i know winter isn't here yet but its coming what do you most of you plan on doing? last winter i only drive the 8 when i had to and man did i pay for it theres a little rust in the under body now and the stock rims and tires don't work great so this year i plan on buying a cheap second car hopefully it works out.

 

I drove my 8 this winter. Snow tires are a MUST HAVE, no substitutes. I got a set of Dunlop Wintersport M3 in 225/45/18 size. They were awesome, no complaints. I never once had even a close call with the car skidding or losing control. This was with me making frequent weekend trips to VT, NH, and ME to ski. As for the rust, I def have some, but I was getting the car washed twice a week most weeks and getting the underbody powerwashed 3-4 times a week. That kept a lot of the salt from building up but there was still some under there.

I know that my10ae and Speed Racer went down a rim size and I believe both went with Pirelli snows (correct me if I'm wrong guys). Of course, a cheap second car would be the best option. If you can afford that, by all means, thats what I would do.

 

I went with 225/55 17 Blizzak WS-50, and never had a problem even during the moring ice storm.

Mark

 

I've installed a set of Sumitomo HTR+ in 245/40WR18 and drove thru the winter with no problems. Just a bit of wheelspin but I chalk that up to just getting used to a RWD vehicle after two AWD and a life time of FWD cars!

 

I had those too on stock rims. As you basically said, they were great!

rx8cited

 

If you can afford a second car thats a great idea, but its best to go with a set of Winter tires. As for rust, unless you have a heated garage, and dry your underbody after each wash/rain fall, rust will occur. Just one of those pains of owning a new car - it truely sucks.

 

Yeah, I have a set of Pirellis and they were just OK last winter. In my opinion the tread pattern is a little too tight and it doesn't release the heavy wet snow very well. I think I may try a set of the Dunlops this winter.

 

Most of us already did something! The RX-8 has been out for nearly a year, you know - we've already had to deal with winter choices.

If you do a search here (and in the Canada regional section) for 'winter tire' and 'winter wheel' you'll find lots of threads discussing the options that people looked at and chose last fall. Very informative, definitely worth your time to search and read those threads!

(I used 17" Konig Holes alloy wheels, Toyo Garit HT 215/55-17 winter tires - narrower is better for winter!)

Regards,
Gordon

 

I'm gonna drive a beater for the winter. I want to get 17"s w/winter tires, but it doesn't snow much in the DC area, so can justify the $1k+

 

Problem with buying a second car for the winter is that you don't get to drive your '8! I have a perfectly good, very nice Jeep Grand Cherokee 4x4, and can hardly force myself to drive it. That's how much I need my '8.

Obsessed? You betcha... :D