I'm not sure if any (I bet all of you have) of you have seen the Top Gear review and/or Jeremy Clarkson's review on the RX-8, but he went on to claim were it not for the poor handling in adverse conditions, the car would be perfect. For me, this car tests my attentiveness far more than in any car I've ever driven, including a Volvo 264 with bald tires.

My car feels extremely darty and loose at highway speeds if there's a tiny amount of snow. This is NOT about acceleration traction, or issues braking. As we speak, the car's at the shop for an alignment. The car still has 235/40R-18 IceBears W300s.


I happen to think there's either something wrong with my car's alignment, or the car is just too light to be shod with 235 width snow tires. I know that I've effectively increased the width of my contact patch (I recognize the effective area is the same), which is a no no for snow tires, but my E36 M3 never had problems with this width of tire.


FWIW, even when I had the stock Bridgestone Potenza RE040s on in the summer, the car did not like standing water, demonstrating the same characteristics as mentioned above.

update:
i'd like to riscind everything I've said about the RX-8 being poor in the snow. My rear right wheel had massive toe in, of about a degree and a half. With the alignment, all was corrected, and the car drives just fine.

 

Goodyear Eagle F1's are best in rain, imho.

 

I've got the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-3Ds 245/40R18. Awesome controllability in the rain, haven't tried in snow though.

 

heres a tip - don't drive at highway speeds when there is snow on the road!

You have to understand that at higher speeds with less traction (ie there is snow on the ground) the wind will have an effect on pushing you around. The amount of snow going under your tires will push or pull you around as well. And consider that snow going under your tires actually melts causing a thin layer of water come between you and your contact patch.

Good tires help a lot when it comes to channeling the snow/water away, allowing the tire to get close to the pavement.

Where i live its a $400 fine for going the posted speed limit in poor conditions. I love watching people pass me on a snow covered highway then a few minutes later i drive by and honk as they're upside down in the ditch in their hummer.

 

FWIW, my old car, tires, and snowfall I deal with:

 

lol, yea, the rx8 would be a snow plow in that kinda snow... you shoudl get paid for plowing the streets you'd drive on.

But also fatter tires (in any condition) tend to pull left and right due to slight sinking of the pavement where cars drive. The LSD might come into effect as well in poor conditions.

I found my rx8 likes to correct itself and stay straight on packed covered snowy roads. I dunno, it might just be your tires.

 

Never seen that type of tread before....are those missing studs cause for concern????

 

Mine's been pretty stable, especially compared to the NA miata I used to have. Any short wheel base car with wide tires is going to be a handful. A good alignment helps.

I noticed that the LSD was starting to lock a bit too soon and behave funny last month at about 16000 miles. I changed the oil to synthetic GL-5 and it went back to being linear again- and there was pretty thick gunk in there.

I hit a large pair of roundabouts on my commute and I've had the LSD kick in when it shouldn't have. That's fun.

 

Might be that the tread pattern effects the car negatively in the snow.

My Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50's are AMAZING and they are 225/50-17

 

brand spanking new good year F1 all seasons. in heavy rain the other day with standing water on the roads felt like dry pavement

 

RX-8s are fine in light snow. However, anything more than 4 inches of snow/slush, be prepared to have a shovel in the trunk as the rear might get stuck and fishtailing to get out of the mess. But it is quite stable IMO on snow covered highway roads with both hands on the wheel and not randomly stabbing at the gas pedal. It is after all rear wheel drive.

 

studs fall out. It just happens.

i'd like to riscind everything I've said about the RX-8 being poor in the snow. My rear right wheel had massive toe in, of about a degree and a half. With the alignment, all was corrected, and the car drives just fine.

 

Studs (and chains) were banned in my state many, many, years ago. Too bad, as they're the only thing any good on ice. And they do fall out on occasion as they're just shot into the tread.

Our current Nor'easter will freeze tonight, meaning a lot of icy roads tomorrow!