I have a question thats really bugging me for this winter season how is the 8 uphill in the snow??

 

You're joking right? I wouldn't intentionally do this unless I had a good reason to do so.

It really depends on a number of factors but none of them really combine together to make a optimal situation. That said, even the all season tires that some RXs have from the factory are crappy on anything but dry pavement. (The fact that they are run-flats and low profile makes for a bad mix.)

Anyway to answer your question, I wouldn't recommend it. Last winter I was caught by a freak snowstorm and I had 200 miles of rural and hilly roads to traverse. There was about an inch of slush/ice/snow on the road and I averaged 25-30 mph all the way back home. The traction control system on the newer models is good (it helped a bit when going uphill), but it will not save you from yourself. If you absolutely must drive this car in snow I would invest some money into some studded snow tires and some wheels to mount them on. Or buy yourself a beater car/truck to drive on bad days and keep the car for the good days. Who knows, it may be cheaper than changing out the tires and the paranoia associated with keeping your RX in good shape.

 

Lets not sling around assumptions here.

It is ALL about your tires. Seriously. The 8 on summer tires in the snow is undriveable. All seasons is faintly better. On winter tires, you out perform ANY car that doesn't have winter tires on, regardless of fwd, rwf, 4wd, awd, etc...

I climb a hill every day to work, a steep one. I handle it in snow just fine with winter tires, regardless of slush, fresh snow, or packed snow.

Ice is...well, ice. Nothing helps you there.


The ONLY thing that matters in the winter is your tires. Watch the videos here for the drastic difference, they even test summer vs winter tires on a Maserati. The 8 is no different, maybe slightly better because of significantly lower low end torque.
http://www.tirerack.com/videos/index...&AID=10398365&

If you are still not convinced, go talk to all the 8 owners in Canada.... They have their own sub forum.

Ground clearance is the only thing of issue. Nothing you can do about deep snow. The 8 isn't a snow plow.

 

It's not a good idea, I live in eastern ky and there are hills everywhere. I didnt switch to a set of winters last year and a few times I got stranded on campus and couldnt make it home to my apartment because there are a lot of uphills from the university to my house.

Get a good set of tires and still dont drive up hill in snow if you dont have to

 

I'm telling you, on a set of winter tires, any hill on any public roadway is perfectly doable. "The 8" doesn't make it hard, it doesn't make it easy. The 8 has nothing to do with it, only the rubber you are sitting on.

The is ALL that matters in snow.

 

you could also read any of the other "winter driving" threads indexed at the bottom of this page and also check out the winter tire thread.

 

The term “Hill” is relative to where you live. What we call a hill in Iowa is far different from the hills I drove in California. That being said…

I bought my 8 in Chicago and had to driver her home because I wanted to and because I couldn’t afford a 6 hour tow truck trip. When we went it was sunny and clear and was supposed to be for the next day or so. However, before we were 100 miles out of town we hit freezing drizzle on the stock tires. It took us 11 hours of pure white knuckle driving to get 60 miles from home. That was through the hills by the Mississippi near the Quad cities. Even on the flat areas I ended driving no more than 35mph and the rear was very squirrelly. I even found myself facing the wrong way on the interstate once even though we were still moving the right direction. Thank god it was the middle of the night and we were the only ones on the road.

Two years ago I spent a couple of days in Bloomington Ill around Christmas time. When we left it was around 50deg and clear, down there it was over 60. That night at the hotel it dumped about ½” of ice on us followed by a blizzard. The trip home (during the blizzard) was over much of the same area and past 105 cars, trucks and busses in the ditch (one of us counted). We did the trip at about 45 to 60mph with not even a single slip.

The difference is that I invested in a good set of winter wheels. I went to a 17”x7” rim and put some Blizzak studdless snow and ice tires on. I’m not sure how the 8 would handle in the California hills but for around the Mississippi they worked like a dream. Even when on ice during a blizzard.

 

Yes, as everyone has been telling you, it's ALL about the tires:

• OEM Summer tires = scary, horrible, forget it! Like walking on sheet ice in a new pair of leather dress shoes with flat, slick soles.
• All-seasons = I have no experience, but I heard they're 'ok', though still kind of scary.
• Winter tires = Amazing! Good traction and handling; you will pass many spun out SUVs and other cars wearing only all-seasons.

Anytime someone tells you the RX-8 "sucks in snow," read a little further and you'll probably find they did not have winter tires on the car.

 

Tires....

 

Yeah, I live in chicago and winters last around 6 to 8 months.
any recommendations on good tires.

 

I'll never know. I garage mine from now until about March 1. It's the Explorer for me for the next 100 days.

 

I am happy with my setup:

Mazda3 17 inch rims w/ Dunlop Winter Sport M3 215/55VR17.

