So i just got my 8 a month ago and i am trying to think ahead and find out about winter driving. First question is do i need to get winter tires i live in indy? I really have no desire to put down around 500 dollars on tires expecially the 8 is leased for 2 years. Just wanted to know if other 8 owners in indy have survived the winter with out new tires? thanks

 

First answer: If it snows in Indy, yes. Stock tires are literally unsusable in snow. Check out Tire Rack. What quite a few people have been doing is getting Pirelli (this is a guess) Pzero Nero M&S all-seasons or true winter tires like Blizzaks. Supposedly the true winter tires work amazingly well even in a few inches of snow.

Second answer: no, not unless it doesn't snow.

A possible solution is to get the Pirelli Pzeros and sell the stock tires. If your tires have low miles, what you sell the stock tires for and the cost of the new Pirellis may not be to much different.

Paul

 

I bought my 8 this past January. We had a substantial amount of snow on a few occasions, and the car was totally undriveable. If you look at the stock tires, you'll notice they have very little 'gap' between the tread blocks. This basically renders the tires very expensive skis... You will need either winter rubber or a beater car for the worst days.

 

But to go a step further... if you do invest in the tires, and preferably a set of winter rims, your car will be just as drivable as a Front Wheel Drive car... I was suprised how well my car handled after I put on my winter tires. They were Dunlop's ... cant remember exactly which ones... I was happy to get a daily driver and now my 8 will never see a flake of snow =)

 

Thanks for the suggestions, im kinda cheap so... who or where would i sell my stock tires? and are the pirelli as good as the dunlops?

 

I have a set of the 17 inch Kazara(sp) rims with dunlop winter M3 sports up for sale. I live in Chicago and the worked great in all the snow last year, never did get stuck. They are for sale for $800 and no curb rash, around 6000 miles if I remember correctly, but one tire is plugged, the dark grey finish on the rims. I bought them from Tire Rack. They do NOT have the TPMS sensors, and no problems. Let me know if anyone is interested.

Lane