Obviously if there is snow on the ground!
But seriously when is a agood time?
What temperature range should I be gunning for?
Hot roads are bad for winter rubber, but the forcast for Winnipeg is snow believe it or not!
The next few days we will be seeing -2 , -4 temps for overnight, and then back up to plus 15.
I was gonna try to hold off till the end of October but me thinks I will have to put them on earlier.

 

whenever you start to see frost well into the late mornings would be a good time since you'll probably be driving at night too
I'm thinking in vancouver I can probably hold off until november!

 

I'm swirching over next week....I don't want o be caught without them if we get snow.

I bought the Bridgestone LM-22 tires. They give up a bit of snow and ice traction over some other brand/models but they have better performance characteristcs. I choose those because with the crappy springs weather we get I need a tire that can go from snow to clear roads and still perform well without exessive wear. Hardcare snow/ice tires wear very fast on dry pavement. In Calgary we go back and forth between dry and snow so much in the springtime...especially with chinooks.

 

Is it the dry roads that wear the winter tires faster? I thought dry , hot roads were the real killer.

 

"Hardcore snow/ice tires wear very fast on dry pavement. In Calgary we go back and forth between dry and snow so much in the springtime...especially with chinooks."


That's what I said. The winter rubber wears quickly on dry roads. The LM-22 are designed for conditions where you got from snow to dry to snow.

 

I realize what you had said. I was pointing out that I think the road temperature has more to do with winter tire wear than does simply a dry road.
Yes driving in the summer on a hot road will basically kill your winter tires.
From your post it sounds as if you drive on cold -30 degree pavement all winter (most winter driving for me is on pavement) the tires will wear real fast.
Anyway back to the topic....when do you switch your tires over?


BTW, we did not get snow in Winnipeg last night!

 

actually I was trying to point out (not very well) that in the spring and during chinooks the temp. increases into the +10 range often (which means clear, warm pavement) and then it can snow hard again in two days. Hence the choice of winter tire. One that has a different rubber compound better suited for dry an warmer days. Maybe this will help.

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22
The Blizzak LM-22 was developed to meet traditional European dry road handling and high-speed durability requirements. The Blizzak LM-22 uses a high silica content tread compound (instead of the multicell compounds used in other Blizzak tires) that is molded into a heavily siped, directional tread design to blend wet and dry performance with good snow traction.

NOTE: When ice traction is a priority, the Bridgestone Blizzak MZ-01 is available in selected low profile, large rim diameter sizes. Rather than focusing on traditional European dry road handling and high-speed durability, the Q-speed rated (160 km/h (99 mph) Blizzak LM-22 follows in the tradition of other Blizzak winter tires by providing superior ice traction combined with good snow traction.

On the road, the Blizzak LM-22 received good ratings for its real world ride qualities, falling between the other two tires for ride, noise and handling qualities. On the ice, the Blizzak LM-22 provided the most traction for accelerating, braking and cornering of the three tires in this test, however it couldn't match the ice traction level of the other Bridgestone "Multicell" Blizzak tires we've previously tested.

The H-speed rated Blizzak LM-22 is available in selected low profile 55- through 40-series, 15"- through 17" wheel diameter sizes.

 

Well I always wait until the last possible moment to switch over, usually between mid Nov and Dec 1 if I can. I have separate winter wheels for all my cars so I just pop them on in the driveway when snow is in the forecast. Now if you wait like I do and try to have someone else put the wheels on, good luck as you will competing for thousands of other people for garage time. I also like to do this myself because I put grease or anti-seize on the wheel hubs and bolts and torque things to 90 ft/lbs. I cringe when I see bozos in garages with air impact wrenches blasting wheels on with 250 ft/lbs or something. First you can't get the bolts off if you have a flat (assuming you have a spare :-), the wheel may rust onto the hub and you can warp rotors with too much torque.

You do not want to be caught in the snow with the stock tires on the 8 but I drove mine on some completely clear days in March maybe down to -10 or -15. I bought it then and couldn't resist the temptation. It's pretty easy to get some wheel spin when taking off on dry pavement and the back end will hop/wiggle a bit in corners, the rubber really hardens up a lot at those temps. I wouldn't worry about a little frost and some cold temps, just adjust your driving for it. I drove a set of performance tires once in the snow on another car and I will never to it again, I found myself pointed at the ditch about a half a dozen times in quick succession before I recovered it. So park the car for a day if you lose the gamble and it snows . . .

Anything much above freezing is really hard on some winter tires, things like Blizzaks and some others that are super soft wear very quicly. The rubber is made to stay soft at very cold temps, it only gets softer as temps rise . . . My choice for wear combined with traction are Hakkapeliitta tires, I have one set Hakka Q's that are going on to their 4th winter and they will be done after that. That's probably near double the service life of some of the other really grippy tires and Hakka 1's were known to last even longer but they are not as heavily sipped, more of a snow than ice tire unless studded. These models have been replaced now and I don't know if there is a profile to fit the 8, never looked because I am parking mine. If you already have something else, you really want to keep the usage of them to a minimum in fall and spring.

So the moral of my story is, if you don't mind getting your hands dirty, watch the weather and wait as long as you can, keep hoping and you might make it into December . . . We are supposed to get a few -4 to -5 nights here this week and I will have no qualms about driving the 8. I think I am probably good for about 4-6 weeks more of clear sailing, after mid November things are usually touch and go. Even if one gets some sort of freak snow storm this time of year it rarely stays for more than a day or so.

 

I'm in the same boat.
I was aiming for the end of October, but might do it next weekend.
I really don't want to get caught. Weather has been really unpredictable.

 

I actually saw some snow today, and put the tires on tonight. I don't expect that any snow will really stay on the ground for a week or so though...

When I was changing the wheels, it became apparent that I will need new summer tires in the spring. Probably Pirelli P-Zero Neros or Toyo Proxis T1-S, I wil have to decide before April!

 

Hey guys I just got my RX-8 t weeks ago I am worried about when it snows I am new the this Forum what tire company should I go to to get tires and rims that will fit the tire sensors

Thanks

 

do a search...there is already a ton of info on this form about that subject.

 

I'm hoping to make it to the end of November before I install my winter wheels/tires. We have snow in our forecast here in Detroit, but it is highly unlikely that it will actually accumulate. Does anyone have experience with how the '8 does during these conditions: snow melting upon contact with the road?

 

If you have a Canadian RX-8 - you don't have tire sensors, the Canadian versions do not have the TPMS.

As suggested - please do a search on "winter wheels" or "winter tires" - there are many recent threads discussing exactly what you want to know. After you've done some reading in those search results about the local and internet sources for RX-8 winter wheels and tires, feel free to post any questions you might have.

Regards,
Gordon