Ok so I hope I am not JINXING anyone or everyone with this thread - winter is not due for MONTHS right??:D . PLUS before you ask I have checked and searched on this topic - so far without any success.

Since I live in the Geat White North and I intend on driving my 8 thru winter I need some feedback on what other guy's and gals around Canada has experienced with Winter tires. The guy at my local shop tells me Blizzaks will do just fine and that any winter tire would be about the same since since i am planning on using my Stock 18" rims as winter wheels. Something tells me he only sells Blizzaks....So I researced a little further and it seems that Yokohama has a winter tire that would fit my rims ( anyone with experience?) Also noted Pirelli coming out with a successor to the 240 Snowsport - named the SOTTOZERO - but it's not a guarantee we will have this in Edmonton any time soon - if so I was tempted to take the Pirelli's

Has anyone had good or bad experiences with these or any other? Any help/advice is appreciated.

Sorry if I missed postings re this topic but I really did check this one.

 

I got the Blizzak LM-22's. Here's why.
They were specifically designed for winter driving conditions in Europe where you have some snow and then periods of clear roads...then more snow. This is hard on some of the other winter tires in that they wear out quickly running on clear roads. Heat is a bad thing for winter tires. The LM-22's are made from a different compound than most of the other Blizzak tires. You give up a bit of traction on icy roads but gain some wear. I found them to work just fine. If you are quoted a price for the LM-35's, I believe that they have the softer rubber compound.

I found that all of these tires were within about $10-$15 of each other. To save a bit of money I bought my tires from a commercial truck tire outfit. Their price was considerable less than your average tire retailer.

 

I suggest you have a read through this thread ?

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ht=winter+tire

 

Shame on me

Sorry for the double posting

Thanx for the help Rotten and Herbert
:o

 

You may find it much cheaper to get some 17" 'beater' rims, and buy the much cheaper 17" snows.

I bought Toyo Garits' with nice silver rims from Talon tire in Montreal, even with $50 delivery, they were less money that Tire Town in Edmonchuk!

Canzoomer bought Hakkapelittas on 17" rims, and loves them.

One nice side effect of the smaller wheel is the higher sidewall, makes for a very nice ride during the 'rut' season!

S

 

Hmmm, looks like you need some more practice with your search techniques!

I just searched for 'winter tire' in this forum section and got 3 pages of hits... the same search in the Tires and Wheels forum section will get even more. Of course, there's also the sticky threads about winter tires and winter wheels in that forum section with tons of info as well!

Bottom line, there is a lot of experiences posted here! Please do try searching again and reading those previous threads, and go to the Tires and Wheels section and read the sticky threads.

There are a bunch of good winter tire choices, the LM-22 Blizzak is just one of them.

The RX-8 is a great winter car, I've got two winters on mine so far (witn 17" Toyo Garit HT winter tires), and I prefer driving it to my Audi allroad (AWD with winter tires).

Regards,
Gordon

 

Hey Rotten, where did you get your tires from? I need to get a set of winters. I used to order online (1010tires.com) but I'm trying to find an even cheaper source! Does anyone know if its cheaper to buy during the summer?

 

As i said at the beginning - sorry if this is a double post

Will try harder next time around

PLease consider this topic closed

 

I'm using Hankook Icebears on beater 17's. The selection of available snow tires are more varied with 17's (and cheaper!). The Icebears do nicely as well.

 

Go with 17" and cheap rims ($100 each). You run a higher risk of cracking your 18's during the winter with poor road conditions. To replace one will cost you $400. Micheline Pilot Alpines (high performance snows) were dandy for me last winter. Rims, Tires, Tax, Tip, Out-the-door was $1826 or something like that.

 

Sorry if I wasn't clear at the beginning of this post. I plan on keeping the 18" rims as winter rims and then upgrade to 19" for summer rims next year. I realize the 18" are "expensive" winter rims but i have them allready so I can just as well make the most of them right?
Is there a BIG diference between the winter traction for 17" or 18"? I know 18" are supposed to be worse in winter but they are soooooo much prettier....:D

 

I kept my 18" stock rims on and changed out just the tires. I couldn't bring myself to running around in the winter with "military issue" winter rims. :D

I didn't get one scrap on my rims all winter...that waited until late spring when a dick in a pick-up ran me off the road and I scraped a curb.

 

Dick driving pick ups bad... They usually push me in the ditch when i'm on my roadbike.

 

The diameter of the wheel doesn't make any difference to traction. The overall diameter of the tire is the same (ideally) whether you have 17" or 18" wheels. 225/50-17, 225/45-18, and 215/55-17 tires are all about the same diameter. Of those three sizes, the 215/55-17 WILL give better winter traction because it is narrower (Read the Tech section at www.tirerack.com for explanation about winter tire sizing - narrower is better).

If you compared tires of the same model and same nominal width, say the Toyo Garit HT in 225/50-17 and 225/45-18, the winter traction would be pretty much the same between the two sizes as the width is the same.

Regards,
Gordon

 

Thanx guys - once again you have been awesome help
Good explanation Gordon - thank you

 

Compare prices between 17 and 18" winters. I think there could be a couple of hundered dollars difference. If so, sell the stock 18", buy 4 cheap 17" aluminums for the winter and throw the $500 or so net dollars you just made into the 19" rims.

If the difference is less than $50 each tire between 17" winters and 18" winters, don't bother, I guess. Do the math. I think you'll be surprised at the outcome.

 

Do you guys have the TPMS on the winter rims?

 

That's a trick question! The answer for any Canadian RX-8 is "No, we don't use TPMS on the winter rims." The trick part is that we don't have the TPMS on our summer rims, either! TPMS is not available on Canadian RX-8s, not standard equipment and not as an option.

Regards,
Gordon

 

Canzoomer (Maurice) is using Nokian WR tires. I put them on my Pathfinder last fall. Great tires, but not necessarily inexpensive. They are rated by Nokian as "all season performance tires". They work great in ice, snow, and rain. They have a little less traction than the stock tires on warm dry pavement. They are made in Finland, and you know people who live in Finland will understand ice and snow! Just like Canadians!

18" wheels give a much larger contact patch size than 17", so in general, you will have better traction. Maurice chose 17" in order to get more "ice room" in the wheel wells.

You'll probably be fine with the 18" wheels.

Go to Kal Tire on the Yellowhead to look at the Nokian tires. Maurice can probably negotiate a good deal for you there. Send him an e-mail at maurice@harddata.com to see if he will do this for you.

 

Mybe on dry pavement but the wider the tire in the snow the worse.The thinner the tire in nthe winter the better!!! Seriously, study this factor carefully because you will not get as good traction in the winter with 18 than 17 unless you go with something thinner.

 

"Mybe on dry pavement but the wider the tire in the snow the worse.The thinner the tire in nthe winter the better!!!"

Only in deep snow. We don't get that very often here in Edmonton, we get ice, light snow, and COLD pavement.
For those situations, more rubber on the road is better.

 

Agreed. I was refering to snow.