Hey all - i just purchased a black GT 8 in Vancouver. Looked at a lot of cars but this one wouldn't let me sleep at night so i got her!

Anyway, i'm pretty much planning on leaving her mostly stock (well, er, for now) but am wondering if anyone in Van knows of good place for install/purchasing of:

* Clear corners. Mine's black and i much prefer the clears.

* Body kits. Not a 'do-it-myself' guy when it comes to cars. Are folks using dealers or specific body shops that are 'mazda' aware?

Most of my cars have been 2nd hand so i'm not really experienced with a new shiny like this. (thank you god for killing my 95 passat and giving me justification to buy the 8!)

Oh and last Q - i am thinking about winter, and if we get bad ice/snow i'll park her for those days but am wondering if anyone has tire advice for the climate here. I would kind of like to avoid changing rims/tires for seasons if possible.

thanks much
penman

 

I have heard Toyo's Proxies 4 are a super good 4 season tire, comparable dry traction to summer performance tires, and yet, still a 4 season tire that might be ok for our light snow in vancouver (though I haven't heard of any feedback from ppl about it in the snow) and good price too!

 

hi!

congrats on the purchase !!!

there's not a whole lot of activity from vancouver owners in this forum ... guess there's not a lot signed up here.

i was thinking Canzoomer would be the cheapest for clear side markers since all the other sources are in the US and have added shipping costs as well as customs/duties if you don't have a US address.

tires ... i was thinking of all-seasons for the winter myself - not a whole lot of snow here on the west coast to justify winter tires to me!

ideally, i want to get another set of stock rims and mount the all seasons to those ... but it'll probably end up being more costly than aftermarket wheels.

hope this helps!

 

Why would anyone compromise with all season tires?

Use your performance tires for summer and get a good set of snow tires for winter. A good set of winter tires woks better on ice than all seasons. I think you get more ice than snow in Vancouver...at least that's what I've been told. There are many high performance brand winter tires that are speed rated. Check out this link:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...perftest_2.jsp

or if you email somebody at talon tire, they can email you comparisons of different brands and recommend tires either based on a climate with lots of snow or a climate that is more moderate in the winter.

do some research and you'll find that it is the better way to go...because if you get a dump of the white stuff, you would what the best traction possible for your RX.

 

The other way to think of it is that if you intend to replace your tires at some point in the ownership of the car, then each of your set of tires will last twice as long (because each is only used half of the year). My recommendation is to buy 17" steelies or rims and mount winter tires on them. 17" tires are cheaper, and the winter tire will last longer than an 18" summer.

Think of it like AirCare: 25 bucks every year or 50 bucks every two years. At the end of four years, you will have paid the same amount of money, but at least you're not hassled every year. With winter tires, at least you have the right tire for right conditions. Be forwarned though, winter tires do come with one penalty - they will worsen the handling limits in dry weather.