For the last couple winters, I had a WRX (with the stock RE92 tires). This year, I have an RX-8 (on 245/40-18 Continental ContactExtreme all-seasons with the stock rims). I have the base 6-speed (no DSC/TCS).

Today we got 7-8 inches of snow:


It was pretty severe... I actually had to help dig out my neighbor's 4wd plow when he got stuck!

TEST 1: BRAKING, TURNING
Went on some roads that were mostly flat or had wimpy hills. Played around with braking, turning, and fishtailing... stopping distance was excellent (ABS was far better than my WRX's) and it was easy to recover from any minor slides; the car's neutral tendencies and balance really help here. I'm sure that at higher speeds I would've had more trouble without DSC/TCS (I never goofed off in the snow at high speeds before, and I'll drive even more conservatively now).

TEST 2: HILL CLIMB
I purposefully took the RX8 up some really nasty, steep, winding roads that were still covered with packed snow; it had no rouble as long as I maintained some speed (12-15 MPH). In the interest of testing it thoroughly, I stopped at an especially steep section, and attempted to start moving again; it worked, but I was only able to get up to what felt like 5-8 MPH (though it was hard to tell since the speedo reads through the rear wheels, which were spinning for much of it).

This was actually a pleasant surprise as I fully expected to have to abort and back into a nearby driveway. Those conditions would've gotten my old 2100-pound-FWD Honda CRX stuck.

But on the otherhand, my WRX would've handled that without any difficulty.

TEST 3: PARKING LOT DRIFTS
AWD has a clear advantage here; with the RX-8, I overdid it and spun a couple times where my WRX would've allowed me to recover (as would DSC/TCS). But I was doing some pretty silly stuff. I also downshifted without rev-matching to see how unstable it would get; the back-end broke loose, but recovered by itself. Likewise, I intentionally overpowered the rear wheels many times and it always got back on track.

CONCLUSION
It's no WRX in the snow, but you can drive an RX8 with all-season tires without TCS/DSC... you just have to use your head and drive conservatively if conditions are poor.

 

Awesome, man! I have a Subaru Legacy right now - just waiting for our first snow to see how it does. BUT, I'm thinking about/hoping I can get an RX-8 in 6-8 months, but I also need something I can get to work in if it snows a bit.

Great post (for me at least!)

 

I have no intentions to make this a Subaru thread ;-) but as a former Sub owner the handling in snow/ice was my main concern as well (living in Sweden). When I received the car for a couple of weeks ago, there was lots of snow. Good thing she was delivered to me already on winter tires (Pirelli's 225/50 17", no spikes). At some places forced to eat some snow, there was more than ground clearance with some deep truck tracks.

Traction is pretty good, and much better than I expected. What also surprised me is the excellent communication through the steering, you feel the road conditions pretty good, especially if there is a mix of snow and ice and parts of the road that seem to be clean.

Rexy feels quite stable in the snow, probably because of the wide winter tires (despite I have the standard size 225, some of you have bigger shoes) and optimal balance. She drifts a bit on snow, but the control is magnificent, and does not so much follow the tracks and become nervous. These Pirelli's were a test winner and I am quite satisfied with them (can post a link but the text is in swedish ...)

Performance on icy conditions was a bit less; that's why it is legal here to have spikes, no option for me: I travel sometimes in Germany/Holland where those tires are forbidden. With the right ones that shouldn't be a problem either.

Cheers, Erwin

 

We have not had a lot of snow yet but a few inchs. I put on Pirilli SnowSports snoiw tires and have no problem on regular snow. The car was a little twitchy on streets where the snow has become icy but certainly manageable. I had concidered all seasons but decided on the snow tires instead They have been really great on dry payment and are quieter then the original tires.

 

we had a few inches of snow,,, and my 8 spun like 3 times on the highway ramp...
luckily, i didn't hit any car, but 8 is definitely not a snow car with stock tires!!!!

 

Deslok, where are you located in western mass?

 

Yesterday, I bet? I had the same problem. Was okay most of the time, but the on and offramps I had to crawl or else I fishtailed all over the place. To my credit, I got to work and home just fine, where several people I know in larger cars and SUVs had accidents yesterday. One guy pulled in the parking lot behind me at work in a Jeep Cherokee and managed to hit and run over a concrete island. I think he was driving too fast, because I had no problems, even on the ice. If it gets any worse than it is now, I'll just take my husband's car as I can't really justify snow tires for a few days of snow a year.

 

I got the Pirelli Snowsport 210 (215/55 17"s) installed yesterday. And just in time for the snow overnight in Toronto. Can't wait to get out and try them. From the reports from Howard and eberkers, they should be pretty good. They certainly were good last night in the -15C (+5F) and dry conditions...as good as the stock tires at more reasonable temperatures...though I wasn't pushing it.

 

Good luck to you folks who are driving this time of year with summer tires. I think you're crazy Amherst/Belchertown. Nice to see another RX-8 enthusiast in western Mass... there aren't many of us out here.