Hey Guys,

When you're driving in snow, I'm told you should turn off traction control.
My question is, in the 8, do you press the 'DSC' button once, or hold it down?

Thanks,
T.

 

If your wheels are spinning you can turn it off with one push.

If your wheels are spinning you probably have the stock summer tires on, and are headed for the wall in your next corner.....

Don't even try to drive in snow with the stockers.

S

 

Don't drive your 8 in show dude! You know how many people wrecked by doing that? dam. To many to list. If you must, Get some 17" rims with winter tires.
I have stock tires on and its hard for me to drive in the rain in Las Vegas NV.

 

Yeah, I've been caught un-prepared at work.
It's coming down big time and I gotta get home in a few hours!

 

Not again! Jeez, how many times will this MYTH keep popping up on this forum? It's simply not true. Many 8 owners drive regularly in snow with no problems:

"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."—edmunds.com long-term test

 

toby, what kind of tires do you have on your 8?
Obviously, Dominion was talking about stock tires, not snow tires, hence the rest of his post, which you deleted:

 

if you must drive the 8 in the snow i highly reccomend leaving the DSC switched on.

 

i have "all season" tires on my 8 and it handles fairly well in the snow.... im not saying that snow tires wouldnt help but its not that bad. Oh and as for driving in the snow leave DSC on unless you get stuck somewhere then turn it off

 

DSC off in snow=you dead...leave it on

 

I wish I had DSC I love my sport, but there's a GT in my future. I have Blizzaks, and there hasn't been a lot of snow yet, but so far they've been awesome.

 

....and also the 8's relatively low torque, which is an asset in snow (less likely to spin and lose traction). Of course as New Yorker and others have cited, snow tires are a must as opposed to stock Summer tires.

Why would anyone recommend turning off DSC, especially in Winter?????

 

Been driving in snow/ice for the past week, now.

LEAVE THE DSC ON!!! The ONLY time you should turn it off is if BOTH rear wheels are stuck spinning, and you can't get moving. Then turn it off if you need to rock the car to get it un-stuck.

I've been driving with a shovel in the trunk for a week, 'cause once you're stuck in ice, nothing will get 'ya moving until you clear out in front & behind the rear tires...

But seriously. I've been really impressed with how the car has handled this storm. Other than low ground clearance, it's done extremely well.

 

Just got my Shinka in the past week, and wouldn't you know it, we get a storm the day after I pick my baby up. Car had the dunlop stocks on it, I could feel the TCS and DSC kicking in all over the place, and fuel economy was absolutely horrible. I had to wait a day for yokohama ice guards to come in, so worked at home while the storm was happening. Just trying to get my car back into the driveway after letting the GF out took almost a half hour. Absolutely zero traction.

Like night and day now that the ice guards are on there. Tried to get stuck in the driveway (have to back out up a hill) and couldn't. Supposedly these tires suck in the deeper snow, but I wanted piece of mind with ice. I was actually quite surprised how much bite I was getting on the ride in this morning, almost feels like my FWD saturn did.

 

Probably the same people who recommend against using seat belts. And who think that the blade guard on a circular saw gets in your way.

Ken

 

Snow in UK ?!!?

Leave DSC on dude, especially if you've never driven in snow before. Even with DSC, you're still gonna slide a bit if you rev it too high. Keep RPM below 3k (my recommendation)

 

This is just to add agreement that DSC should be left on for winter driving. You'll want to take it easy on acceleration, too, especially from rest. It's real easy to break 'em loose. Once rolling, it seems it's not so much your rpm shift point that matters as how quickly you try to get there.

 

Hopefully, he's home by now since it's like 9:00 pm in England now.

 

^^ AMEN!!!! brotha, the best of luck to everyone this winter

 

The point of my post (which, I thought, was fairly obvious) was that there's a myth - pushed on this forum - that the RX-8 is poor in snow - winter tires or not. There are countless threads and posts discussing how bad the car is in winter, with the net result being that many now believe the 8 is a poor winter car - regardless of tire type. Let me say that again, just to make it clear: Today, many believe the RX-8 is poor in snow, no matter what kind of tires are mounted. Some think the 8 is a poor in snow because they don't realize the stock tires are summer only. Others know they're summer only but don't believe winter tires would make a big difference. And some think the 8 is poor in snow because it's RWD, and they think no RWD car can perform well in snow.

Yes, Dominion was talking about stock tires, but he implied the car is poor in snow - regardless of tire type - when he said: "If you must, Get some 17" rims with winter tires."

The phrase "If you must" suggests that taking the 8 out in snow is just a bad idea, although not quite as bad with winter tires. The takeaway of the line is that, if possible, the car should not be taken out in snow.

In fact, the 8 is fine in snow, as the editors of edmunds.com noted.

 

All I can say is that when I was driving in freezing rain, the DSC saved me twice from ending up in a cement wall/ditch. I would leave DSC on....

 

I think the only time you should turn you DSC off is if you're stuck on an incline. Happens to me every winter.

 

Uhh good luck with that.

 

You should probably drop in the NE, Midwest, Canada, or any other regional forum that deals with snow. Plenty of people drive the 8 year round with the appropriate tires.

Snow isn't some mystical harbringer of doom you know. And don't forget your jacket if you go outside. I heard it might not get into the 70's in Vegas today...

 

From what I read, England just had record snowfall, paralysing London.

 

Appropriate Tires (Winter Tires) yes. Stock. No.