A Break in the Weather

There was no snow today and the snow storm that was supposed to hit us tomorrow shifted north and will now be bringing us a shitload of rain, all of which means things are about to get really messy. Consequently, I took some time today to get the RX-8 cleaned up and then took some better pictures of it. They're not great but they're better than the ones I took earlier.









And, of course, the license plate.

New Wheels!

Well, I pulled the trigger and picked up some new (to me) wheels off of Craigslist. They're BBS RK wheels, 18" x 7.5" with an offset of 42 mm. Most people think that the width and offset combination are pretty wimpy but I'm not terribly concerned with an "aggressive" look. I just happen to like the looks of the wheels themselves. I'll be wrapping them in my Yokohama YK520s this spring but for now the winter wheels/tires stay on. Here they are with the old Kumho tires that came with them. There's a bit a curb rash on one of them but all four look to be quite straight with no bends in them. Not a bad pickup for $400.

More Snow . . .

and still, the RX-8 pulled through. Sure, it's only a dusting at the moment; but it's slippery out there. The temps are low so the snow that's falling is hitting the ground and freezing. I left early for work this morning so as to beat the morning "rush hour" folks and I'm thinking it's a good thing I did. I even beat the Upper Arlington plows! My street was completely snow-covered this morning.

As noted, the RX-8 with its Blizzak LM-25 245/40R18 tires proved to be a trooper yet again, allowing me to comfortably cruise down the freeway at around 50 m.p.h. There was one jackass in the fast lane going about 35 m.p.h. but I was able to get around him. Of course, I shouldn't have had to pass him by going to the center lane but I'm not surprised. There's always someone who just doesn't understand the concept of "Slow Traffic Keep Right." The car had a couple issues getting started from a dead stop but nothing that raised my blood pressure or heart rate. Now she's comfortably underground in the parking garage.

Inside Information

So I switched over to the RX-8 primarily because I needed a "family" car. Sure, the RX is a 2-door sport coupe but it is inherently practical. Just look at the space available on the inside!



Originally I wasn't a fan of the black and red leather; it seemed a bit "ricey" to me. But I have to admit it's grown on me. As my friend, Mike, said - it fits the attitude of the RX-8.

While I was at it, I also took a pic of the front area to show the V1 remote display and my iPhone/iPod solution.

The Snow Is Done . . . For Now

Well, the snow has ended and I measured about 9.5" in the front yard. I'm actually impressed - the meteorologists got it right. I spent the better part of 1.5 hours shoveling the driveway this morning . . . for the second time. I did it once yesterday too. The RX stayed comfortably in the garage for the most part but I did take it out once the drive was cleaned up. Admittedly, Upper Arlington does a GREAT job plowing the streets but the RX did quite well with the Blizzaks in place. The MPV also did quite well, getting tested when we did some street parking in the Short North. Lots of slush right next to the curbs but the MPV didn't blink.

Supposedly there's more snow on the way . . . another 4" - 8". As with before, I'll believe when I see it but given their accuracy the last time I'm a bit more hopeful that they'll be right this time around too.

The Snow Has Arrived . . . and So Have My New Plates

Well, the snow has arrived and it's looking like we're gonna get around a foot. We've already got several inches on the ground (I'm guessing 4" - 5") and it's not showing any signs of stopping. I got to take the car out a few minutes ago because, amazingly, my kids still had gymnastics class and I have to say that the Blizzaks performed admirably. I had no problems steering or stopping for the most part. Starting from a dead stop led to some tire spin, but it really wasn't that bad. Overall, I'm very happy with the tires thus far.

Here's our front drive/front yard. The RX-8 is safely in the garage.



Also, my new plates came. Now I've never had personalized plates before. I tried to get ZMZMZM, an homage to Mazda's old ad campaign Zoom Zoom Zoom, for the Miata but it wasn't available. I was content with just a standard plate when an idea hit me. I checked and it wasn't taken so I snatched it up. Keep in mind that I also took Latin in high school so that probably played a role in it too. Anyway, without further ado.....



In case you're wondering, you say it as though the Z and the M are separate letters: car pay zee em. But the idea is Seize the Zoom.

Snow Storm Coming.......

This is Central Ohio so I'll believe it when I see it. But the local news has gone nuts estimating we'll get between 5" and 8" of snow between now and Saturday night. They usually oversell this kind of thing and we almost always end up getting only 1" or 2" so I'm not exactly confident in their predictions.

Nonetheless, I figured early on that I would need snow tires for the 8 and so this seemed like the perfect excuse to actually get some. I poked around on craigslist in Columbus but couldn't find anything reasonable (reasonable for a cheap ass like me, that is). I finally found a set of Blizzak LM-25's up in Akron that wouldn't break the bank so yesterday morning (like, EARLY yesterday morning) I headed up to Akron to get them. They're wide (245) so I'm a bit leery of how they'll do but they got great ratings overall from users on Tire Rack's website so I figure I'll give them a shot. I got them mounted at Mr. Tire on Reed Road at Henderson Road. Frank, Tim and the guys there have always treated me well and have always done a good job so I didn't hesitate to go back to them for the job.

In the dry the tires seem a bit noisy but then again I didn't get them for the dry. I'll post my thoughts on them once the snow hits and I have a chance to get out there and drive in it.