G8rboy

This evening we've been getting hit pretty hard with snow- probably 5-6" by now, and this is the first time this season I've been able to drive my 8 in the white stuff (I fortunately got my winter tires re-mounted right before Turkey day). I drove home in it, had to pick up my oldest daughter, then run some errands. I forgot just how remarkably sure-footed and fun to drive the 8 is with proper winter tires... there's several inches on the back roads around here, and the SUV's are crawling along at 10mph... but thanks to it's handling, perfect balance, DSC/TCS and the tires my Rex is skating along without a sweat. What a blast!! There are a lot of sports cars out there that have more power, but not many you can enjoy in the winter as much as the 8.

As a disclaimer - for those of you in snow areas, and in case this is your first winter with the RX8 (I've noticed a lot of new owners on the board lately), do /not/ try to drive in snow/ice with the OEM tires... it's essentially undriveable on the summer rubber.

RX-GR8

i hate when it snows but i am looking forward to it maybe once or twice this winter to see what my new dunlop winter sport M3's can do. last year was a nightmare with the OEM's. :D

G8rboy

The M3's are sweet... I only have the M2's and it still handles great. You'll be in great shape...

RX-GR8

i like the M3's ride in non snow conditions so far as well.

draco067

same - I had my M3s put on a few weeks ago.

Red Devil

Besides being a Floridian, I was none too pleased about the snow up here in Chicago. And because I'm not buying snow tires, the 8 is now garaged for the winter except for maybe a once or twice a month when it's been dry for a few consecutive days.

StewC625

I'm still waiting for Pirelli to ship my damn P-Zero Nero all seasons ... I drove home from O'Hare last night in heavy snow, thankfully it wasn't building up on I294 just yet. But was built up on my cul-de-sac, so the last 400 yards were scary.

[EDIT: Hmm, I guess that should read "Pirelli to ship my .... to TireRack, who can then ship them to me. I've only been waiting since late September for the #@%&^* things. I finally got a good understanding of why they are on backorder. The Mustang GT has the exact same size (245/40/18) PZero Nero specfied and Ford is making those like a banshee right now and bought the entire production of them ...]

Mugatu

iTrader: (1)

The M3s got me through 2 feet of snow last winter. Before that, the stock tires left me stranded when we got a dusting of snow.

SilverEIGHT

Can someone make a suggestion for winter tires in North Georgia. We only get occasional snow, maybe two or three times during the winter. Sometimes a snow can last as long as a week on the ground but not often. Do I still need to get an aggresive winter tire or is there something more suited for our area? Maybe I would be better off just driving my Toyota truck during this time. But then, that makes too much sense.

Mugatu

iTrader: (1)

whatever you do, DON'T settle on all season tires.

Some have commented that they are only marginally better than the stock rubber, and are in no way a good compromise to snow tires.

fredw1

I have been through four Cincinnati winters with all-season tires (RE-910), and have been very happy with them on my FWD car. While Georgia gets less snow than Cincinnati, it may stay on the roads longer due to fewer snowplows. All-seasons are a compromise, but mine have been fine in rain, snow, and on dry roads.

StewC625

Well, I'll take issue with the "settle on" note from Mugatu. Omicron (you out there buddy?) put Pirelli PZero Nero M+S all-seaons on his car and noticed:

- Definitely great winter traction - he lives in the front range area of Colorado outside of Denver. The snow traction "rating" from TireRack on these is 7.5 out of 10 - their winter tires rate in the 8's ... while not quite as good, not as bad as you think.

- Defininte IMPROVED dry traction. Compare either stock tire (the Dunlops or the Bridgestones, but especially the Bridgestones) to the P-Zero Nero M+S and you'll see that they have a higher overall rating AND a higher dry traction rating.

- Far quieter than any of the "summer" tires

- Definite improved wet traction - again a much higher rating than either stock tire.

I don't understand why people think that an All-Season is a compromise. My last car (an Acura TL), I switched from the stock M+S tire (Michelin Energy MXV4) to a much more high performance M+S (the Continental ContiExtremeContact) and had terrific handling from the car.

Unless you're doing out and out track driving (and honestly, I expect these tires to perform better on the autocross track than the stock rubber, based on the ratings) you won't see any performance degradation with a proper All-Season like the Pirelli, the Continental or one of the high-end Michelin Ultra High Performance All-Season tires.

I can't speak from direct experience, but from corresponding with folks like Omnicron, I'm confident that I'm right.

FYI, I'm doing a +0 tire size upgrade - going from the stock 225/45/18 rubber to 245/40/18 ... that shorter/stiffer sidewall and larger contact patch I'm sure helps any all-season compromise be dealt with.

Wankeler

We got a light dusting on Thanksgiving Day, in this part of Ohio anyway. I really wish there had been more. I just had the Blizzaks put back on and wanted to take my GF's grand-daughter out to a parking lot and let her enjoy some DONUTS (due to illness, she missed going to Cedar Point this year). If I didn't have the Blizzaks on, I'm sure I could've done many donuts with < 1/2" of snow we had on the ground.

rotten42

We've had a bit of snow off and on here. I mounted the Bridgstone LM-22's...they have worked great.

kellybrf

iTrader: (2)

i also made the mistake of thinking i could get through the winter last year w/oems...not a good idea. just got my lm-22s mounted monday so im set and ready for the snow!

