The only car i've driven that is fwd is my austin 1100 and that is being changed.
Ice is the reason I took the coilovers off for the winter and put the stockies back on.
I'm not a racer but have been schooled. Panoz @ road atlanta.
I don't have DSC. I chose a GS for that reason.
...and if my coils aren't dead, I might drive the 8 in the snow this weekend in the suburbs of chicago and see if you are right.
In Detroit you need snow tires and tire insurance. Thems pot holes are crazy!

Soapflake- the rear seat is between the axles. Sandbags?? don't put that in your trunk, it's messy. Put a huge sub and amp, it's much better.

 

Okay okay, two 300 pound men in the backseats, one 90 pound super model in the driver seat. There, uneven weight distribution.

 

I've heard of people using salt bags in the trunk. I keep bags of bird seed in the car. At least I will use it in the feeder later.

 

So we got 8 inches of snow this last weekend. My 8 on dunlop winter pro 3ds dominated... DOMINATED. DOMINATED. I was passing 4wd explorers who apparently didn't know how to drive in the snow. It isn't the car, its the driver and the tires.

Gets some cheap wheels and some winter tires and everything will be fine. After swapping tires get to an empty lot and get a feel for how she accelerates, stops and turns. Once you have that down it shouldn't be an issue. As long as you stay smooth and don't flip out it will be a blast and effective. Snow tires make a huge difference, HUGE!!!

 

I think that you missed my point
The further you place a mass from the center of mass the more polar inertia you have. The polar inertia of the sands bags hanging out over the rear axle will work against the grip offered by the rear tires on every corner.
Your sand bags trade off cornering stability for acceleration grip: An undesirable trade-off in my opinion.

A better way to improve grip in snow or on ice is to select narrow snow tires: 205-55-17 is ideal but 225-50-17 is good too

 

I live in Wisconsin and this will be only my second winter drive the 8. I have never had any problems and actually I'm a bit impressed on how well the 8 handles its self.

I have Bridgestone Blizzaks on and a 60lb of sand in the trunk. I would never drive in winter without winter tires, they make them for a reason. Really have had no problem, only thing is the lack of ground clearance can hurt.

Also I would recommend reading up on some car control, understanding weight transfer and some basic vehicle dynamics can really come in handy. Plus when summer rolls around again you can put that knowledge into practice at an Autocross event.

My two cents.

 

In light snow the lighter car will be better. The time where the SUV's/Truck will be the best is a heavy snowfall where ground clearance is necessary. Subaru's and some Audi's are probably the best compromise. My ex-wife was a Subaru fan. We have had 5 of them (including a fwd Justy).

 

This made me laugh.

 

winter is cake with good tires. just sayin.

 

All this talk about weight over the drive wheels...adding weight, etc...


WEIGHT IN SNOW IS BAD!


What you are really referring to is the pounds per square inch for the tire contact patch. THAT is the number you want to increase.

And you can increase it by going with a thinner / smaller tire, without adding any weight what-so-ever.

Adding 100 pounds to the back of the 8 supposedly makes a drastic difference? I think that's in your head.

I will be driving my Miata through the winter (wife will be driving the 8, since it has all the safety driver assists, and she doesn't have RWD experience), on snow tires. My Miata is 700 pounds lighter than the 8.


According to the logic that adding 100lbs makes things doable, I am utterly and completely screwed...


...except I'm not.

And it's proven.



Pounds per square inch on the contact patch is all that matters.


Adding weight just makes it harder to stop.

 

this is my first winter with the 8. i had it out for the last time the other day before the salt was out. it was the first snow of the year and there was just a dusting on the road. start turning into a down hill turn. im going slow and it starts going sideways. i almost put it into the guard rail then the wall of the other side of the road but saved it. lucky no one was in the other lane i never imagined summer tires would be THAT bad in almost no snow. no more rx8 for the year i dont want to get salt on it so no reason to even get snow tires.

 

.... dont accelerate when turning into a downhill turn lol thats just common sense with any rear wheel drive vehicle.

 

I live in northern Ontario.. we've been getting snow for about a month now and with my winter tires the 8 is one of the best vehicles i've driven in the winter. Im only 20 but my vehicle list is long ('06 chevy 1500 4x4, '08 chevy 2500HD 4x4, '04 GMC envoy, '08 Buick enclave, '08 and '05 Dodge ram 1500, '06 pontiac g6, '09 jeep compass... my dad had a lot of company vehicles, hehe) The major part of liking and handling this car is knowing rear-wheel drive and the AMAZING weight distribution of the car, something ALL the other vehicles didnt have. That being said i've already drove past my neighbour stuck at the bottom of his driveway with a toyota 4runner.
The only thing that will stop you (which i found through RESEARCH) is snow higher than your bumper. In this case you shouldnt drive, and if you do you'll get stuck... the only advantage is you'll be the first one resulting in the first tow truck coming for you!

