If you have a garage, I'd seriously go for the Winter tires. I've had all-seasons and Blizzaks. No comparison in the cold / snow. And all-seasons stink in the warm compared to summer tires. You can't have it all.

So unless you want to drive your S2000 like a Civic in the Winter or want it handling like an Accord in the Summer time, do the right thing.

I change out 12 tires every fall for our cars and back again in the Spring. If mounted on a separate set of wheels it's no big deal. It also gives me time to inspect and clean the wheels as well as the tires. For the non-staggered vehicles, I rotate the tires so I don't have to wait at a dealer anyway.

 

I'm looking at my first winter with my S2000, but I'm no stranger to RWD cars in bad weather.

I have noticed that the S is perhaps a little twitchier in rain than say, my 240SX or MR2, but I'm not 100% sure yet. The only rainfall I've yet driven it in was a light first rain of the season. My car was leaving suds in the road from foaming up all the crap floating on the water. It was slippery as all hell. I just took it very easy, and everything was fine.

Now that the crap has been washed off (we got a solid 1/2" of rain on friday), it shouldnt be so bad.

 

Nice Avatar!

 

What does VSA do? Should you have it on at all times? I have it but am unsure how to work it?

 

The only time you can spin out "For no good reason" is by hydro planning or hitting a patch of black ice.

Ive owned many RWD cars and ive only "Spun out for no reason" when my 94 300zx hydro planned when I hit standing water on the road going only 40mph(45 zone im careful in the rain) 3rd gear....made no steering or gas adjustments it just started spinning. Luckily i was able to guide it backwards across traffic into a parking lot before coming to a safe stop. Needless to say it scared the hell of out me.

Now with better wet tires this may not have happened, but who knows. Just drive slower in the snow/rain just to be safe imo.

 

Having grown up in Washington, DC and knowing the weather patterns there, I think I would recommend that you not get a dedicated set of snow tires. You would be better off getting all-season tires (Pirelli P-Zero Nero M+S for instance) for 'winter' time and then switch back to summer tires when the temps increase. These tires can safely get you through a couple inches of snow with careful sensible driving, they will work great in the rain and cold, and they will last a lot longer than snow tires.

Here in Seattle, we have your winter weather for nearly 8 months a year. A/S tires have been fantastic. Do note that handling will change. The car may not feel as stiff.

 

Every time I've had the tail end come loose without me knowingly doing something silly, it has been because I have too low of a pressure in one of the tires. Being down by a few PSI is all it takes.

 

I believe that this car is more difficult to handle than most other cars. I have driven an S2000 for 5 years now so I'm just used to it. But when I first started driving the car, I didn't realize how easy it was to loose the back end.

I'm not sure how the VSA has changed the handling of the car, however, it's just a warning to any novice driver. Just be careful in any weather and learn your car's limits before pushing it.