Mugatu

iTrader: (1)

well glad to hear the all seasons arent as bad as i thought. i guess the couple posts i had read were people who didn't know how to drive in the snow.

no doubt that true snow tires are better, but at least you dont have to switch out the tires / wheels every season.

SilverEIGHT

Yea, no kidding, StewC625 that was some good info. Thanks!

StewC625

I think the big trick is not cheaping out on the all-seasons. A well-promoted, inexpensive and VERY available tire is the Kuhmo Ecsta ASX M+S, but if you look at the comparative ratings across the board of that tire to the Pirelli, the Michelins and the Contiental, it is significantly down in the ratings.

It's a $128.00 tire from Tire Rack compared to $150 for the Pirelli and Conti and $225 for the Michelins.

Any way you slice it, however, a winter tire WILL be better. If I lived in upstate NY, a rural area without traffic, Minnesota, Wisconsin, or even the outer suburbia where Sean/G8trboy lives, I'd probably do the winter tires. But since I don't rely on my car for commuting to/from work (work from a home office when not traveling for biz), and the road departments in our area take care of the roads to the point of riduclousness (all roads just wet within a few hours of the snow stopping, if they get snowy at all), for me the reduction in winter performance will be fine.

What I was interested in is a tire with a better treadwear rating than a pure summer (400 versus 160 on the stock Dunlops), reasonably good winter traction, and something I don't have to swap. My car is a lease car so I didn't want to sink $500 on wheels and another $600 on tires for an asset I don't own. And as much as I don't want to admit it, this will be the only RX-8 I ever have. I have three sons heading into drivers licenses right when this lease ends. I'll be driving a Honda Accord next ...

G8rboy

That's a smart approach- they do a good enough job around here on the streets with the salting and the plowing most of the time (I think they're just sitting and waiting for the first flake to hit- the second the rain turned to snow on my drive home yesterday a plow/salt truck hit his lights and went into action : ). However it was coming down so hard yesterday it was accumulating faster than the salt could do anything, and they were only able to keep the main roads plowed. If I hadn't left work early yesterday (3p) I would have been in trouble if I didn't have winter tires... the the rush hour traffic the roads were in bad shape and nearly zero visibility. My local "racetrack" among the corn fields had no cars on it as usual, so I really enjoyed taking the long way to pick my daughter up... drifting corners in the snow is a blast.

When I was getting my snowshoes mounted last week, a woman came in with an RX8 wanting snow tires- she almost passed out from sticker shock. They were quoting her $300 per tire (18"), plus mounting, or $200 per tire (17") + $150/wheel for new 17" beater wheels. She crapped her pants when I told her I paid $380 for all four of my winter tires last year :D. She was also on a lease and said "screw it" and just wouldn't drive her 8 in the snow.

Mugatu

iTrader: (1)

Boy is she in for a rude awakening.......

I too was able to take advantage of the tire deals last year, getting my Dunlop M3s for $400. However I do have to bite the bullet and get them changed out every season at $20 a wheel, but I don' t mind that too much.

willhave8

Just weighing in. I am happy with M3's so far although they haven't seen snow yet. They ride better than the Bridgestones - not surprsing. But I am surprised that they are MUCH quieter than the Bridgestones!!! My only gripe so far is that they flat spot over night - minor annoyance on my ride out of the 'hood. Takes about 2 miles for them to roll smoothly again.

I have also noticed a burning rubber smell after I am a little too spirited on my way home... I sometimes forget I have soft Snow tires on.

FONZIE

I get that burning smell all the time with my M3s now too :D
We're just having too much fun with the car I guess. I have noticed that the car has a softer ride with the M3s vs. the 8090s. Anyone else notice this? I have to be a little more carefull now....

G8rboy

I noticed it as well yesterday morning, when I had to quickly get up to speed after pulling into a lane (stalled car in my lane)... I just chirped a little, but man did it stink. I thought a belt was on fire. I forgot how soft the rubber on these things can be...

willhave8

Yep - Burning smell = short tire life Since I would like to get two season out of my tires, I am now trying to take it easy

cozmzm

I have Pirelli Winter Sport 240s - stock size on stock size rims (KZ-As). I too live in Colorado ( really close to Omicron). We had a pretty good snow over Thanksgiving weekend. The sidestreets are still pretty snowpacked and icy, so I've been able test the tires out.

I've been really happy with the 240s in the snow, ice, and even in warm weather. In Colorado it can be nice and warm one day (Thanksgiving was in the 50s) and the snowning the next. The following Sunday after Thanksgiving we had about 10" of snow.

When deciding on winter tires, I figured the 240s would be a good compromise for Colorado conditions - I think the 240s lean toward being an all season tire than a pure winter tire. In Colorado I think you're good with either choice you make: all seasons all year round or summer tires for six months and winter tires for six months. (We really only have two seasons in Colorado.)