Drive safe and have fun!

 

Lol I'm not sure that's really an advantage, my experience with tow trucks is that they don't care worth a damn. And god forbid you ask them to hoist your car up an alternate way or you might find a tire iron in your windshield

 

Im not gonna call you stupid even when you are but ill call you ignorant! what do you expect from a RWD car with SUMMER TIRES in snow or ice? I have blizzacks and my car drives better than trucks even with the canadian winters !

 

I got cought in a one inch snow storm three winters ago, and now I just don't drive in the snow. I don't even like driving it in the rain!

 

Dunlop Graspic DS-3 215/55/17 on all four corners. Drove through five inch snowfall without one slip. Get better tires, OP.

 

You're absolutely right, and I would have agreed with you even before I put only two on the back and drove it in the snow. Unfortunately...money's tight this time of year and I needed to be able to get to work without getting stuck. I fully intend to put two more up front soon.

That being said, my point was, even with just two snow tires in the rear and two summer tires up front, the car was easily drivable/manageable on bad/snowy roads.

 

Went I had a bent rim and the shop refused to mount 2 of the snow tires, I did a couple weeks in the snow (frsh, pack, whatever) with summers on the front. Had to keep speed down significantly (under 30mph), had to use mostly rear-biased braking methods since the pedal would lock up the fronts in a heartbeat, etc... but at least I wasn't out of work for 2 weeks.

Not recommend. Not advisable. Not suggested. Not entirely safe. etc...


But...doable. When put into that position, treating it smartly and actually understanding how radically different your car will behave is the key. Granted, it's better not to get in that position in the first place, but the reality is...it happens.

 

I have Dunlop Graspics too, they are great, but I believe they are discontinued.

 

the rx-8 is one of the easiest cars ive driven in winter, because handling is so predictable. I live in Alberta Canada, we get -40 temps and tons of snow. To drive ANY car properly in snow..you need winter tires, if you dont want to fork over $1000 for good tires, don't drive. $1000 is nothing compared to writing your car off by wrapping it around a pole trying to drive your 8 with summer tires on, or "all seasons". Get snow tires, it does make all the difference.

 

Yep, I agree that the 8 should NOT be driven with summer tires on snow under ANY circumstances!

I went to a friend's place (cold but no snow when I arrived) hanged out for a few hours and went out to find there was like 1 inch of fresh snow. Decided to TRY and drive the 8 at least out of the parking lot and as soon as I was over some snow the car was going EVERYWHERE, and this was just pulling out of the parking spot! so I turned around and managed to parked right back where I was before, grabbed my stuff and walked home

 

Given for the most part this ideal is true, adding weight for certain vehicles isn't always a negative. For example, this is what we always do with trucks in the winter where I'm from to add to traction. Obviously for a truck the majority of weight is up front and the rear lacks needed weight to help add to pressure on the tires to achieve the grip needed over the snow; this is with snow tires of narrower width than stock as well. I usually had 3 sandbags at 75~100lbs a piece placed in the bed of the truck over the axle and the effect of having them to not having them is very drastic with the initial being far better for grip and handling.

Cars are the same in this aspect, however most of them have much better weight distribution ratio for RWD contrast to a truck. That being said, I believe some cars could benefit from weight in the rear, not essentially saying the 8 is one of them. I'm not so much worried about stopping as I am about getting grip in the snow. Anyone who's driven long enough in it knows that when you're in a jam the last thing you want to do it touch those brakes for the most part, save someone stopping ahead of you with no where else for you to go. You're better off using the gas to get out of a situation on the snow for majority of situations.

 

Valid point. Some vehicles start at a such a severe weight distribution advantage that just reducing the contact patch may not be enough....

Too many people take the justifiable reason for these vehicles and apply it to everything else, regardless of whether or not it still remains true. (As is common for most humans )

 

I used sand bags per a coworker's suggestion and because, as the previous poster said, I too have been putting sand bags into some trucks where I work. I can see how it may help with grip, but may inhibit braking and turning. I just suggested it because with my experience driving in the snow, I didn't have any issues with the sand bags in, but some drivers may.