Astral

I think I am less forgiving on my snows. My snows generally were looking to last about 25K before they got to 4/32nds, at which point they are only good for ice and wet (not enough tread to bite into the snow well, that limit is about 6/32nds). That's with the Wintersport M3s. I could never get 40K out of them.

The difference btw is between "Performance Snow" and regular "Snow" tires. Indeed, performance snows wear slower, but not THAT much slower based on my roommate's experience with Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2s and Bridgestone REVO-1's (former was performance snow, latter a regular snow). The REVO-1 are wearing fairly well (not overly fast). I think they really improved the snow tire tech recently to have decent wear. Plus it has a lot to do with how hard you drive the car.

dmc27

Right - good correction, as I should have been more precise. The category is "Winter Performance", not WinterSport. WinterSport is the Dunlop brand name for their "Winter Performance" tire.



Damn O. You need to stop tearing up those tires. 24k is definitely the low end of the treadware spectrum for these things. I'll have to measure mine this weekend when I swap. I don't necessarily take it easy on them, either. Plenty of spirited driving . . .

CTrx8

iTrader: (2)

it's finally done. my winters are on

of coure in the process i somehow broke my lug key and put a small nick in my wheel. i guess it's my hulking biceps that did it (anyone who has actually seen me knows, that's not the case). luckily town fair tire had an extra key that they gave me so i have to give them a big thank you since i had two winters on and two summers and was trying to figure out what to do.

j67345

I had a similar problem! My lugs are inset into the rims, so I have to use a key for every one of them...and the LAST LUG stripped when I was making the switch last weekend! Had to take a quick trip to Firestone to have them get the friggin thing out...I'm sure I looked pretty smooth driving around with 3 ugly snow tires/rims & my nice summer tires/rims.

Only 4 or 5 more months of ugly wheels....the countdown is on

gpoprock07

I just got my RX8 and drove in the snow for the first time. It wasn't bad. Am i the only dumbass not putting snow tires on??

j67345

You won't make it through the winter without them (without gettign into an accident). It's not even as much snow driving...the summer tires harden up when it is cold, so it's like you are driving on an ice rink even when it's dry outside.
STRONGLY recommend you get snows.

Timescars

Well I'm going to start off with with the fact that I don't own an 8 (yet?) I'm a 20 year college student who has saved pennies and paychecks, and I am now ready to buy a new car (my 96 corolla, while fuel efficient is not head turner.) So I narrowed it down to 3 cars. The 8, the GTI, and the WRX. I dislike the GTI (my friend has a 2000 that is falling apart.) And the subaru while quick is... "rally inspired" AKA my corolla is made of the same quality parts(well its plasticky inside.) This leaves the 8. I could go on about how nice it is but you all own one. The only thing holding me back from buying one is Snow. I live just north of Boston, and Im afraid that going from a fwd car, to a rwd light sports car is going to give me problems.


I guess my main question is... HOW BAD is an 8 in the snow? I can bus and train to school, but I need to take the car to work. The car will also be a daily driver. I'm assuming from reading on here that snow tires are a MUST and not just a GOOD THING to have, but even with snow tires, how is it in the snow?

My seccond question is, what do most people get for gas millage in the summer and winter, I understand its not a corolla and I cat expect it to get me 30 mpg, but If I'm going to have a car with 8mpg, I mine as well get a... well I don't know yet.

Any thoughts or ideas would be nice, I know this question is kind of stretching this threads boundries...
~Andrew

CTrx8

iTrader: (2)

snow isn't bad if you take it slow and have winter tires. RWD is definitely different than FWD but you can get used to it if you don't drive like an idiot.

gas mileage isn't good period on the 8. depending on how much city driving you do and how much you warm your car up in the morning you'll probably be gettting around 15mpg during the winter (more if you have a decent amount of highway driving).

Timescars

what do we think of cheap 16" rims with blizzaks from tire rack? I went to sears today and the guy their said that blizzaks on the 18" oe wheels was $930 for 4 tires and he'd comp me mounting and labor. And then 100 in the spring to put the regual tires back on.

j67345

What model do you have? Depending on what you have, 16's won't fit...they won't get over the brake calipers.

Timescars

Yeah I did my research AFTER that post. Haha. 17" is all tire rack offers. I also found that sears is pricey. 240 for the blizzaks that are 140 down the street. I guess I need to buy the 8 before I buy snow tires. I found a nice white 05 mt with 36k miles. But I'd be owner 4. I'm having trouble finding a nice 04-05. I want somthing that was taken care of.

CTrx8

iTrader: (2)

go to town fair tire. they'll match any price you find and then do the switchover in the spring and winters for free.

altspace

iTrader: (2)

Are you guys using proper torque specs on your lugs? I can't imagine that you needed that much force that you break a lug or lug key. I've been swapping wheels for years and never had an issue with wheels that were properly tightened on.

Now on the other hand, if you bring your car to some shop, many will use an impact gun to mount wheels, very bad choice.

CTrx8

iTrader: (2)

i torque it to 108 lbs. which is fine for me to remove. i'm not sure what they were torqued to this last time though b/c i had my body kit put on and they had to remove and put my wheels on themselves. i would have guessed they torqued less than that b/c they were scolding me for torquing to 108 and that i should have done much less.

EDIT: just looked around and the only specs i could find for the spline were 75 lbs so looks like i was tightening too much. i was going by what the installers told me which seems like it was high but i never had a hard time getting them off before.

j67345

Yeah, a torque wrench and a new set of lugs is in my future before spring

Astral

The torque spec is something like 90-105, check the "wheel making a snapping sound" TSB. 75 used to be the spec until that TSB.

New Yorker

From edmunds.com long term test…
"Those who have to deal with slippery driving conditions will benefit from the RX-8's perfect 50/50 weight balance and available traction/stability control system. Throw a set of Bridgestone Blizzaks on this baby and you should be able to handle most anything winter throws your way."

Timescars

As a potential buyer thats what i wanted to hear.

j67345

keep an eye in the for sale section...you can get a used set of snow tries/wheels a lot cheaper than a store

77mjd

I ordered the Dunlops and they should be here Wed. I always make the switch Thanksgiving weekend, but low and behold, I woke up to about 2" of snow this morning. Needless to say I could barely get out of my driveway with the stocks and my commute was miserable on mostly wet/slush. This is the first time I've got bitten in the ***. I should have just stayed home from work today.

dmc27

You were right on the torque spec, Art. Mazda changed it to 108 w/the TSB Astral previously mentioned. ---->> link to TSB on Tommy's site.

Changed mine this morning. Winter it is . . .

It's not good either. Once or twice you might get away with, but it's a long winter and you'll likely regret staying on the summer tires. (assuming, of course, that you are on summers - depends on when/how you bought it)

I have had zero problems in the 8 with the M3 tires & in some nasty weather. The low torque makes it very easy to handle b/c you can just let the clutch out without giving it any gas and it will grab and pull without slipping at all. With proper tires, the 8 can handle snow just fine. As long as the owner can handle it, that is.

Timescars

I would imagine the 50/50 weight helps too. Well before I can worry about how it handles in the snow, I gotta find one for sale :-P

dmc27

You should be able to negotiate a sweet price if you buy one of these things in the winter.

Happy Hunting!!

Timescars

thats the plan, I've gotten to the point where I'm looking on the forum at the for sale ad's :-P I'll find one, eventually.

altspace

iTrader: (2)

Do it and come join us at NEPOC! We'd love to add more 8's to our Mazda family.