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Originally Posted by bradcfi
Anyone looking into winter tires for this winter? I understand that most of you posters are from warm climates but there must be some owners from Northern states.
I bought my RX-8 last Jan. doing a snowstorm, it really helped with the price, but once I got home I couldn't get it out of the driveway for two weeks. Those Bridgestones may be the best for wet and dry but they'll spin on a forecast of snow.
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The Pirellis have really helped. The factory installed Bridgestone are great on dry hard pavement, but are like riding a sled on even the lightest snow. The Pirelli Snow Sport 240 (225 45R 18") works well on my rear-wheel drive RX8, and it works better when you turn off the Dynamic Stability Control in the car. The 50-50 weight distribution of the car with two 40 pond bags of kitty litter in the back allowed me to travel more than 550 miles in snow packed highways (Pennsylvania Turnpike and NJ Turnpike) last winter during the January storms. Hard braking on slushy snow is not bad, but nothing like a steady pace (I did pass many other cars) and gentle braking (this is highway braking, not your neighborhood braking at lower speeds).
The Pirellis are significantly less costly than other brands, Maxda would do well to sell these tires as factory installed tires on the RX 8 which has a notorious reputation for winter driving capabilities. The wide profile may be a disadvantage, however the cost may be prohibitive if you also invest in thinner wheels- however this would disable the computer controlled Dynamic Stability Control.,