Well, I've had my yellow RX-8 since July and live in the Metro Detroit Michigan area. I've been reading the forums since last year but have not posted. I just changed my stock RE040 tires to all season 245/40/18 Toyo Proxes 4's after reading the advice in this forum a great deal the past few months.

The tires are great so far. And the biggest suprise was that they have a softer ride then the RE040's, yet they perform slightly better. The effort to turn takes a slight amount more but at the same time the great sensative steering feel is still there.

I can't wait for some foul weather around here to really test my car's new shoes!

 

Good to hear. I am thinking of going all season when I need new tires. I will still use a winter tire, but at least I can wait until "real" winter arrives instead of driving on my winter tires waiting for the snow, and wearing them out quicker.
I have no doubt a winter tire outperforms an allseason in the snow, but I am not sure how much better a summer tire is than an all season?
I always thought in the summer , a high performance allseason would suffice for most drivers.
The pilot a/s got a good review for summer/wet/dry performance, but the reviewer thought the tire would not be adequate for a winnipeg winter, thus my decision to stick with a dedicated winter tire.

 

Take it easy until you have some snow miles on them.

Don't expect too much - first, while far better than the OEM summer tires, all-seasons still aren't nearly as capable as winter tires on any sort of slippery stuff. You'll get by, but you'll still have to be extremely cautious. Second, you went with wider tires than OEM, which for winter performance is detrimental (see this Tire Rack tech article about winter tire sizing for an explanation of why narrower is better).

In other words - all seasons will let you get around, but they are definitely not going to be great. Don't blame the car when you have traction problems!

Regards,
Gordon