel-drive has nothing to do with its lack of traction when equipped with the stock tires. Put the Bridgestones on a light front-wheel-drive car and the situation will be nearly as bad. Hell, the Bridgestones on an AWD car will make it nearly undrivable in the snow. But don't just take it from me, ask any other knowledgeable person on the forum.