Really Dissapointed W/Traction
 

:( This really sucks. Here is the story. I had a new garage built. Insulated and drywalled. Had the 8 in there. Needed to move it from one side to the other so I could finish taping the drywall. I got stuck in the alley just backing out and pulling back in.

Damn traction lite kept coming on and I could not get more than 7-10 miles an hour on the speedometer even though I was giving gas. All I did was spin and could not even get up my apron. WTF!

Turned off the DSC and it was even worse. Spin, spin,spin and smell that rubber burning.

This is in Chicago with a few inches of snow.

Not a winter car for sure. So much for weight distribution. This one sits until dry streets.

Rx8group

It's a great winter car. The tires are to blame, you need to get winter tires and the fun will start.

^ what he said

So I gotta spend $600 to move my car in my Garage? Don't think so!

Yeah, I remember those days.......... Snow, parked cars, longing for spring........

Now I can drive every day of the year, at speed, even with slicks if they were legal. We do get our 8 or 9 days a year that we have to use our windshield wipers, then I have to wash the water spots off. Yeah, it sucks...... ;)

Chris...

Yeah I am looking for property down there to retire in the sun!

Can't wait!

The tires are tha answer. I had the same problem, getting stuck everytime I tried to leave the driveway or trying to get back in off the street. Then on Thursday, I got the Pirelli P-Zero Nero M&S. The traction is back. Even on the dry cold roads, I have more grip than with the RE40's.

I hear you guys are getting a lot of rain, down there in the southwest. Slicks wouldn't be good for that.

I hear the southwest is getting a lot of rain at this time. Slicks would be as bad as the Bridgestones in snow.

Cheers,

Allen

Yeah, for our area it is considered a lot of rain but we are in great need of it. On the other hand, it makes driving to work just that much more fun ----- sideways!

Chris....

If you need to get your car to move (not to drive) on ice, hold the DSC button down for about 15 seconds. You will have two lights that come on and it will allow it to be free of the computer's controls.

What ALneilson said - I too have the Pirellii PZeroNero M+S tires - they make the car perfectly "winterable" with good snow traction, and a vast improvement in dry handling over the stock RE040. Anybody that says my all-season tires are a compromise, with worse handling in the summer, and not ideal handling in the snow, I invite you for a test drive.

That said, my wife's car has Blizzaks - and yes, there is no substitute for pure snow tires when things are at their worst, but these Pirellis combined with the RX-8's electronic interventions make the car fine enough for me in the snow.

Do some research before dissing the 8 in the snow... I've taken it through some nasty conditions with all-season tires without any problems (and I don't have TCS/DSC either). The stock Potenzas, like many summer tires, are worthless in the snow.

Nice avatar for this topic, Deslock!

Which all-seasons are you running?

I put Pirelli 210 full snows on my car yesterday.........on new rims for winter. I went with 17X7 wheels and 225-50 17 snows. It makes the car handle like a dream in snow and ice. Before the snows, I couldn't drive the car up the alley behind our house because of the ice...now I can't get the rears to break out unless I drop the clutch and really give it throttle. I am very happy with the tires. ( getting them at cost didn't hurt either :D )

There have been many threads on this topic. All of them come to the same conclusion: When there is snow, you need the proper tires on the car or don't even drive it. This isn't something that is exclusive to just this car.

Already have the solution ;)

https://www.rx8club.com/lounge-4/never-ceases-amaze-me-49486/

Even a four-wheel-drive vehicle will get stuck in the snow with the wrong tires, so don't blame the car.

That's your choice, but it's ignorant to blame the car when it's well known that high performance summer tires on any car will behave exactly the same way. If YOU've never owned high performance summer tires before, that's not the RX-8's fault.

It's the TIRES. Many of us have had a lot of fun, safe winter driving with proper winter tires.

Regards,
Gordon

i concur w/ everyone's reply... its the tires. Heh, i just put our house for sale.. moving out west! ;)

Push

Continental ContactExtremes 245/40-18s on stock rims:
https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/rx-8-snow-report-48055/

I wanted PZero Neros, but they weren't available when I needed new tires. My intention was to use the the all-seasons year round, but while the Continentals grip well, they're not as responsive as the stock tires. So I picked up another set of used stock rims/tires and will use the Contis November-March.

Sorry you couldn't wait for the Pirellis to come back into stock. An AWESOME tire for all around performance. Snow included.