 

Okay. So I live on a hill, and we got a hell of alot of snow last year. To make it better I have summer tires.

I never drive my car in the snow, but situations where I got stuck, I can say that it CAN be done. My trick was to keep it in first, feather the gas and make sure I have enough momentum to get over the steepest part of the hill. This was after 40 miles in the snow when I got caught on the way home. Worst experience ever, as I kept it under 5mph for most of the trip and almost went off the road several times.

if you can't avoid driving in the snow, then you're better off spending the money on the tires or a beater

 

Were the old Michelin XAS tires even all-seasons? I had a BMW 2002 in the 70s shod with those, and my ownership period included a winter in New England. There was one time I could not get up a snow-covered hill to a ski lodge, but otherwise had no problems.

Your mention of passing spun-out SUVs reminded me of one snowy trip on the Mass Pike when a Land Rover in front of me merrily spun into the guard rail, while I scooted along with no problem. Perhaps a couple of previous seasons in upstate New York on bald tires gave me some skill. Or luck.

Ken

 

Went up a hill in my 8 last summer on 275/35 all-seasons.

I don't recommend it unless you can drive properly, I had TCS off to stop myself from stalling out or bogging too much, had to come to a complete stop midway up the hill due to a dumbass infront of me, the rest of the hill was spent in 4th gear at 15 KM/H with my butt end 25 degrees to the right.. Didn't get stuck, but if i released or added any more throttle I would have been screwed.

Winters should be okay

 

From personal experience only get all seasons if you really have to. Winter tires will give you a lot more peace of mind.

 

It's dumb when people bitch about this car in winter when they use SUMMER TIRES. Obviously it's going to be ****.
I got some Bridgestone blizzaks(or wtv they are called) with the cx9 rims on my '8 and it's pretty good. Haven't gotten stuck and it snows like crazy in Montreal. So far it's been the best car due to low torque it makes it easier to get out of areas where my other cars got stuck, obviously other than ice.

 

www.tirerack.com is a good place to start.

 

this thread makes me laugh. not only teh original post but to those so adimant that you can't drive the 8 in snow. some good answers though by those who mention snow tires and zoom's winter thread is always a good place to start for anyone who drives through the winter outside of sunny california.

 

I don't understand - am I missing something here? Why would you go uphill at 15 mph in 4th gear?

 

I live in Vancouver, so while we don't get that much snow, we do have a lot of hills, and when it's snowy it's gross wet snow that is the worst kind to drive on.

I run some Dunlop Winter Sport M3's from usually early November onward. They do well in the rain, and quite well in the snow. However, if you have to go up a steep hill, you're going to want to make sure that you have enough speed going into it, and you're not going to want to have to stop on the hill at all. I got stuck on a patch of wet snow on a fairly steep hill that I had been doing okay on until I came up to another person who was stuck, forcing me to stop.

Traction control is a mixed bag in the snow. On flat land, or wetter snow, it can be good to prevent oversteer, but it's not as predictable as I'd like. If you're going up a hill, you definitely want to turn it off, because you may need to burn the clutch a bit in first to get going if you end up slowing down too much - and the traction control will detect the wheelspin and apply the brakes, which is the last thing you want.

Last but not least: bring a good emergency kit with you! Food, water, light, firestarting equipment, candles, blankets, a shovel, a scraper/brush, extra -20'C wiper fluid, and something to throw under your tires to give you traction if you need it.

 

As others have cited the answer to ths question is very straightforward = dedicated snow tires (e.g. Bridgestone Blizzak, Dunlop Wintersport 3, Michelin Alpin, ContiExtreme; preferably 215x50 on on 17" steel rims).

The relatively low torque of the '8 is actually an advantage in winter driving as you tend not to spin the wheels (winter snow driving mindset of course, no jack rabbit starts and shifting smoothly at 3k). 15 mph is safety-overkill, but the higher gear ratio again helps to preclude torque-spin.

The only disadvantage would be in deep snow - the front a/c & radiator 'mouth', especially if the vehicle is lowered.

 

I cant wait for my first winter with my 8. I bought me some dunlops graspic 225/55/17 on steel rims. Im hoping to have fun this winter with my first rear wheel drive. Im from Montreal and winters are rough I tell ya.

 

I did 6 winter seasons with snow tires and it handled great. However, I was recently stranded by oil lines that had rusted completely through. Also, my auto adjusting headlights sensors have rusted out. This year I bought a winter beater. If I had to do it all over again I would have spent the snow tire/rims money on a beater 6 seasons ago. I love my 8 and the corrosion from salted roads makes me sad when I look underneath it.

 

This year will be my 3rd winter with the 8, all with summer tires. Just take it easy. I have never had a problem. My opinion is that the car does great. I have never had a problem driving in the snow with it.