scorcherjf

I'm expecting used winter tires to be less than brand new ones which doesn't seem to be the case based on my recent searches... I guess looking now is a bad time because demand is high.

And there's nothing to "get away" with by getting the tires from the U.S... you throw them in the back and declare them, pay the duty and be on your way. Even with the gas costs to go down there as well as the duty, it still comes out much cheaper than what you would pay in Ontario... so I'm probably going to do that.

Footman

iTrader: (2)

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-video/w...-video-review/

Good little comparison between all-seasons and winter tires at around 10 C which is where we are now in Toronto area...

01Racing

Little more information on the "speed rating" of tires. The letters also indicate a load rating of the tire. What the tire shop guy was trying to say is that even for a winter tire you should try and stay with the same load rating as OEM equipped. RX8's still have the ability on a dry cold road to generate high loads in cornering that you as the driver would think is just normal cornering speed. A "S" "T" or even an "H" rated tire is not rated high enough for your car. You will end up ruining them after 1 year if not earlier. I put a WS50 Blizzak on a MSpeed 6 and they were junk after 120 days. At that time it was a "T" rated tire.

cpenner

I can't answer to how the Nokians will do on our RX8s, but I have a set on my Subaru Impreza RS. I've run them through a full year in Vancouver, BC weather.

They are head and shoulders above all season tires. No question. I wouldn't say they are as good as a hard core winter tire, but they are certainly better than either high end all seasons and cheap to mid range winter tires. I am seriously impressed. (I've run a whole range of tires through winter - and aside from the hard core winters, these are far and away the best)

Actually, the only two knocks I have against it are:
1) the price
2) the fact that there is too much traction to drift the car without trying

I don't think they perform quite as well as a summer tire in the summer though. The grip seems to be there, but they do exhibit a bit more "squirm" on cornering. I think they grip just as well, but feel a bit looser. I'm clocking the same (or higher) speeds through my favourite twisties in the dry, but the car isn't quite on the same rails. That would probably bother me more in the RX than in the Subie.

Hope that helps.